Ulez debt collectors visit dad and threaten repossession after he paid charge for wrong day

But the 40-year-old - a father of three children, aged 15, 13 and 10 - has played down the situation as a "weird little admin error" and argues that he shouldn't be penalised, as he did pay the £12.50 charge, just on the wrong day.

Bortone, a teacher, expressed his frustration, saying: "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."

On July 1, 2023, Bortone had driven into Barking in East London to volunteer at a science club - but mistakenly paid the £12.50 charge for the previous day. He was slapped with a penalty charge notice on July 7 which alleged he hadn't paid the Ulez charge for July 1.

But when he checked his bank statements, he noticed the money had left his account on June 31. "The woman at the helpdesk assured me that mistakes can happen," he added. "I was told to submit an appeal online by July 31."

Despite promptly filing said appeal, the 40-year-old then received two letters from debt collection agencies in February 2024.

He was flabbergasted to find himself facing a £364 charge, but he promptly informed the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) that he was already appealing the fee.

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He said: "I called back-and-forth, and my appeals kept being denied by TfL... an agent suggested I might consider applying for a view by the district judge - but it's costly."

But then, debt collectors arrived at the teacher's doorstep. He presented them with proof of payment, noting that the transaction had been completed prior to his trip to London.

He said: "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."

However, his relief was short-lived - on September 11, he received a text indicating the fine was still outstanding and had shot up to £589.

Just three days later, Bortone received a letter from TfL dismissing the receipt provided by the debt collectors.

He was stunned by the letter's implications, which included threats of repossession and a county court judgment for allegedly "refusing" to pay the fine.

He said: "I need TfL to review my case urgently. The payment was taken down wrongly, but I did pay for a day of parking."

In another plea, Bortone added: "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 spokesman said: "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 Bortone did originally attempt to pay the charge, we are happy to settle the case on receipt of the original penalty charge."