Man forced to pay dead father's £3,000 car fines

A bereaved antheral claims helium was forced to wage £3,000 aft Birmingham City Council pursued him for a Clean Air Zone good incurred by his precocious father.

Gary Davies told the BBC helium felt similar an "absolute loser" aft helium was incapable to person the section authorization his begetter had died.

The 52-year-old roofer said trying to get done to idiosyncratic to reason his lawsuit had been similar "talking to a ceramic wall" and helium would present instrumentality ineligible enactment against bosses.

The assembly defended its medication of the strategy and said opportunities for situation were precise intelligibly acceptable out.

The portion was launched successful 2021 arsenic portion of plans to tackle mediocre aerial prime and introduced regular fees for older vehicles driving successful the metropolis centre.

A study successful January recovered it had made a "significant" contribution to reducing pollution.

But successful the years since its introduction, it has been repeatedly criticised arsenic seemingly guiltless people look thousands of pounds successful fines.

Others person said it is hard to get successful interaction with the section authorization to quality charges, and claimed the council has been unwilling to listen.

Mr Davies, from Tamworth, explained helium had to manus implicit £3,000 erstwhile enforcement agents clamped 2 vehicles extracurricular of his property.

He is yet to get his wealth backmost contempt supplying a transcript of his father's decease certificate, and said the ordeal had made grieving much difficult.

"I was connected the telephone for two-and-a-half hours 1 time trying to talk to somebody," helium said.

"It makes you consciousness similar you're an implicit loser due to the fact that cipher volition perceive to you."

The BBC phoned the council's Clean Air Zone hotline to spot however agelong it would instrumentality to get done to someone.

It took fractional an hr to ascertain which buttons to property to get done to a person, and erstwhile we yet managed this, they explained they were lone capable to connection proposal - and told america to spell online.

Cynthia Nodanche said enforcement officers demanded £1,000 aft she drove her non-compliant Vauxhall Antara done the Clean Air Zone but forgot to pay.

The 41-year-old enforcement adjunct had lone conscionable moved to Birmingham, and claimed her fines ballooned aft they were sent to the incorrect address.

She said the "confusing" strategy could discourage radical from moving to the metropolis and urged the assembly to beryllium much flexible.

"I don't cognize wherefore they lone springiness you a abbreviated timeframe to wage the fine," she said.

"They should springiness radical announcement of 1 oregon 2 weeks more."

Councillor Majid Mahmood, furniture subordinate for situation and transport, said the section authorization followed a statutory enforcement process for the issuing and enforcement of punishment complaint notices.

"A punishment complaint announcement is sent to the code of a registered keeper of a conveyance based connected the accusation held by the DVLA astatine the constituent it is issued," Mahmood said.

"The opportunities for situation are precise intelligibly acceptable retired astatine each signifier of the process truthful that anyone issued with a punishment complaint announcement understands however they tin wage oregon situation it."