A motorist who donated his car to Ukraine last year has been slapped with hundreds of pounds of Ulez fines.
Charles Cooper drove his Volvo SUV to Ukraine in August 2023, but received a number of fines from TfL after his car was allegedly spotted by automated number plate recognition cameras in London last October.
The 65-year-old from Lymington in Hampshire said TfL is demanding hundreds of pounds in penalties through the courts.
Cooper said he would "rather go to prison" than pay the fee after officials rejected his explanation that their automatic cameras had mistakenly identified the wrong car.
A motorist who donated his car to Ukraine last year has been slapped with hundreds of pounds of Ulez fines
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"I have already provided adequate information showing details of the export of this vehicle to the Ukrainian army, with associated paperwork," he told The Telegraph.
"I am not aware if the case has been abandoned. This situation is positively Orwellian. What sort of country are we living in?"
The chartered accountant said the fines were sent late last year but he did not receive them straight away as he want travelling in Greece.
After returning home in January, he found letters from TfL who had escalated the threats to take him to court for non-payment.
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He said one photo they sent showed "a very unclear photograph of the front of a Volvo which they claim was my number plate".
He added: "It looks to me like [the letters] OKK, and they say it’s OKW which was my plate.
"But my car had been given to the Ukrainian army in August. I drove it over there."
Cooper explained that his car was delivered to Ukraine by the 4Ukraine humanitarian aid group, which delivers cars and medical supplies from the UK.
The 65-year-old from Lymington in Hampshire said TfL is demanding hundreds of pounds in penalties through the courts
PAHe said: "The last thing I got from them was that I was going to be sent to court... And bailiffs would be appointed, which was when I wrote to [TfL] and said, well, there’s no point in doing that, because I would rather go to prison than pay you anything."
A letter sent by TfL said: "We have reviewed the vehicle image(s) and believe that the charge(s) have/has been raised correctly."
In response, a spokesman said: "We are investigating what has happened here. We will be speaking to Mr Cooper very soon."
