Tradesman scraps van under ULEZ and misses out on £2,000

Anthony Fionda with his new ULEZ-compliant van (Image: SWNS) 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. Anthony Fionda with his new ULEZ-compliant van (Image: SWNS) ‘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. The ULEZ scheme is being expanded (Image: Getty) 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. For the latest personal finance news, follow us on Twitter at @ExpressMoney_.