A man has hit out at the ULEZ rules after claiming he missed out on extra £2,000 when he scrapped his non-compliant van.
Anthony Fionda, 58, traded in his Vauxhall Combo in January ahead of the ULEZ scheme being introduced, and received the maximum £5,000.
But the maximum payment for non-compliant vans then increased to £7,000 this month to his frustration.
The 58-year-old carpet cleaner, from Enfield, said: “I scrapped my van in January thinking I was being good and caring about the environment.
“But if I was doing it now, I would get £7,000 – that doesn’t seem fair, it’s like changing the rules after the game is over.
“All the people that got £5,000 should be given £2,000 more because it’s just not fair. If I would have waited and kept my non-compliant van on the road for another six months, I would have been polluting more.
“How is it fair that someone polluting for another six months gets another £2,000 for the trouble?”
The dad-of-two said his former van was worth some £4,000. He said it was in good condition with a full service history and had done 80,000 miles.
He used the £5,000 from the scrappage scheme to help towards buying a ULEZ-compliant Citroen Berlingo with a 2021 plate, which he purchased for £13,000.
He commented: “It’s a big step to go from a non-compliant van to a compliant van because all the prices have gone up.
“It wasn’t easy, the van I bought was £13,000 so there was a £8,000 shortfall from the scrap value – but I did it early to get the van off the road and they gave me the money as promised.
“£2,000 is money I could have spent on equipment, but I’ve had to put everything the business is doing into the van – I’ve lost out and I don’t think that’s fair.”
The ULEZ scheme is expanding from August 29 to cover all 32 London boroughs. Any non-compliant vehicles driving in and out of the London boroughs will be charged £12.50 a day.
Express.co.uk has asked TfL for comment.
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