TfL Ref: 0277-2324
Thank you for your request received by us on 26 April 2023 asking for information about the ULEZ charge.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked:
How many complaints have you had in the past 10 months regarding the £5 "service charge" being charged by the ULEZ.Emissions.London site?
Notes - I appreciate that this is not a TfL official site however, it is doing its best to look like one & also hides the fact that it charges £5 to process the payment
Please note that our website is: www.tfl.gov.uk, where you can purchase relevant charges for all our road user charging schemes including for this contravention. This is also easily found through online searches. Our website is TfL branded and provides key information of all the alternate ways to pay the charge such as our Autopay Service, mobile app and through our Contact Centre in accordance with the scheme Order. We are not responsible for any payment(s) errors which occur when using a third party website/app or service, nor for any failures in their systems that result in a Penalty Charge Notice being issued.
Any complaints concerning a third party website/app must be made through the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0800 144 8848, with all relevant details provided as they take all consumer complaints on behalf of Trading Standards.
In reference to the number of complaints we receive, we can advise that it is not possible to source this information within the appropriate limit for responding to FOI requests as set out under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. Under section 12, TfL is not obliged to provide information if it would cost more than £450 to determine if that information is held, and to then locate, retrieve or extract it from elsewhere. This is calculated at a rate of £25 per hour, equivalent to 18 hours work.
The cost limit applies as we do not record this information in the format requested, as our database does not allow us to categorise how many complaints we have received in this specific regard. Hence, to fulfil your request in full we would need to manually review each individual complaint to determine whether it falls within the parameters of your request, which would exceed the cost limit.
To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking. If you want to refine your request or make a Freedom of Information Act request in future, please bear in mind that the Freedom of Information Act allows you to request recorded information held by us. You might also consider limiting your request to a narrower period of time, for example.
Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, we do not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request.
Please note that we will not be taking further action until we receive your revised request.
In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your request, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Jasmine Howard
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
