Request ID: FOI-2992-2122 Date published: 22 April 2022
You asked
The following questions all pertain to ULEZ charges from December 2021 to February 2022 inclusive.
A specific tick box for towing is supplied on the objection form. The following questions pertain to people who ticked that box, so should be extremely easy to disseminate.
The reasons for the objections will need to be individually read from this set of people in order to obtain the answer to the second set of questions.
Please also sate the estimates in time and cost you can up with to respond to this request.
How many charges were disputed on the grounds of being towed?
How many of the above had the ULEZ charge reversed on initial objection to CClondon?
How many of these went on to appeal the charge?
How many charges we quashed at appeal?
How many of these cited missing any evidence of the towing vehicle?
How many of the above had the ULEZ charge reversed on initial objection to CClondon?
How many of these went on to appeal the charge?
How many charges we quashed at appeal?
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2992-2122
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 27th March 2022 asking for information about ULEZ charges.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“The following questions all pertain to ULEZ charges from December 2021 to February 2022 inclusive. A specific tick box for towing is supplied on the objection form. The following questions pertain to people who ticked that box, so should be extremely easy to disseminate. The reasons for the objections will need to be individually read from this set of people in order to obtain the answer to the second set of questions. Please also sate the estimates in time and cost you can up with to respond to this request.
How many charges were disputed on the grounds of being towed? How many of the above had the ULEZ charge reversed on initial objection to CClondon? How many of these went on to appeal the charge? How many charges we quashed at appeal? How many of these cited missing any evidence of the towing vehicle? How many of the above had the ULEZ charge reversed on initial objection to CClondon? How many of these went on to appeal the charge? How many charges we quashed at appeal?”
I can confirm that we hold the information you require. However, it is not possible to source the information to answer your questions within the costs limit for responding to FOI requests as set out in section 12 of the FOI Act. Under section 12 TfL is not required 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 exemption applies in this instance as the requested information has not been collated before and there is no quick of efficient way of doing so.
Note that Auto Pay charge disputes are investigated on a case by case basis and we will refund charges where it is appropriate to do so. Between 1 December 2021 and 28 February 2022 we received over 1,000 Auto Pay charge disputes. However, our reporting system has not identified any disputes raised due to a vehicle being towed. In order to locate the information requested we would need to go through each individual dispute on an individual basis to see the exact details. This is not possible within the £450 limit.
In order to bring your case within the costs limit you may wish to narrow its scope - for example, by asking about disputes more generally, or for a much narrower timeframe.
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,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
