Drivers warned of bailiffs for refusing to pay traffic and Ulez fines in 'remarkable' council rule

The research discovered how nearly four million penalties were handed off to bailiffs last year who were paid to collect the owed traffic violation money.

The figure is nearly twice the amount recorded in 2022/21 when 2.4 million tickets were referred to agents, while 1.9 million were given out in 2020/19 and 1.3 million in 2017/18.

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Russell Hamblin-Boone, Chief executive of the Civil Enforcement Association, told The Times that the rise in Clean Air Zones and Ulezfines across the UK has caused more drivers to not pay the charges.

He warned that due to public disapproval of the environmental rules, they have “given themselves permission to act with impunity”.

He said: “Antisocial behaviour is being normalised and we see selfish actions daily: motorists not respecting rules, parking where they want and ignoring traffic regulations.”

Meanwhile, AA president Edmund King stated that the increasing use of enforcement agencies was “remarkable”.

King explained: “Drivers who receive a ticket should pay up or challenge it rather than ignore it.

“These figures show that drivers can run but they can’t hide. The best way to avoid tickets is to comply with the rules of the road.

“We believe the increase in figures is partly due to the increase in local authority enforcement of moving offences, yellow box junctions, more complex bus lanes and bus gates, and Clean Air Zones.”

He added that many drivers are concentrating on the “frequently changing speed limits and signage outlining restrictions, rather than the road ahead”.

King did note that some drivers do purposefully ignore fines issued by local authorities, especially with the rise in number plate cloning.

Cloning has become more common with plates being reused on other vehicles to avoid speeding, traffic or Ulez fines, with the original car owner being fined despite it not being their fault.

“The advice here is to raise the issue with the local authority rather than ignore the fine,” King stated. Drivers who repeatedly fail to pay traffic fines could see their case transferred over to bailiffs by local councils.

The costs of having a bailiff on the case who will initially send a letter to the driver can be as much as £75 and are then added to the motorist's end bill.

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If payment is still not made, the enforcement agency dispatches bailiffs who can legally confiscate goods belonging to the motorist, such as their car until payment is completed. This visit adds a further £235 to the bill.

A spokesperson for the Local Government Association told GB News: “Councils strive to ensure they have fair collection and enforcement policies and we agree that bailiffs should only ever be used as a last resort.

“If any motorist believes they have been fined unfairly, then they have the right to appeal against it.

“Money raised from fines and charges is used for running parking services, with any surplus spent on essential transport improvements, including fixing the £16.3 billion road repairs backlog, reducing congestion, tackling poor air quality and supporting local bus services.”