A couple from Bueu, in Pontevedra, has accumulated six fines for the Low Emission Zone in Barcelona for a car that they claim has never left Galicia. The sanctions were due to a misreading of the license plate.
The Low Emission Zone (LEZ) of Barcelona has sent six fines to a car that, according to its owners, never leaves the province of Pontevedra. The first arrived in September 2024, and since then, sanctions of 200 euros each have accumulated, totalling 1,200 euros.
The affected individuals are Carmen and José, a 78-year-old couple residing in Bueu. The vehicle is an Audi A4 over two decades old that they use only for getting around the village. Three of the fines occurred on Travessera de les Corts, two on Avenida de Madrid, and one on Avenida Paral·lel.
“We are desperate,” says José.
After receiving the first fines, the couple appealed them with the help of a local management agency. According to Francisco José Domínguez, the case manager, the key lies in the image accompanying the fine, which shows what could be a tractor or a trailer with part of the license plate obscured. The visual difference between tractor and car license plates is minimal, as it only involves the blue band with the European Union flag.
The Barcelona City Council withdrew the first three fines after the appeals, but this year three more have arrived, which were also annulled afterwards. The management agency rules out identity theft and attributes the error to a municipal mistake. Nevertheless, those responsible are surprised that the fines continued to arrive without the source of the problem being identified.
From the council, the official explanation points to a “specific error in the reading of the license plate”. They detailed that the cameras capture vehicles that violate the LEZ regulations and send the images to the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB). If the vehicle does not have authorization or a recognized exception, the case goes to the Municipal Tax Institute, which processes the fine and notifies the owner without further checks.
For the couple, uncertainty continues. They do not know if the situation will repeat itself in the coming months, and they wonder who the real offender is that drives with a license plate similar to theirs. Meanwhile, the appeal processes have cost them 150 euros in management fees, a compensation request that was rejected.
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