A warning has been issued about unofficial payment websites encouraging people to pay a penalty charge notice or Clean Air Zone charge when they do not have to.
Bath & North East Somerset Council says it is receiving regular reports regarding the rise of a number of unofficial third-party payment websites purporting to be local authority or government payment sites, some of which use unsolicited text messages or phone calls to claim drivers need to pay a charge.
The sites typically lead drivers to pay a penalty charge notice (PCN) or CAZ charge they did not incur, or charge them more than the standard CAZ charge.
The websites can also lead owners of non-compliant vehicles to receive a PCN after making a CAZ payment, as the unofficial sites fail to pay the daily charge on the motorist’s behalf.
The sites often appear as the top results on search engines and lead people to those instead of official government or council payment websites.
Motorists should only use sites or apps that they are directed to from the council website or on official app stores, not ones found via search engines.
The council will never contact people by text message to inform them of a PCN, which are always either fixed to the vehicle or sent by post using keeper details held by the DVLA.
The official council webpage to pay fines can be found here.
The government’s Clean Air Zones website is the only one which can check if vehicles are compliant and collect payment if required.
Drivers are encouraged to check when paying a CAZ daily charge that it is either £9 or £100, depending on vehicle type. Any other amount indicates that they are using an unofficial website.
People should report misleading and fraudulent Government-style websites to the National Cyber Security Centre.
Suspicious emails can be forwarded to [email protected] and texts can be forwarded to 7726.
Anyone who thinks they have been a victim of fraud should report it to the police via Action Fraud.
Councillor Mark Elliott, cabinet member for Resources, said: “Scammers are sophisticated and can pay for a fake or unofficial payment website to appear as the top result on search engines, leading people to believe it is the official site and make a transaction.
“Often these sites target people with phishing emails and texts. In the case of unofficial CAZ payment sites, they neither check if a vehicle is compliant and therefore subject to the daily charge, nor make the payment on the motorist’s behalf if a payment is required. This can result in a penalty charge notice being issued.
“In general, it’s best to search on gov.uk for any government service you need to use, or on the ‘Pay for it’ section of our website, instead of trying to find it via a search engine.
“If you need to check whether your vehicle is compliant with Bath’s Clean Air Zone or pay a charge, always use the government site via its URL www.gov.uk/clean-air-zones.”
Bath’s Clean Air Zone charges do not apply to private cars or motorcycles, only to older vehicles such as taxis, minibuses, vans and HGVs which do not meet Euro 6 diesel or Euro 4+ petrol emissions standards.
