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I am a cancer patient receiving treatment at King’s College Hospital Trust. I regularly attend hospital in the Transport for London (TfL) Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) area.
The only way I can claim the charges paid for my non-compliant car is through the hospital.
Every month I send the relevant documentation to King’s. It worked well until TfL payments stopped in April. I am owed around £530 and wonder if others are owed too. Can you help?
RC, Westerham, Kent
Added stress: TFL has stopped reimbursing cancer patient’s Ulez fees for trips to hospital for treatment
Sally Hamilton responds: He told me that once or twice a week he attends the outposts of King’s College Hospital about 11 miles from where he lives because he has been suffering from Crohn’s disease for a long time and since 2016 he has also been treated for blood cancer.
It makes your life easier to drive to your appointments and because you are registered as disabled and have a blue plate for your car, which means you can park for free.
But it’s not so simple for Ulez, the scheme designed to clean up London’s air quality, which was expanded to include its London area last August.
As your car does not meet the low emissions standards required to enter the zone for free, you must pay the £12.50 charge for each day you attend hospital and then claim it under a special reimbursement scheme through the hospital.
Because you don’t want to worry about forgetting to pay and risk fines, you opened an Ulez auto-pay account. This may have reduced the hassle of making payments, but processing refunds is more complicated if regular forms have to be filled out.
Everything went smoothly for many months, but starting in April they hit a few bumps in the road when no more refunds arrived.
Despite the best efforts of his contact there to resolve the matter with TfL, refunds did not occur. TfL refused to discuss the matter directly with you, so you came to me.
Following my intervention, I am pleased to inform you that within a few days checks from TfL covering delayed refunds started arriving at your home.
A TfL spokesperson says: ‘We are very sorry for the difficulties RC has experienced using the NHS Ulez chargeback scheme and any distress caused.
“We have returned the funds and are in contact with King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to assist them with the claims process to ensure claims are submitted correctly.”
I asked King’s what had gone wrong and whether others had been affected, as you suspected.
A spokesperson says: ‘We have continued to submit monthly claims to TfL for patients eligible for Ulez reimbursement.
However, since spring 2024, we have had difficulty processing some claims.
We have raised this with TfL’s complaints team.’ He added that his records show that all outstanding claims have been processed by TfL, including his own.
Patients eligible to claim Ulez costs (and/or the £15 congestion charge, if applicable) can get their money back by applying through the individual hospital or NHS Trust.
To be eligible they must be too weak or disabled to travel on public transport and suffer from other problems, such as needing regular therapy. Eligibility is evaluated by the hospital. More details at tfl.gov.uk/tfl-nhs-patient-reimbursement-charge-leaflet.pdf
Fortnum & Mason hinders headache
I am extremely disappointed in Fortnum & Mason’s customer service after recently ordering a custom made hamper from them as a gift for my husband.
I ordered a build-your-own basket, which not only arrived late but turned out to be someone else’s.
F&M want me to repackage it so they can come pick it up and then examine it before refunding me. Pure audacity! Please can you take a look?
EM, Cupar, Fife
Sally Hamilton responds: A Fortnum & Mason basket is considered one of the most unique of treats, as its distinctive wicker work with its stamped initial is almost as important to the recipient as the contents of the basket. It is the epitome of class and top-notch service.
It is a shame that you did not live up to this image in addressing your case.
You spent £157.60 on a hamper and chose to fill it with chocolates, chutneys, mustard, biscuits, jams and hot chocolate among other treats.
But the one he received contained a Winnie the Pooh teddy bear, a cup, tea, jam and biscuits. It might have charmed a little Pooh fan, but it made you feel extremely Eeyore.
His pessimism only grew after making several attempts to figure things out. Fortnum’s online chat service got you going. Simple questions were not addressed.
As an example, you asked: ‘Please let me know when you will deliver my basket and pick this one up.
If you cannot do this immediately, please refund my payment. The chat service responded: ‘Some fresh products (mainly meat products) are not eligible for the personalized basket service. Most other fresh items are eligible… Was this helpful in answering your query? Ehh, ‘no’.
Finally, the ‘argument’ ended when he was told to pack the basket and wait for a courier to pick it up. You thought this treatment was wrong. Me too…
I’m pleased to report that customer service quickly contacted you and insisted that you keep the misdirected hamper, with a replacement for the original on the way.
You were delighted and plan to donate the Winnie the Pooh basket to your church’s Christmas bazaar.
An F&M spokesperson said: ‘We strive to provide exceptional service, but it is clear that we have fallen short on this occasion. “We have contacted EM to offer our sincerest apologies and the issue has now been resolved.”
- Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk; include the phone number, address, and a note addressed to the offending organization giving them permission to speak. to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot be responsible for them. The Daily Mail cannot accept any legal responsibility for the responses given.
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