I’m a cancer patient being treated by the King’s College Hospital Trust. I regularly attend hospital in the Transport for London (TfL) Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) area.
The only way that I can reclaim the charges paid for my non-compliant car are through the hospital.
Each month I send off the relevant paperwork to King’s. It worked fine until the TfL repayments stopped in April. I am owed about £530, and I wonder if others are, too. Can you help?
R.C., Westerham, Kent
Sally Hamilton replies: You told me that once or twice a week you attend outposts of King’s College Hospital about 11 miles from where you live because you are a long-term sufferer of Crohn’s disease and since 2016 have also been treated for blood cancer.
It makes life easier to drive to your appointments and because you are registered disabled and have a blue badge for your car, which means you can park for free.
But it is not as straightforward for Ulez, the scheme designed to clean up London’s air quality, which was expanded to include your area of London last August.
Since your car does not comply with the low-emission standards required to enter the zone for free, you must pay the £12.50 charge for each day you attend hospital, then reclaim it under a special reimbursement scheme via the hospital.
Since you don’t want to worry about forgetting to pay and risk penalties, you opened a Ulez auto pay account. This may have reduced the hassle for making payments, but getting reimbursements processed is more of a faff with regular forms to complete.
It all ran smoothly for many months, then hit some bumps in the road from April when no further refunds arrived.
Despite the best efforts of your contact there to solve the matter with TfL, the repayments still did not turn up. TfL refused to discuss the matter with you directly, so you came to me.
Following my intervention, I’m pleased to say that, within a few days, cheques started to arrive at your home from TfL covering the delayed refunds.
A TfL spokesman says: ‘We are very sorry for the difficulties R.C. has experienced using the NHS Ulez charge reimbursement scheme and any distress caused.
'We have returned the funds to him and are in contact with King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to help them with the process for refund requests to ensure claims are properly submitted.’
I asked King’s what had gone wrong and whether others had been affected, as you suspected.
A spokesman says: ‘We have continued to submit monthly claims to TfL for patients eligible for Ulez reimbursement.
However, since spring 2024, we have experienced difficulty in getting some claims processed.
We have raised this with the TfL complaints team.’ She added that its records show that all outstanding claims have now been processed by TfL, including yours.
Patients entitled to reclaim Ulez costs – and/or the £15 congestion charge, if relevant – can get their money back by applying via the particular hospital or NHS Trust.
To be eligible they must be too weak or disabled to travel by public transport and suffer other issues, such as needing regular therapy. Eligibility is assessed by the hospital. More details at tfl.gov.uk/tfl-nhs-patient-reimbursement-charge-leaflet.pdf
Fortnum & Mason hamper headache
I’m extremely disappointed with Fortnum & Mason customer services after ordering a bespoke hamper from them recently as a gift for my husband.
I ordered a build-your-own hamper, which not only arrived late but turned out to be someone else’s.
F&M want me to pack it up again so they can come and pick it up and then examine it before refunding me. The sheer audacity! Please can you take a look.
E.M., Cupar, Fife
Sally Hamilton replies: A Fortnum & Mason hamper is considered among the most exclusive treats with its distinctive initial-stamped wicker work almost as important to the recipient as the basket’s contents. It is the epitome of class and top-notch service.
Shame it didn’t live up to this image in dealing with 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 delights.
But the one you received contained a Winnie the Pooh teddy bear, a mug, tea, jam and biscuits. It might have delighted a small Pooh fan, but it left you feeling Eeyore-ish in the extreme.
Your pessimism only grew after making several attempts to get things resolved. Fortnum’s online chat service put you in spin. Simple questions were not addressed.
As an example, you asked: ‘Please advise when you will deliver my hamper and collect this one.
If you can’t do this immediately, please refund my payment.’ The chat service responded: ‘Some fresh items (mainly meat products) are not eligible for the bespoke hamper service. Most other fresh items are eligible...Was that helpful in answering your query?’ Er, ‘no’.
Eventually, the ‘discussion’ ended with you being told to pack the hamper and wait in for a courier to collect it. You thought this treatment shabby. So did I...
I’m pleased to say customer services were swiftly in touch with you and insisted you keep the misdirected hamper – with a replacement for the original on its way.
You were delighted and plan to donate the Winnie the Pooh hamper to your church’s Christmas bazaar.
A F&M spokesman says: ‘We strive to provide exceptional service but it is clear we fell short of the mark on this occasion. We have been in contact with E.M. to offer our sincere 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 [email protected] — include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.
