Dear LPG,

I recently read what ND had to say about the effect that ULEZ will have on those of us who live close enough to the border to get it wrong.  I agree that there are many non-driving older people who will be affected by the rules, and as a driver who has often misunderstood my Sat Nav, I completely agree that it is quite easy to stray into the zone without knowing.  You can only concentrate on so many things at one time, no matter your age, and being unsure about following the electronic instructions could make it easy for any driver to miss the odd green and white sign. 

Like ND I live on the border.  I have left getting rid of my non-compliant car a bit late, but it is taxed and has a current MOT and I pay for annual insurance, so I decided to park it a few streets away until I made my mind up about what to do.  I did find a buyer for it and a week or two later I decided to drive it to its new owner, but I found myself wondering if I might have crossed the line if you know what I mean.

I telephoned to ask what would happen if you are not sure about whether you had or had not strayed beyond the zone.  I pointed out that I know that they know because of their cameras and the advisor agreed.  He told me to set up an auto-pay account which would just take money from me automatically if the charge had been triggered.  You can only get a refund if you have an account, but I later found out that, even then there is a £2.50 charge levied to amend it and it costs £10 to refund a Congestion Charge or ULEZ charge so what is the point?  There is a bit of good news though, as long as your car is parked and does not move between any two midnight-to-midnight periods you don’t have to pay.

But this was the only time that I was likely to have to pay the charge and I think that enough government departments have my bank details, so I told the advisor so and he told me that I have a choice.  I could pay using my debit or credit card, but then I would never know if I did or didn’t violate the border during my final outing in my old faithful vehicle, but if I had strayed but did not pay, I could expect a letter ordering me to pay £160.00 or £80.00 if I paid quickly enough.

It seems as if the odds are completely stacked in the government’s favour.  I paid, it would be the first and last time, but it appears that we are, once again, being forced to give away all those details that are fairly harmless when someone has a couple of them, but the ‘powers that be’ continue to build their complete picture of our ID which I think is quite dangerous.

Just how many people are forced to wonder if they need to pay?  We have yet another illustration that reminds us that getting us to pay a computer seems to be the only way that the authorities can find of doing anything laudable to help improve the ozone layer or any other situation that needs addressing. 

As Christmas gets nearer and after a year when Christmas celebrations were all but cancelled, if the government decides that we can have one this year, there are likely to be many older people who look forward to visits from their friends and family on the one day when there is no public transport.   The good news is that the restrictions will be lifted for the twenty-four hours in question, but don’t get into the Cinderella zone.  You will need to be out of there by the stroke of midnight. Remember that computers can do a lot of things, but they definitely don’t celebrate the whole Christmas holiday.

AR, Downham

AR shares her findings…

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