ROUND THE BEND
I’ve been hit by nearly £50k in fines for my van… it’s ‘council’s mistake’ but I’ll have to sell everything I own to pay
Dale says he has appealed the fines, which were rejected
A VAN driver claims he has been slapped with £47,000 worth of clean air zone fines after they were allegedly delivered to his old address.
Dale D'Agostino, 42, says he was issued 317 penalty charges for driving his 12-year-old Volkswagen Caravelle van in the low emissions zone in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
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But the letters were sent to an old address at first and he only found out about them when he updated the V5 logbook for his van in March.
And the businessman says he has no idea how he's going to pay the whopping fines, which may force him to sell his assets or go into debt.
He said: "I'm not really sure how I'm going to raise that sort of money. What am I going to do?
"Why haven't these tickets been enforced so I could deal with it sooner?
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"Am I paying for the Bradford City of Culture on my own? They know I have assets but I don't have this money so I'll have to sell everything to pay it."
Dale says he has appealed the fines, which were rejected, and has been to a tribunal for 14 of the PCNs.
He said: "I've spoken with the council and they want all of them paid.
"I'm appealed them and I've put all the information forward but they get rejected.
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"I've been to my first tribunal for the first 14 PCNs, but I haven't had a decision back."
The clean air zone was introduced in September 2022 but Dale, of Bingley, says he was told by the council that his vehicle was exempt.
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He said: "I was told I would be added to a white list.
"Roll on two years, I wanted to remove my private plate and could not find my V5 logbook so applied for a replacement.
"In doing so came a load of CAZ fines. As these tickets started stacking up, I wondered why I didn't have an exemption."
A spokesperson for Bradford Council says it's the driver's responsibility to "check their vehicle and pay any charge".
They said: "It's the driver's legal responsibility to make sure they keep the DVLA updated with their vehicle details and current address information.
"The CAZ was started in September 2022 and all Bradford businesses and residents have been given the opportunity to apply for exemptions for their vehicles which means they can pass through the CAZ free of charge at all times.
"It is the vehicle user's responsibility to check their vehicle and pay any charge due via the national Government's Central Service payment portal. Passenger vehicles are never charged.
"Businesses and residents within the Bradford District have been eligible to apply for a vehicle exemption from CAZ charges since prior to the launch of the CAZ. This process is still open.
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"All information relating to grant and exemption eligibility as well as how to appeal a penalty charge can be found on our website.
"We would encourage anyone who is unsure about any aspect of the Clean Air Zone to call our team for factual advice about their specific situation on 01274 435533. We always try to help."
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