To reduce nitrogen emissions, London introduced green zones in 2019. Anyone who does not have a clean car or lorry must pay a tax of £12.50. In addition, all vehicle owners entering an environmental zone must register their license plate online in advance.

“I adhered to all the rules,” Slutwig said. So, no need to worry, he thought. Until November 2022, he received several envelopes at once from Euro Parking Collection (EPC), the English debt collection agency.

“All kinds of fines and reminders about those fines. It is no longer possible to object, because that period has already expired. I have to pay almost 400 thousand euros in fines, including collection costs. Then I can stop. And all these fines are not justification.”

Slootweg was interested in both the ecological area and the direct sight criterion. From March 2021, all trucks must comply with safety regulations (DVS) if they want to enter London. For example, additional cameras must be installed.

“I installed all those cameras and also applied for a DVS permit,” says Slutwig, who drives to London laden with flowers almost every day.

Fines amounting to 7.5 million euros

Contact the transportation company in Node that specializes in dealing with international fines. More victims were reported there, a total of 120 carriers together receiving 10,000 fines. The amount of damage is 7.5 million euros.

“In the worst case, one carrier received fines of 2.5 million euros,” says Antonio Oliveira, transport director at Node. “This carrier constantly flies to London. He contested every fine, even though the objection period had expired, and won everything.” . .

However, the Node Transport Authority did not want to challenge individual fines for all victims. “You have to record each fine individually and prove why it is invalid. Some carriers received three boxes full of fines. This will cost them a lot of time. We want the judge to rule on all the fines and the way EPC works.”

Crying vector

If the fines are not cancelled, transport companies will collapse, Oliveira said. “The margins in transportation are not great. People have cried on the phone. They are panicking, they want to come quickly. This could mean they go bankrupt.”

Transport in Nood has retained a British law firm working with Dutch lawyer Kevin Verhout from International Transport and Logistics Attorneys on the case.

Making a profit is fine

“First of all, because they received all the fines at once, carriers did not have enough time to change their behavior or raise the alarm about unjustified fines,” Verhout says.

More things are not right. “Transporters are not given the option to pay fines in pounds. The collection agency itself determines the exchange rate that suits them. By law, you must always be able to pay in the local currency and are not allowed to make money from fines.”

Do not share personal data

It is also strange that the collection agency was able to obtain the personal data of the transporters, Verhout says. “After Brexit, there was no agreement on the exchange of that information. EPC also works with European companies and institutions, for example, managing French toll gates. We believe they abused their access to the European registration system.”

Furthermore, the funds must be deposited into a German account. “Who says this money goes to TfL? It’s all very suspicious, and the fines also came from an address in Uzbekistan.”

700 fine

Robert Van Der Zwam of Van Der Zwam Transport hopes that justice will be served soon. He has 30 trucks in operation and received 700 fines for approximately 8 tons.

“We have done nothing wrong. We have duly registered with the eco-zone, paid for the cars and also converted them so they meet safety requirements. All fines and notice periods have already expired.”

Van der Zwam has yet to pay most of the fines. “Sometimes you can’t avoid it. For example, when you use a rental truck. The lessor will then get those fines and automatically deduct them from us.”

Payment is the end of the business

If he had to pay €800,000, his company would be gone. “There is not a lot of liquidity in the transportation world. Most of the fines are for mark-ups and add-ons.”

The date of the lawsuit, which will initially be filed against ten companies, has not yet been announced for practical reasons.

Euro Parking Collection (EPC), the English debt collection agency, is not responding to questions from RTL Z. TfL has stated that it does not currently wish to respond substantively.