Transport for London on Friday denied breaching data protection laws as the extent of its pursuit of foreign drivers who fail to pay the Ulez was revealed.
Transport authorities in Belgium, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands claimed personal details about drivers were obtained illegally by TfL’s debt collection agency — as more than 100 drivers in France launched legal action over the issue.
It is thought hundreds of thousands of motorists living on the Continent have been sent Ulez fines after driving in London despite the fact that many would have been driving vehicles that complied with Ulez exhaust emission rules.
The issue has arisen because TfL requires drivers of foreign-registered vehicles to notify it 10 days in advance if they plan to enter London.
This allows TfL to add the registration plate details of compliant foreign vehicles to its database to prevent £180-a-day fines being issued — and to ensure any fines that are wrongly issued can be wiped.
According to The Guardian, TfL and its contractor, European Parking Collection (EPC), have been accused of illegally obtaining the names and addresses of foreign drivers to enable more than 320,000 fines to be issued since 2021.
But TfL rejected suggestions that it breached data protection laws.
A TfL spokesperson said: “EPC make it clear when they submit requests for keeper data in EU countries that they are acting on behalf of TfL, for enforcement of road user charging in London, even when they route those requests through a third party.”
