Congestion Charge PCN - SCAM!

[ukpartydj]

Last weekend I was travelling to Central London (non-work related) having only ever been to Central London a handful of times and always at night I was well aware this would be my first journey which would incur the Congestion Charge.
A quick look at the Congestion Charging website and I see I can easily pay the congestion charge online - no problems.

I go into london see the sign saying "this is congestion charging area" all good and I think to myself - They've got cameras to detect number plates they must send you the bill or something as they obviously have access to your address through the DVLA.

Think nothing of it (waiting for an invoice to come through) and 5 days later I get a Penalty Charge Notice for failure to Pay the Congestion Charge!!!??

They haven't told me how to pay (no signs), haven't said I cannot enter the area without paying and haven't given me an opportunity to pay the £10 charge.

How on earth can they get away with charging £130 (£65 if paid early) when there is absolutely no information on the homepage of their website or on the signage entering the CC area suggesting how or when it should be done???

Apparently you're supposed to pay in advance or at the very latest the next day (which costs £2 more) - how on earth am I supposed to know that???

FUMING!!

I've appealed but apparently "not knowing how or when to pay" is not a valid reason. Absolute idiots - watch out for these money grabbing thieves if you ever need to drive into london.

[Dynamic Entertainment]

I dont see how you have had an issue. Ive just been on their website (after never using it before) and managed to find my way to the bit where I can "pay for today", "pay for yesterday", "pay for tomorrow" or "pay for another date or range of dates".

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

No excuse. You should have Googled the information - there's plenty of it out there....

1st organic listing http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/congestioncharging/

It tells you the charging zone and let's you check, the times, when you have to pay and how.

[Ryu]

Yeah I think that's what they call an epic fail on your part. Retrospective charging makes no sense... There is endless info on this and the info is always the same... You pay it up front. Can't rub it in too much, I made a similar oversight with parking in London at Christmas... It's an expensive lesson to learn... But I'll bet you don't do it again.

[BeerFunk]

That does seem a little unfair, but then, I'm not sure how else they could have warned you. I might have been caught out myself by that, I must admit. Still, all the info is clearly accessible in the site, so....

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I don't think it's a scam either really...

[ukpartydj]

You don't see it as a Scam? Are you just supposed to know about these things then - because the information isn't on the signs, or on the Congestion Charging Homepage?

I googled congestion charge prior to my journey and I saw the homepage which says "Pay the Congestion Charge" - no warning saying it needs to be paid in advance or within one day.
When you click "Charging Zone - Find out if and when you may need to pay" the only information you find is - "You have to pay an £10 daily Congestion Charge if you drive between 07:00 and 18:00, Monday to Friday in the Congestion Charge zone."

Again it doesn't say you should pay before your journey or within one day.

if you see the signs going into the area they offer very little information on how the charging works -



I'm not from London, I hate the overcrowded city - I was aware of the charge and was not trying to avoid it.
Giving people one day to pay up with no reminder and no indication that it should be paid within one day is appalling.

£1 million is generated from these fines every week, so it's quite obvious that they are trying to make it easy for people to "fail to pay".
Since receiving the fine I've checked the website again and noticed that a subsection of the site says "when to pay" on clicking it will tell you it needs to be in advance, or within one day - this isn't clear enough.

I shouldn't need to learn all about the congestion charge by researching it online, it should be as simple - on signage and they should be sending letters saying - "Sir, we've noticed you haven't paid you're congestion charge yet, please pay within 14 days" before even suggesting that I've failed to pay.

I personally don't think this sort of fine is legal, I get parking tickets often enough and I know I've done wrong.
This however is 100% not my fault!
This isn't ignorance it's Transport for London creating a SCAM!!

[ukpartydj]

Furthermore when you park your car in a parking space the signs say "Pay at the Machine, Display ticket".
On the Machine it sets out the prices and terms of parking.

Why can't The congestion Charge sign say "Pay Online by end of day"

[Shaun]

I agree, it's not clear at all. I'd have been caught out too. It took me a while looking through the site to even find a mention of how much the congestion charge was,never mind how long I'd have to pay it. There really should be indication of when it needs to be paid. Is it to much to ask that the fee and fee due date is stated on the sign? I'd argue bat they have a legal obligation to inform people at the point of access to the zone what the charges are and when they're due.

[Ryu]

Search Google for "Congestion Charge" - First Link TFL.gov page - On front page "When to Pay"....

Hardly a riddle wrapped in an enigma....