Retired nurse in Edmonton repeatedly fined despite being exempt from ULEZ charge

A disabled retired nurse has spoken of his distress at getting daily ULEZ fines despite being granted an exemption. Frankie McDonald, 67, of Edmonton, north London was give a blue badge exemption on February 1st. But he has since been sent four Penalty Charge Notices, each one demanding £180.00, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days. Transport for London has told him a fifth PCN is in the post. Mr McDonald has a letter from TfL saying he has a ‘ULEZ Sunset exemption” until October 2027. It says: “We have updated our records to show the ULEZ charge is not required for the vehicle until this date”. But when Mr McDonald puts the registration of his 2000 Mini Cooper S into TfL’s ULEZ Checker it says he is still liable for the daily £12.50 charge. He told ITV News he was too scared to use his car. When Mr McDonald complained to City Hall about the stress he was under, he was sent an email referring him to a website run by the mental health charity MIND.
Frankie McDonald with his car in north London Credit: ITV News

A disabled retired nurse has spoken of his distress at getting daily ULEZ fines despite being granted an exemption. Frankie McDonald, 67, of Edmonton, north London was give a blue badge exemption on February 1st. But he has since been sent four Penalty Charge Notices, each one demanding £180, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days. Transport for London has told him a fifth PCN is in the post.

Speaking to ITV News London Frankie said: "The car is my only mode of transport, and because of my disability - I broke my back when I fell down the stairs - I really need my car to get about and to just to conduct my daily living in London. "And it's terrifying because the charges are £180 or £90 if you pay it within 14 days. "As an elderly gentleman living on as an old age pensioner I don't have the money to pay TfL.

"All these penalty charge notices that shouldn't have been applied because I've got a letter saying that I am exempt."

"Mr McDonald has a letter from TfL saying he has a ‘ULEZ Sunset exemption” until October 2027.

It says: “We have updated our records to show the ULEZ charge is not required for the vehicle until this date”. But when Mr McDonald puts the registration of his 2000 Mini Cooper S into TfL’s ULEZ Checker it says he is still liable for the daily £12.50 charge. He told ITV News he was too scared to use his car. When Mr McDonald complained to City Hall about the stress he was under, he was sent an email referring him to a website run by the mental health charity MIND.

Frankie added: "The stress has actually been quite difficult because I'm suffering a bereavement because my partner has recently died.

"And then there was the battle of actually keeping this house over my the roof over my head with this house. Now having to deal with London transport. "It's just unnecessary stress that TfL have put me through.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said he would investigate the case and apologised to Mr McDonald.

Mr Khan added: "I want to apologise to this man for the stressed he has been caused. I am more than happy to look into his case."

Transport for London said it would cancel Mr McDonald's fines.

A TfL spokesperson said: “We are sorry for any distress that Mr McDonald has experienced. Unfortunately we didn’t properly register the non-compliant vehicle for a disabled benefits grace period.

"The registration has now been completed and we have cancelled the penalty charge notices. We are looking at what went wrong to ensure it doesn't happen again."

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