Belgium authorities investigate London Ulez fines hitting EU citizens in wake of Brexit

Belgian authorities are investigating allegations thousands of fines could have been sent unlawfully to drivers for breaches of London’s ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez).

The Belgian ministry of transport has ordered the investigation into alleged criminal breaches of data rules after EU citizens were issued with penalty charge notices - many totalling thousands of pounds - from a collections agent acting for Transport for London (TfL) in the wake of Brexit.

UK authorities have not had access to the personal data of EU citizens for non-criminal enforcement since Brexit, yet motorists in multiple EU countries have been hit with fines for not registering their Ulez-compliant cars with TfL before driving into London.

Others have been incorrectly penalised under the separate low emissions zone (Lez), which covers heavy goods vehicles entering Greater London, with one driver hit by a fine of almost £11,000 following a three-day trip in a hire car.

Accusations of abuse of legal powers have been made against a Belgian court bailiff, acting for TfL’s collections agent Euro Parking Collection. It is alleged these were used to get over 20,000 registered keeper details and pass them on to Euro Parking to then be used in UK enforcement. The bailiff has since been suspended from accessing the vehicle licensing database as disciplinry proceedings take place.

Belgian MPs are calling for the government to recover money paid by the motorists. Among them is Michael Freilich, who uncovered the alleged data abuse. He is accusing Euro Parking of dodging GDPR rules, claiming they use EU-based agents to get driver data on their behalf without revealing it will then be shared with a UK company.

“EPC should cease these operations immediately, if necessary, by government action,” he told the Guardian. “Furthermore, they should be compelled to repay all of the ill-gotten gains.”

It comes after the Dutch vehicle licensing agency, RDW, said in June that it is investigating following complaints from motorists who had been hit by huge fines after visiting London in emissions-compliant cars. It added there is no data-sharing agreement between the UK and the Netherlands for Ulez enforcement.

A spokesperson told the Guardian: “We have indicated to EPC that there is no legal basis to request information from our register under this purpose limitation.”

Commenting on behalf of Euro Parking, TfL said it is the decision of each vehicle licensing authorities whether they release keeper details providing they are satisfied with the reason behind the request.

TfL told The Independent: “Any company working on our behalf is contractually required to ensure that data is processed in line with the relevant data protection legislation and no Belgian driver data has been shared with us or EPC since the ruling by the Belgian National Chamber of Judicial Officers came into effect.”

The Independent has contacted the Belgian ministry of transport and RDW for comment.