Wanderbirds Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Greetings, Love the Mag but I think the article in the April 2011 edition is potentially very misleading if like me you have a motorhome over 3.5t. Richard Yarrow says "How do you know if your vehicle is already compliant? It's simple; if it is registered as new on or after January 2002, you're good to go. You will be able to drive in the LEZ without taking any action." If you take this advice with a MH over 3.5t registered between 1st Oct 2001 and 1st Oct 2006, like mine this could cost you a £500 fine and £200 per day. Motorhomes over 3.5t already have to meet Euro III emissions (particle matter) and from 3rd Jan 2012 have to meet Euro IV or better i.e registered after 1st Oct 2006. Source off information http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/lez/17700.aspx The article is misleading because it is correct for MH under 3.5t but wrong for those over, whilst giving the impression it applies to both by saying non-compliance charges are £100 per day or £200 for vans over 3.5t without saying the requirements are different. If Richard or any of the editoral staff are out there I would be delighted if you can show me I am wrong. I camped at Abbey Wood last month so had to make sure I could enter the LEZ without charge. Regards, Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Wanderbirds - 2011-03-11 6:37 PM Richard Yarrow says "How do you know if your vehicle is already compliant? It's simple; if it is registered as new on or after January 2002, you're good to go. You will be able to drive in the LEZ without taking any action." Carl Hi Carl Welcome to the mad house! :-D I haven't got my mag yet so haven't had the opportunity to read the article, however from what you say above it appears to be wrong anyway - even if a motorhome is first registered (ie as new) on or after January 2002 it does NOT mean that it is compliant as it could be an older stock vehicle which had just been registered then and may not actually comply. Even now there are motorhomes that have sat around for 2/3 years being sold as 'new' so I'm sure it would have happened then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Mel, all the indication on the LEZ site is that they are taking the registration date as the indicator of compliance, not the actual emissions. I can't remember whether the cut-off date for registration at the previous emissions standard was Jan 2002, but it looks as though they are using that as the date at which all registrations were compliant, and if you have a compliant vehicle before this date, then you will no doubt have to register and prove it. I've only briefly perused the MMM article, but I'm inclined to agree with Carl that it is seriously misleading. His statement about (non-)compliance for >3.5T is correct, and I can vouch through a peculiar anomaly. My previous 'van was 3850kg registered in Sept '05 - Euro III and therefore non-compliant from January next year. It always has been, based on Registration Number search. The registration number was transferred to my new 'van, which is Euro IV (and 3500kg) and therefore fully compliant for the foreseeable future. Check by registration number, however, for the first 6 months of its life, has shown it as non-compliant from next year - none of the details of transfer have been implemented via the DVLA. I've therefore had to notify TFL and copy the V5C to them to have the details changed. I would advise anyone who has transferred registrations to check very carefully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romahomepete Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Easy to check - on the TFL website there is a facility to enter your registration number to find out if you are compliant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderbirds Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 Wanderbirds - 2011-03-11 6:37 PM Greetings, Love the Mag but I think the article in the April 2011 edition is potentially very misleading if like me you have a motorhome over 3.5t. Richard Yarrow says "How do you know if your vehicle is already compliant? It's simple; if it is registered as new on or after January 2002, you're good to go. You will be able to drive in the LEZ without taking any action." If you take this advice with a MH over 3.5t registered between 1st Oct 2001 and 1st Oct 2006, like mine this could cost you a £500 fine and £200 per day. Motorhomes over 3.5t already have to meet Euro III emissions (particle matter) and from 3rd Jan 2012 have to meet Euro IV or better i.e registered after 1st Oct 2006. Source off information http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/lez/17700.aspx The article is misleading because it is correct for MH under 3.5t but wrong for those over, whilst giving the impression it applies to both by saying non-compliance charges are £100 per day or £200 for vans over 3.5t without saying the requirements are different. If Richard or any of the editoral staff are out there I would be delighted if you can show me I am wrong. I camped at Abbey Wood last month so had to make sure I could enter the LEZ without charge. Regards, Carl Daniel (MMM Editor) has kindly replied to an email I sent to say he is re-checking with Transport for London re LEZ and MH over 3500kg. He will post a reply on this Forum when they have clarified the position. Here's hoping I'm just a scare-monger and wrong and I can still visit London. However, at the moment I still stick by what I said in my original post. As to the point made by Romahomepete about checking whether you can enter the LEZ by entering your registration number on their website. There are two pages to check. The first is for entry now and the second to ask whether you comply after 3rd Jan 2012. When I enter my number on the page for entry now it says I'm OK. However, when I do the same for after Jan 2012 I am told I can't without modification. The only hope for Euro III 3.5t plus MH owners is that the LEZ website is giving duff information but we all know that websites always tell the truth don't we! Regards, Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Another good reason not to visit London :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Has everyone noticed that life is getting more and more complicated? We now have the London Congestion Zone, the LEZ, the German Umwelt system, the Austrian motorway vignette and the Swiss motorway vignette. If this carries on, we will soon be unable to see out of the windscreen for stickers :-( God help the unwary traveller, there are many pitfalls out there and it seems to be getting worse :-( Moan over for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderbirds Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 Thanks for the comment Spospe. If you are over 3.5t you need a Go-Box in Austria. Now there's another can of worms to revisit. Don't get me going about the persecution of us "big boys" because life's too short. For the record our van is less than 6.3m long and only weighs 3850kg. Regards, Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel the editor Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I have now received a reply from Transport for London, here is what its spokesman said: "What the article says is correct with regards to motorcaravans whose gross vehicle weight is between 2.5-3.5 tonnes - if one of these vehicles was registered on or after 1 January 2002, it will meet the Euro 3 emissions standards and can be driven within the LEZ without taking any action. However, motorcaravans over 3.5 tonnes will not meet the new standards from 3 January 2012 (Euro IV for PM) if the vehicle is registered as new before 1 October 2006. We would suggest owners of motorhomes visit www.tfl.gov.uk/lexlondon and use the vehicle checker tools to confirm whether or not they will be affected by the changes to LEZ." I am still waiting for clarification from TfL over an issue another reader raised in relation to a personal plate on a 2006 motorhome which came up on the TfL website as non-compliant. As soon as we have an answer to this, we will run it as a letter and I will post on here. Thanks Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_C Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 The LEZ currently requires motorhomes over 3.5T to be Euro III compliant, they will be assumed to be compliant if registered on or after 1/10/2001. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Daniel the editor - 2011-03-22 3:17 PM I am still waiting for clarification from TfL over an issue another reader raised in relation to a personal plate on a 2006 motorhome which came up on the TfL website as non-compliant. As soon as we have an answer to this, we will run it as a letter and I will post on here. Thanks Daniel I suspect that this will be similar to my experience posted above - i.e. that any transfer carried out at the DVLA does not necessarily get assimilated into the TfL system, and the attributes remain that of the previous vehicle that carried the registration. It was reasonably easy to correct, but AFAIK, the TfL system will work on the status they have on their system; it is up to the vehicle owner to check the status, and; if the vehicle is caught by one of the enforcement methods, then regardless of the details being wrong, the penalty must be paid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 This could lead to some quite funny (if it wasn't so serious .moneywise) occurancies: 'we have a photograph to prove that your 1956 Ford Prefect motorhome reg no. SLT 26. which is not compliant with Tfl's Low emission policy, entered the Zone on 22/03/2011.' ps. you now owe us £500. If they can't even be bothered to update their records, WHY should we be giving them any money ?? Ray >:-( pps SLT 26 was the reg. of my dad's first car (Ford Prefect) i have no idea whether the plate now adorns a Motorhome or a Rolls Royce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I've been busy telling all my customers I wont be able to deliver inside the M25 so they will have to arrange delivery, which will be added to the cost of the job :D.....................Expensive place to live.......... London :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art338 Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Our Merc was 3.8t as new but was down graded to 3.5t to cater for my age. I hope their records have been adjusted to suit. art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 art338 - 2011-03-22 9:17 PM Our Merc was 3.8t as new but was down graded to 3.5t to cater for my age. I hope their records have been adjusted to suit. art If it was registered new at this weight, odds are that it will have been recorded correctly. Nonetheless, the potential costs of it being wrong mean it would be sensible to check using your registration number here: https://lowemissionzone.tfl.gov.uk/b/pb/lezComplianceProvideVRM.faces?referrer=lez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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