A PENALTY charge order which a Barnes man claims was issued to him incorrectly has ended up costing him over £500. Chris Phipps, of Westfield Avenue, went to the newsagents in August last year to buy a paper and his congestion charge ticket.

He then received a charge order from Transport for London (TfL) dated two days later for £40, he checked the receipt and realised the newsagent had entered the letter O instead of a zero for one of the digits on his number plate.

After sending the company proof of his ticket, he received an increased fine of £80 and another a month later for £125.

Mr Phipps says he has responded to all correspondence in a timely manner and received a letter from a county court claiming that the order for recovery of the unpaid penalty charge should be revoked.

So he was left reeling this week as he walked home and witnessed a crane taking his car away. He managed to speak to the bailiffs, but they would only release the car on receipt of £584.28. He said: "TfL are arrogant. They have completely ignored me. I don't know how they can treat people like this. I'm still shaking after what happened today. If I had a problem with my ticker if could have put me in hospital.

"I have had seven months of correspondence and threats. I got no notice the bailiffs would be calling. I've had to pay £584.28 because Ken Livingstone doesn't know the difference between a zero and a O or the system they use couldn't pick it up." A spokesperson for Transport for London said: "We are looking into this case and we will be contacting Mr Phipps by early next week."