A London woman lost £355 in a sophisticated Ulez payment scam after unknowingly using a fake third-party website to pay her charges.
Lauren Matthews, 28, faced months of anxiety and bailiff threats despite believing she had properly paid her Ultra Low Emission Zone fees through what appeared to be Transport for London's official website.
"I felt absolutely dreadful, I cried initially - I didn't answer any knock at the door in case it was these bailiffs," Matthews said.
The incident has raised concerns about the growing threat of Ulez payment scams targeting unsuspecting drivers.
Following a friend's birthday weekend in April 2024, Matthews paid what she thought was a legitimate Ulez charge through a website she found online.
She paid £35 for two days of travel in the Ulez zone, assuming the higher cost was due to her older vehicle.
"The site didn't look different or anything, and it didn't ring any alarm bells," Matthews explained. "To my memory, I googled 'Ulez fee' and I'm 90 per cent sure I logged into my Ulez account."
The first sign of trouble came on May 7, when she received a TfL penalty charge notice forwarded from her old address.
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The situation escalated dramatically for Matthews in December when she received a "big red letter" from debt collectors demanding £355 for unpaid penalties.
The threats of bailiff action left her living in fear at her new London home.
"Anytime someone knocked at the door I turned all the lights off and made everyone be very quiet," she recalled.
After complaining to the debt collectors, CDER Group, Matthews was directed to Traffic Enforcement to appeal through what she described as a "lengthy and complicated process".
Facing mounting pressure from bailiffs, she ultimately paid the £355 fine on January 2.
Following an investigation by MyLondon in early January, TfL finally identified that Matthews had fallen victim to a third-party scam website and refunded her money.
A TfL spokesman said: "We are sorry that Ms Matthews was a victim of a third party website when attempting to make a daily Ulez charge payment, and for any distress caused."
The transport authority emphasised that payments should only be made through the official TfL website.
"TfL has no association with third party organisations that process charges; we work proactively with search engine companies such as Google, as well as with Trading Standards, to remove them entirely from the internet," the spokesman added.
Despite being relieved to have her money returned, Matthews expressed concern about the lengthy process and lack of early identification of the scam.
"If this is a big issue more could be done. I'm a bit confused because they should have told me that straight away," she said.
Matthews warned that anyone could fall victim to such scams.
"I know so many people in my family, older people, who would not feel good about being scammed. I would have no idea how to avoid this in the future," she said.
She called for improved systems to flag potential scam victims during the appeals process.
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Lauren Matthews, 28, faced months of anxiety and bailiff threats despite believing she had properly paid her Ultra Low Emission Zone fees through what appeared to be Transport for London's official website.
"I felt absolutely dreadful, I cried initially - I didn't answer any knock at the door in case it was these bailiffs," Matthews said.
The incident has raised concerns about the growing threat of Ulez payment scams targeting unsuspecting drivers.
Following a friend's birthday weekend in April 2024, Matthews paid what she thought was a legitimate Ulez charge through a website she found online.
She paid £35 for two days of travel in the Ulez zone, assuming the higher cost was due to her older vehicle.
"The site didn't look different or anything, and it didn't ring any alarm bells," Matthews explained. "To my memory, I googled 'Ulez fee' and I'm 90 per cent sure I logged into my Ulez account."
The first sign of trouble came on May 7, when she received a TfL penalty charge notice forwarded from her old address.
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The situation escalated dramatically for Matthews in December when she received a "big red letter" from debt collectors demanding £355 for unpaid penalties.
The threats of bailiff action left her living in fear at her new London home.
"Anytime someone knocked at the door I turned all the lights off and made everyone be very quiet," she recalled.
After complaining to the debt collectors, CDER Group, Matthews was directed to Traffic Enforcement to appeal through what she described as a "lengthy and complicated process".
Facing mounting pressure from bailiffs, she ultimately paid the £355 fine on January 2.
Following an investigation by MyLondon in early January, TfL finally identified that Matthews had fallen victim to a third-party scam website and refunded her money.
A TfL spokesman said: "We are sorry that Ms Matthews was a victim of a third party website when attempting to make a daily Ulez charge payment, and for any distress caused."
The transport authority emphasised that payments should only be made through the official TfL website.
"TfL has no association with third party organisations that process charges; we work proactively with search engine companies such as Google, as well as with Trading Standards, to remove them entirely from the internet," the spokesman added.
Despite being relieved to have her money returned, Matthews expressed concern about the lengthy process and lack of early identification of the scam.
"If this is a big issue more could be done. I'm a bit confused because they should have told me that straight away," she said.
Matthews warned that anyone could fall victim to such scams.
"I know so many people in my family, older people, who would not feel good about being scammed. I would have no idea how to avoid this in the future," she said.
She called for improved systems to flag potential scam victims during the appeals process.
Find Out More...