I received £900 in TfL fines despite living 200 miles away and never been to London – I can prove I wasn’t

A man is wanted by debt collectors over £900 worth of unpaid fines for driving in London’s (ULEZ) Ultra Low Emissions Zones, despite claiming to live 200 miles from the city in Devon.

Rio Hamilton has been fighting Transport for London over two ULEZ fines related to his blue Citroen van since 2021.

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Hamilton claims the vehicle captured by cameras does not belong to him and that his number plate must have been cloned as he was in a different county at the time, mylondon.news reports.

The 69-year-old doesn’t actually have a fixed address but says he spends most of his time in Devon.

He said: “This debt collector is threatening to enter a friend’s property to remove goods in lieu of payment. I don’t live there and I don’t own anything there. My girlfriend allows me to use her address for mail only.”

Rio explained how the situation began: “Back in December 2021 I received two Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) showing a van bearing my van’s number plate caught on camera in north London. “I’ve been in the van at Basingstoke and Trowbridge. I’m still fighting my case.”

Rio added: “My bank statement shows a transaction at Wickes in Trowbridge that day. I also photographed the sunset in the Wickes car park. So I can’t have been in London.’

Rio’s claim received some support from the met the police had marked his transporter and the registration as a suspected clone vehicle.

Rio said: “The Metropolitan Police themselves have issued a suspected cloning report on the license plate. I filed an affidavit through an attorney that was denied [by TfL].”

Police have stopped Rio about half a dozen times in and around Devon for flying the flag against his vehicle and registration – resulting in him listing it for sale.

After two years of trying to resolve the issue, Rio said, “I just want the whole thing to be written off.”

A spokesman for TfL said they were aware of the PCNs – and confirmed they had given Rio 28 days to produce evidence to support his claim but he had failed to produce any evidence they requested.

TfL also confirmed that they had dismissed Rio’s claim on February 10, 2023 and asked Rio to contact TfL’s independent adjudicator.