Transport for London (TfL) has apologised after nearly 1,000 motorists were wrongly charged when a London ULEZ camera was pointing in the wrong direction.
In total, 927 drivers were incorrectly charged while driving through the Old Redding Junction in Harrow, which is OUTSIDE the ULEZ area.
This forced TfL to switch off the camera, before reinstating it in the correct direction, and issuing refunds totalling £11,200.
Marilyn Ashton, deputy leader of Harrow Council, said she had been inundated with complaints from angry drivers, saying: “If you are driving down Old Redding in a non-compliant car, you shouldn’t have to pay a charge as those roads are exempt.
“Since it went up on August 29, people thought, ‘I’ll go that way and not have to pay anything’, and had to pay the £12.50. It’s not in London at all, which is partially why it’s a terrible idea to do this.
“All that was wrong is that the cameras were facing these roads. More than 900 and something people had to pay £12.50 and that’s terrible. It went on for weeks and people started complaining and writing in. But it took TfL weeks to say, ‘We got it wrong’ and move the camera.
“It’s unacceptable, incompetent and disgraceful.”
A spokesperson for TfL said: “We apologise for this error. Unfortunately this camera was incorrectly positioned. It was switched off once we were informed of the error and has been repositioned. We have refunded any charges that were wrongly issued.”