TFL hands Ulez fine to driver who donated car to Ukraine
A DRIVER has been handed a Ulez fine despite donating his car to the Ukraine war effort last summer.
Charles Cooper, 65, personally drove his Volvo SUV across the Ukrainian border in August 2023.
Yet Transport for London (TFL) sent Mr Cooper, of Lymington, Hants, a series of fines after automated number plate recognition cameras allegedly picked up the car being driven through London in October.
TFL is chasing him for hundreds of pounds in penalties for non-payment through the courts, even though he showed that his car was given to Kyiv last year. In a letter to The Telegraph today, Mr Cooper said he has spent hundreds of pounds on lawyers after officials rejected his explanation that their cameras had identified the wrong car.
“I have already provided adequate information showing details of the export of this vehicle to the Ukrainian army, with associated paperwork,” he wrote. The chartered accountant, a former chief executive of investment fund BRI Wealth Management, added: “This situation is positively Orwellian.”
He said his ordeal began when fixed penalty notices were sent late last year, which he did not immediately receive because he was travelling in Greece.
He came home in January to find letters from the transport authority had escalated into threats to take him to court for non-payment.
A letter sent by TFL to Mr Cooper and seen by The Telegraph said: “We have reviewed the vehicle image(s) and believe that the charge(s) have/has been raised correctly.”
The letter invited him to send proof that the Volvo was at a location outside the charging zones on Oct 10 last year.
His car was delivered to Ukraine as part of a mercy mission by the 4Ukraine humanitarian aid group.
A TFL spokesman said: “We are investigating what has happened here. We will be speaking to Mr Cooper very soon.”