Drivers out of pocket due to 'overwhelmed' ULEZ scrappage scheme

Londoners taking advantage of the city's ULEZ scrappage scheme are being held up from getting their cash and deciding whether they'll buy a replacement car, reports suggest.

In August Transport for London (TfL) launched a £160m scrappage scheme to coincide with the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expanding across all London boroughs, to help eligible London residents scrap vehicles that don’t meet the ULEZ emissions standards.

Residents can apply for up to £2,000 for scrapping a car or up to £1,000 for scrapping a motorcycle, which some may decide to put towards buying a ULEZ compliant Euro4 petrol car or Euro6 diesel.

Now it is claimed that the scrappage system is ‘overwhelmed’, with some residents telling the BBC they are struggling to get hold of the Certificate of Destruction required for them to claim the grant, due to vehicle recycling plants being full of vehicles.

It could be frustrating news for used car dealers across London, some of whom have been increasing stocks of affordable ULEZ compliant older used cars to cater for people who've used the scheme.

The BBC reports that some scrappage applicants have been waiting more than six weeks to get their grant.

In response, a spokesperson for TfL said: “We apologise if anyone’s scrappage application is taking too long, and we are working hard to ensure that everyone is responded to as quickly as possible. Ahead of the ULEZ scrappage scheme expanding to all Londoners with a non-compliant car or motorcycle, we increased our resource to deal with the volume of applications. 

“We are aiming to accept or decline scrappage applications within 10 working days. We have a robust process in place to verify the documents we receive as part of our measures to guard against fraud. 

“The application process can take longer if we need to undertake additional verification procedures, such as further checks to the required documents.“