Van driver hit by £47k after clean air fines sent to his old address
A van driver has been hit with £47,000 worth of clean air zone fines after penalty charge notices (PCN) were delivered to his old address.
Dale D’Agostino was issued 317 PCNs for driving his 12-year-old Volkswagen Caravelle van inside the city of Bradford’s clean air zone (Caz).
But the letters were sent to an old address, meaning Mr D’Agostino, 42, only found out about them when he updated the V5 logbook for his van in March.
The Bingley-based businessman said he did not know how he would pay the five-figure sum, saying: “Am I paying for the Bradford City of Culture on my own?”
“I’m not really sure how I’m going to raise that sort of money. What am I going to do?
“Why haven’t these tickets been enforced so I could deal with it sooner? They know I have assets but I don’t have this money so I’ll have to sell everything to pay it.”
Bradford’s Caz is similar to the London Ulez and requires that older, more polluting, vehicles must pay a daily tax to drive within its boundaries.
The zone was introduced in September 2022, but Mr D’Agostino claimed he was told by the council that his van was exempt.
He said he has appealed against the fines to the city council, which rejected his pleas, and has now taken 14 of the PCNs to a tribunal.
He said: “I’ve spoken with the council and they want all of them paid. I’ve appealed them and I’ve put all the information forward but they got rejected.
“I’ve been to my first tribunal for the first 14 PCNs, but I haven’t had a decision back.”
White list
He said: “I was told I would be added to a white list. Roll on two years, I wanted to remove my private plate and could not find my V5 logbook so applied for a replacement.
“In doing so came a load of Caz fines. As these tickets started stacking up, I wondered why I didn’t have an exemption.”
A spokesman for Bradford Council said it “always trys to help”, adding that it was the driver’s responsibility to pay any taxes or fines due.
The spokesman said: “Businesses and residents within the Bradford District have been eligible to apply for a vehicle exemption from Caz charges since prior to the launch of the Caz.
“The Caz was started in September 2022 and all Bradford businesses and residents have been given the opportunity to apply for exemptions for their vehicles which means they can pass through the Caz free of charge at all times.
“It is the vehicle user’s responsibility to check their vehicle and pay any charge due via the national government’s central service payment portal.”
Private number plates have caused problems in the past with other vehicle charging zones.
A London plumber who fitted personalised number plates to his fleet of vans ran up hundreds of pounds in Ulez fees despite his vehicles being compliant.
Sam Reading bought four registration plates that created the words “GAS JOB” for his company vehicles to help promote a distinct brand for his business.
But he discovered that despite his vans only being a few years old and Ulez compliant, he was being charged £15 whenever the vehicles were driven in London.
Transport for London cancelled the fines, saying its computer systems were only updated every four weeks with the latest addresses and contact details for registered keepers.
