 A dad-of-two ended up £2,000 in debt after he drove his motorhome through London's low emission zone (LEZ) 'without knowing' he was being charged. Geoffrey Eaton, 53, from Colchester, travelled to the capital on Good Friday earlier this year with his wife Linda, 53, and their two children Adam, 16, and Elizabeth, 13. They planned to visit family for what promised to be a 'relatively cheap' and 'fantastic' day out, but it turned into a 'very nasty surprise'. The self-employed architect received a penalty notice from Transport for London, demanding he pay £2,000 after driving his motorhome five miles in and out of the capital's low emission zone, which extends to the M25 and is different to the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ). Geoffrey made two five-mile journeys within the zone, to and from a campsite in Abbey Wood, for which he was charged £300 each time. But Mr Eaton said he was unaware the zone extended past the capital's North and South Circular roads, and that he did not see any warning signs. Only when he received the penalty notice through the mail a week later on April 18 did he realise his mistake. Geoffrey was left shocked by his whopping LEZ fine (Picture: PA Real Life) By this time the cost of each journey had been hiked up to £1,000 due to late payment for the charges he was not aware of. This then left him no option but to use his credit card and put his summer holiday plans on ice. TfL have since agreed to a 'discretionary refund' of £1,400. He said: 'We haven't been abroad in six years and this two grand fine would have completely scuppered our summer holidays. 'It came at the worst time because our heating and electricity bills have gone up and up, it's crippling us left, right and centre. 'Frankly, I didn't know where I was going to get the money to pay off the bill.' Over the weekend, the Laika Ecovip motorhome, which has a 2.8L engine and falls int){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A dad-of-two ended up £2,000 in debt after he drove his motorhome through London’s low emission zone (LEZ) ‘without knowing’ he was being charged.
Geoffrey Eaton, 53, from Colchester, travelled to the capital on Good Friday earlier this year with his wife Linda, 53, and their two children Adam, 16, and Elizabeth, 13.
They planned to visit family for what promised to be a ‘relatively cheap’ and ‘fantastic’ day out, but it turned into a ‘very nasty surprise’.
The self-employed architect received a penalty notice from Transport for London, demanding he pay £2,000 after driving his motorhome five miles in and out of the capital’s low emission zone, which extends to the M25 and is different to the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ).