ULEZ charges on authorised diversions

Greengiant96

I was caught on ULEZ camera on an official diversion, as it was official the cameras should have been switched off or no action taken From the ULEZ site "If we are made aware that a road will be closed and vehicles will be diverted into the ULEZ, we implement an extensive signage strategy to ensure that all motorists are aware of the diversion and the route to follow. All ULEZ cameras along the diversion route are switched off. As long as the vehicle being diverted follows the diversion route a PCN will not be issued."
I was attempting to get to Gatwick from Dover area in the early hours of Monday April 29th (03:00am) only to discover that the M20/M26 junction 2A was closed by bollards and traffic diverted back onto M20 to Join the M25 at J3. However this still didn't give access to the M25 to M23 section and the diversion took me along the A21 to Croydon. Very frustrating as it added at least an hour to the journey AND took me through a ULEZ camera (my car is not compliant). I was concerned about this but reassured by a fellow traveller at the airport that the charges wouldn't apply - showing me this on his phone 'National Highways senior project manager Jonathan Wade said: "Although the (Ulez) cameras will be active, no enforcement action will be taken.' (I don't have a smart phone which is why someone showed me). Consequently I stopped worrying about it and enjoyed my holiday. On returning to the UK I received a Penalty Charge Notice (PNC)., charging me £90 for failure to pay on time!!
I wrote explaining the situation and sent copies of the booked airport parking and flight details to indicate I had no intention of going anywhere other than Gatwick, and explaining I'd not paid as the route was an official diversion.
My appeal was dismissed 'as they could find no record of the diversion or road closure'. Also stating that I had not included any supporting evidence - which was true regarding the road as I thought they would know as there were diversion signs to M25 all along the route. Now, 5 weeks later it is very difficult to find evidence of the closure on line as nearly all the sites have upcoming closures and no mention of historical ones.
I feel very strongly about this and spent some time trying to find evidence for the closure AND diversion route. I did find one useful site showing the planned diversion and route, from Faversham Town Council who were warning everyone of the disruption. I can't include the link here because I am a newby and not allowed to post links but the website states M25 junction 5 to 6 – the M25 junction 5 to 6 clockwise including all relevant slip, linking roads and M26 southbound to M25 junction 5 will be closed overnight on Sunday 28 April 2024.
Under the title National Highways National Emergency Area Retrofit Programme – South East, it also has a link to the diversion map.
This ULEZ is rather Kafkaesque - "You're guilty because we say your guilty" and that's about that!!
Any help with how to fight this or support from others who found the route closed please.
Nick

Umkomaas

As we major on private parking tickets here, Free Traffic Legal Advice (FTLA) forum will be your best bet for council penalty charges. Register there but please note that a Hotmail address may not work - try using a throwaway Gmail account instead if you do have trouble registering, and post a new thread; here's your link:

https://www.ftla.uk/index.php?board=3.0

Read the sticky 'Read this first before posting your case' as well as reading through some of the other threads there ahead of posting your own details, to get the hang of what information they need from you in your opening post - but as a minimum you will need to post redacted photos/scans of all correspondence you've received from the council (both sides, if appropriate), as they need to see all the small print.