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Road pricing: drivers will get refunds for delays

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The government introduced road pricing in the Budget last month. Drivers of EVs will now have to pay extra money for every mile driven.


However, like the refunds for delayed train journeys, drivers will be able to claim for a refund if their trip is delayed by roadworks, accidents, bad weather, or acts of God.  And learner drivers will also be able to claim back up to 10,000 miles of practice driving, but only for the 12 months before they passed their practical test.


Drivers will not get a refund for claiming that the government wrongly advised them to buy a diesel car, on the basis of low emissions.  Nor can they get a refund if they bought an electric car based on wildly optimistic estimates of the cost of charging it or fictionalised estimates of how far you can drive on a full battery.  And let’s not even start on the problems with hybrid cars.  Suffice to say, you only bought the damn thing to avoid the congestion charge, so if you now pay twice, through fuel duty AND the mileage charge, well, that’s just karma.  So tough luck, clever clogs.


An HMRC spokesman said, ‘Although we sort of need the money (according to Rachel), the government has agreed to have a level playing field between cars and trains.  As you can get a refund for train delays, the government has agreed that you can also get a refund for car delays.  As with the trains, you can get a full refund if your car journey was delayed by two hours or more.


‘To claim, you will simply need to provide your government-approved GPS tracker data to confirm that you were stuck on the road for the whole time, with no stops for coffee, meals, or anything else.  That data, plus the details on the accompanying 36-page form, will guarantee you a full refund within 6–9 months.’



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