congestion charge debts - please help!!

aliyah

hi all, wondering if anybody has had any experience of either appealling against a congestion charge fine or...what consequences were suffered from non-payment?

basically i have 5 unpaid charges dating back just over a year. one of my sons had a major operation in london (over 100 miles from home) and we frequently had to rush back to hospital at short notice for emergency follow up surgery.

on 3 of these occasions i was in such a state that i totally and honestly forgot to pay the charge.( i normally paid it online before leaving )

these involved an overnight stay and i forgot to pay twice on the day after also.

i appealled against the first within the time limit, explaining and prooving the difficult circumstances. this was turned down and i now regret that although i intended to, life took over and i forgot about taking the appeal further.

i admit i started getting confused and didnt realise that i had earnt 5 charges. i subsequently received an exemption permit because of my disabled son.

i have recently written to congestion charging showing that i now have an exemption and that i am struggling financially and as the charges now top 900 pounds :eek: , this will cause immense stress.

i explained again the circumstances behind the charges. they have written a very cold letter back saying too late, bailiffs will contact you shortly.

any know of any grounds that i can insist they look at my claim again?

sorry to rattle on so much but this is getting very worrying

thanks, aliyah

bonnie_2

i do feel for you hun, i have the same problem with my disabled daughter i hate paying it but i do, she dosent get mobility only high rate care so i cant get exempt.
she had an operation at uch last week and it cost me £14 to park and £8 congestion charge plus with brekkie and lunch it come to £30.
i must go to london at least twice a month.
i dont think you shoud have to pay congestion charge, for hospital treatment. but really dont think you stand much chance of not paying the fines.
have you tried the mp or someone at the hospital.

tipsychick

Try getting your son's consultant to write a letter explaining that he/she supports you because of the exceptional circumstances and the aftermath of such.

Ken Livingstone and the Congestion charge lot are a bunch of heartless b**tards though...

Hope it works!

nearlyrich

I hope you get it reduced, I live in Lancashire and I was in London on business, I didn't know you pay double after 10pm, robbing so and so's.

beeniemac

!!!!!!? Pay double when there is next to no public transport availible? That makes loads of sense

crystal_clear

nearlyrich wrote:

I hope you get it reduced, I live in Lancashire and I was in London on business, I didn't know you pay double after 10pm, robbing so and so's.

Not to question this but why the heck would they be allowed to charge double after 10pm. its not like it is so congested at that time of day to invoke such a ridiculious charge. Lord knows even pay and display machines allow reductions for evening charges.

:eek: Glad I no longer live in or around London phewwwwwwww!!!!

inmypocketnottheirs

crystal_clear wrote:

Not to question this but why the heck would they be allowed to charge double after 10pm. its not like it is so congested at that time of day to invoke such a ridiculious charge. Lord knows even pay and display machines allow reductions for evening charges.

:eek: Glad I no longer live in or around London phewwwwwwww!!!!

They don't charge double to drive round after 10 p.m. You can enter the charging zone, say at 9 a.m. and you have up to 10 p.m. on the same day to pay the charge. You get charged double if you pay after 10 p.m.

My sympathies to the OP. Worth as suggested above getting a letterr from the specialist and writing again to TFL and asking for the charge to be reviewed. If you keep a copy of all your correspondence it will make the courts see your side and maybe a bit more sympathetic should it go that far. Under the new civil procedure rules, the people pursuing the action must appear to have tried to come to a settlement before taking legal action.

If, thereforeyou have written copious letters explaining your situation, then I am sure a judge would look favourably.

All the very best of luck.

tango

hi ,just a quick note i forgot to pay yesterday but remembered at 11'oclock i was charged a tenner
i managed to get a reduction from £100 to £50, when i had a penalty charge, but this was their error, they were hard work though even then :rolleyes:

Somerset

You have to pay on the day.
Before 10pm it's £ 8, after 10pm it's £ 10
next day is too late ie after midnight so they hit you with £ 50

This is all recent personal experience grrrrrrrrr

Thefunkygibbons

In the same way that bank penalties are dis-proportionate, surely the charges on these are as well?

I would pay the original amounts but not the add ons and use the advice on here to get support from MP, press etc

aliyah

thanks everyone who has posted so far.

glad to know i am not the only person angry with this system (and confused too!)

the debt was referred to the northampton transport court(?) but i have not heard from them about this, just congestion charge offices. I will definately send copies of my previous letters and a consultants letter (thanks for that tip tipsychick) and see if that will help.

worried about the bailiffs now.things had gone very quiet, because i wrote a couple of letters to the congestion charge people recently, i seemed to have kickstarted the process again - and they have informed the bailiffs.

i have a motability vehicle in my name for my son - can they take this in lieu of payment?

please keep posting...it really helps.

aliyah