October 11th 2024.
Steven Bortone, a 40-year-old teacher from Southend-on-Sea, has been struggling with a stressful situation that has been keeping him up at night. It all started with a simple mistake - an "admin error" as he calls it - when he went to pay the Ulez charge on the wrong day. This led to a £589 fine and visits from debt collectors at his front door. Steven has been dealing with this issue for over a year now and it seems to have no end in sight.
It was July 1st of last year when Steven drove to Barking in east London to volunteer at a club. Little did he know, this trip would result in a penalty charge notice being issued to him six days later. Not wanting any trouble, Steven paid the charge immediately. However, due to a mix up, he accidentally paid for the wrong day. He explains, "They took payment for the day I called, rather than the day I went in - it was a one-day difference." Despite his efforts to rectify the situation, he finds himself still battling the fine.
Steven has been having "sleepless nights" over this issue and it has been taking a toll on his health. He was given until July 31st to appeal the fine, which he did. However, he was surprised to receive two letters from debt collection agencies in February of this year. They were requesting payment of £364, even though Steven had already lodged an appeal with the Traffic Enforcement Centre. He explains, "I called back-and-forth and my appeals kept being denied by TfL." Frustrated and feeling helpless, Steven was advised to consider applying for a view by the district judge, but he couldn't afford the costs involved.
Things took a turn for the worse on August 14, 2024 when two debt collectors showed up at Steven's house. He showed them proof of payment, but they still insisted on collecting the fine. However, after seeing his genuine efforts to resolve the issue, they decided to relay the message to their supervisor. Steven was relieved and thought the matter was finally resolved. He says, "They told me it looked like I'd made a genuine effort to resolve this - and they walked off with my receipt. I know I shouldn't have relaxed at that point - but I genuinely believed it was all good."
Unfortunately, this was not the case. On September 11, Steven received a text stating that the fine had not been paid and had now increased to £589. Three days later, he received a letter from TfL rejecting the receipt submitted by the debt collectors. To make matters worse, the letter warned of repossession of his household goods or vehicle, as well as a county court judgement if he continued to refuse to pay the fine. Steven is pleading with TfL to review his case urgently, stating, "I just need them to cancel the payment - I've been so ill and stressed about it. I've got three kids to pay for - I'm just trying to do the best I can."
A TfL spokesperson has commented on the situation, stating that Mr. Bortone did receive a penalty charge notice as he failed to pay the Ulez charge for the correct day or within the required period. They also mentioned that they had asked for proof of payment for the wrong day, but received no response to their notices, resulting in the fine increasing. However, they have acknowledged that Steven did make an effort to pay the charge and are willing to settle the case upon receipt of the original penalty charge. Steven is hopeful that this issue will finally be resolved and he can put this "weird little admin error" behind him.
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