A dad-of-three says debt collectors turned up at his front door over a £589 fine imposed after he accidentally paid the Ulez charge on the wrong day.
Steven Bortone, 40, described being plagued by ‘sleepless nights’ since the ‘little admin error’ when he went to pay the charge.
The teacher, from Southend-on-Sea, drove to Barking in east London to volunteer at a club on July 1 last year.
He got a penalty charge notice six days later and paid the charge – but for the previous day by mistake.
Steven said: ‘It was just an error made on the day – and now, over a year later, I’m still battling the fine.
‘I accidentally paid for the wrong day. They took payment for the day I called, rather than the day I went in – it was a one-day difference.
‘I need TfL to know that I’m acting in good faith – I’ve never not paid.’
Steven said he was given until July 31 to lodge an appeal, which he did, only to receive two letters from debt collection agencies months later in February this year.
He was told he was due to pay a charge of £364 – but informed the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) he was already in the process of an appeal.
‘I called back-and-forth and my appeals kept being denied by TfL,’ Steven added.
‘An agent suggested I might consider applying for a view by the district judge – but it’s costly.’
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On August 14, 2024, Steven says two debt collectors showed up to his house.
He showed them receipt of payment, explaining the money had left his account the day before he travelled to London.
The officers said this would be fine – and would relay the message to their supervisor.
Steven went on: ‘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.’
By September 11, Steven received a text to say the fine still hadn’t been paid – and had now increased to £589.
Three days later, he says he received a letter from TfL rejecting the receipt submitted by the debt collectors.
He claims the letter warned he could be subject to repossession of his household goods or vehicle, as well as a county court judgement for ‘refusing’ to pay the fine.
‘I need TfL to review my case urgently,’ he said. ‘The payment was taken down wrongly, but I did pay for a day of parking.
‘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 said: ‘Mr Bortone did correctly receive a penalty charge notice (PCN) as he didn’t pay the Ulez charge for the correct day or within the required period.
‘We asked him to provide proof that he paid for the wrong day but received no response to any of our notices, so the fine increased.
‘As Mr Bortone did originally attempt to pay the charge, we are happy to settle the case on receipt of the original penalty charge.’
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