The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has confirmed Transport for London (TfL) is not associated with any third-party websites accepting ULEZ payments and works with search engine companies such as Google to remove unofficial websites.
Read on for advice on how to spot one of these sites, and what to do if you've already made a payment.
Unofficial websites on Google ads
A member of the public approached Which? after inadvertently paying a company that appeared as 'Ulezpayservice' on their bank statement, rather than the official TfL website.
They were driving in Stanmore, London, in July and saw a sign that stated they were entering a ULEZ zone. They went online to pay the charge but later realised that the expansion is not due to come into effect until 29 August.
They had clicked on an advert on Google that they assumed took them to an official website to pay the ULEZ charge.
After filling in their personal and financial details, they discovered that "Ulezpayservice" had taken £17.50. Their bank later informed them that this retailer had set up a continuous payment authority (allowing them to take recurring payments) that has since been cancelled.
Examples of dodgy ULEZ payment sites
We're concerned about the number of dodgy websites taking out adverts on Google, which appear at the top of results when people attempt to pay for parking or the ULEZ charge.This week, we found Google adverts for two identical websites – 'ulez.emission[dot]london' and 'emissioncharge[dot]london' – when we searched for 'pay for ulez' or simply 'ulez'.
These adverts are shown above the official TfL website, as you can see from the image below. Both adverts have been reported to Google.
We quickly discovered other identical websites that appear to be intentionally deceiving the public including 'emissioncharge[dot]uk' and 'ulezpayservice[dot]uk', both of which refer to themselves "Ulezpayservice" on the payment webpage.
These websites have very negative reviews on Trustpilot, many of which suggest it does not pass on payments to TfL.
At no point in the payment journey is there mention of authorising a recurring payment, and it's only when you check the terms and conditions that you are told: 'A £5.00 service charge is added to the relevant charge processed to Transport for London (TfL) on behalf of our customers. Please note that this website is not TfL or any affiliated service supplier of TfL or The Mayor of London.'
We flagged these ads to Google, and it confirmed it has taken action. It said it has strict policies that govern the types of ads and advertisers on its platforms, and any ads found to be in violation of these policies are removed.
TfL said: 'Payments for our road user charging schemes should only be made through the official TfL website. Unfortunately, internet search engines don’t always suggest the official TfL webpage at the top of their search results.
'This means that people may be offered a link to an unofficial payment site, which can often overcharge. We are sorry to hear of any customers that may have been caught out in this way.'
ULEZ payment website denies setting up recurring payments
Which? put our concerns to the company running these sites using the contact details listed on each site.
It denied setting up recurring payments, telling us 'all payments are one-off and are made via our payment provider Stripe'.
It said that when customers place an order online they are required to provide their registration details and travel dates, and agree to a disclaimer which confirms that they are paying a third party.
What to do it you pay on an unofficial site
If you accidentally share your card details with a third party operating an unofficial website to pay the ULEZ charge, contact your bank immediately to ensure that it blocks any recurring payments.
In cases where the payment has already left your account, ask your card provider for a full refund.
Credit card payments have strong legal protection under Section 75 for breach of contract, but banks can also use chargeback to reverse payments if you used a debit card or prepaid card.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/ulez-scams-drivers-targeted-by-dodgy-websites-when-paying-charges-ayYsE3A2kKd3