Signs, boundaries and "I didn't know I was in the zone"

"I didn't see the signs" is the most common reason people give, and on its own it almost never succeeds: councils and TfL say so in writing. But boundary questions are different. If the camera record shows you on a road that is outside the zone, no charge was payable at all.

What authorities say they do not accept

• TfL: forgetting to pay without mitigation, not knowing how to pay, getting lost, not knowing about the ULEZ, disagreeing with it.
• Newcastle and Gateshead: sat nav sent you in, only in the zone for seconds, visiting an address in the zone, got lost, did not see the signs.
• Birmingham: no notification is sent; knowing whether you are chargeable is the driver's responsibility.

Boundary roads that are outside the zone

• Birmingham: the A4540 Middleway ring road is not in the zone.
• Edinburgh: the boundary roads (including Queen Street, Holyrood Road, the Pleasance) are outside the zone.
• Glasgow: the M8 is not in the zone.
• London ULEZ: the M25 itself is not in the zone.
• Bradford is the opposite: its outer ring road is inside the zone.

Making a boundary challenge

Ask to see the camera images and the camera location. If they show you on an excluded road or outside the boundary, say no charge was payable (England, London) or the contravention did not occur (Scotland). If the signs at that point were missing or obscured, photograph them as soon as you can and say so; outside London that can be a compelling reason.

Not a road user charge? Council parking, bus lane and moving traffic PCNs are covered at councilfinecheck.co.uk, and private car park charges at carparkcheck.co.uk.