Driver hit with £540 fine for going through Clean Air Zone without bank card
He says he was a 'victim of crime'.
A man has refused to pay several parking fines after he fell victim to a scam.
Clive Harvey, who lives in Birmingham, drove through the city’s Clean Air Zone three times without a working bank card.
Cars, taxis, vans, lorries, buses and coaches all face a daily charge if not compliant with emission standards.
Mr Harvey had destroyed his bank card after he fell victim to a scam, and is awaiting a new one.
But this meant he was unable to pay three days’ worth of charges – a problem he says he told Birmingham City Council.
Three sets of fines nevertheless made their way through his door.
The 39-year-old, who works as a design consultant, has been contacting Birmingham City Council for months to try avoid the charges.
He said: ‘They don’t have an answerphone. It just goes straight to a dead line.’
Mr Harvey eventually wrote to his local MP, but has been told by both the politician and the council that nothing can be done.
His fines have now totted up to near £600.
Birmingham City Council’s website reads: ‘Please note you will not receive a notification or alert advising you that you have entered the zone and payment is due; you as a driver are fully responsible for understanding and managing all payments.’
Mr Harvey is still trying his best to avoid the collection of fines.
He has also raised concerns that other people could face similar charges if, like him, they are without a card due to scams.
He said: ‘If I’m failing with this system then who else is? I was the victim of crime. It was a website handing over engineering documents. I quickly realised ‘this doesn’t seem right’ and did some more research and found out it was a scam.’
The city’s Clean Air Zone came into effect on June 1 last year.
A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said there is always the right to appeal any parking charge.
The spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘For someone who receives a penalty charge notice they can pay the charge or, if they believe it has been issued incorrectly, they can submit a challenge.
‘If someone chooses to challenge a penalty charge notice they have up to 28 days from the date of issue and a challenge can be submitted online or by post.
‘If someone is unhappy with the decision of the council to reject a challenge there is another right to appeal or right to challenge a penalty charge notice at later stages of the process.’
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