Ulez fine mayhem as children’s nanny receives 120 penalties after ‘honest mistake’
A children’s nanny received more than 120 Ulez fines after making an “honest mistake” that spiralled into a bureaucratic nightmare.
Justine Jenkins failed to update her vehicle “log book” address when she moved home.
This meant Transport for London’s warning letters and fines were sent to her old address. The situation escalated dramatically when TfL referred her case to bailiffs.
According to documents shared with The Standard, she received 123 penalty charge notices between October 2023 and September last year.
Jenkins, who lives in Guildford but works as a children’s nanny in Wimbledon, travels across the South of England as a freelance children’s nursery assessor.
Her 14-year-old Peugeot 308 diesel does not comply with Ulez exhaust emission rules, meaning she must pay £12.50 daily to drive in London.
She failed to realise the ultra-low emission zone was expanding from the inner boundary of the North and South Circular roads to the Greater London boundary in August 2023.
Her role as a nanny involves collecting her employer’s children from school by car and taking them to activities.
This became impossible when her car was clamped.
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The matter quickly escalated when bailiffs began visiting Jenkins’ home. “My neighbour was telling me they were coming round all the time and knocking on the door,” she said.
On one occasion, bailiffs blocked in her car and clamped it while she was at home on a Sunday.
The Ulez penalty fine is £180, reduced to half if paid within 14 days but increasing to £270 if delayed. Additional charges are added when cases are passed to bailiffs.
The total amount owed by drivers to TfL in penalty fines one year after the Londonwide Ulez expansion was £376m.
Jenkins, who has autism and ADHD, described the ordeal as “unbearable.”
“The cost has been immense, both financially and emotionally,” she told The Standard. She spent hours on the phone, took time off work, and visited the Citizens’ Advice Bureau.
“Days lost to autistic overwhelm or depression, and the stress has been so severe that my GP has had to prescribe medication to help me cope.”
She described TfL’s appeals system as “incompetent”, noting: “They don’t deal with the problem holistically. The most fines you can challenge at a time is 30.”
A TfL spokesperson apologised for “any distress suffered by Ms Jenkins”. They confirmed all fines have now been cancelled and “no further money is owed”.
Earlier, a caseworker from Guildford MP Zoe Franklin’s office had helped get many fines cancelled.
Jenkins has now registered her car with TfL’s AutoPay system to automatically charge the daily Ulez levy.