A driver has been left furious after she was given a ULEZ fine – despite not even being in the car at the time. The woman, named Louise, was shocked when she received a letter last Tuesday ordering her to pay a £12.50 charge on her Kia, after she had sold it 10 days earlier.

She was even more stunned when she saw the accompanying picture, which showed her car on the back of a transporter lorry on the way to auction in Enfield, north London.

But despite her appeal, TfL said she was still liable for the fine because she had not removed the Kia from her auto-pay account at the time it was caught on camera.

It was not the first time she had been on the receiving end of a ULEZ blunder, having successfully appealed a previous charge because a ULEZ camera confused the ‘C’ on someone else’s number plate with the ‘G’ on hers.

In its letter to Louise, TfL said: “We’re unable to make an adjustment/give you a refund as we have reviewed the vehicle image and believe that the charge has been raised correctly.”

After failing to appeal, she then went to MailOnline’s personal finance expert Jeff Prestridge who said he had raised it with TfL.

In a column for the paper, he said: “What utter tosh. We already know that the ULEZ scheme is unfair, widely disliked and a tax on many hard-working people.

“What Louise’s experience highlights is that the scheme is operated by people whose sole duty is to raise as much revenue as possible for TfL. Common sense just doesn’t get a look in.

“If you have done the same as Louise and jettisoned your non-compliant ULEZ car in favour of one that gets Mr Khan’s seal of approval, don’t forget to remove your old motor from TfL’s auto-pay service.

“I have taken up Louise’s case with TfL and will report back when I get a response. Hopefully, TfL will see the madness of its ways and refund Louise the money it had no right to take from her.”