Congestion Charge :(

Shafted_2

My wife and I took our son to UCL last week.

We've just received 2 penalty charges for not paying the congestion charge.

We knew nothing about this and there were no signs about it anywhere. I wouldn't have a clue where to pay a congestion charge.

I paid on street parking charges when I parked before 6pm (daylight robbery 40p for 5 mins) and then moved to a car park before 8am the following morning. The streets mentioned, one I stopped for a minute to ask where I could park, the other I didn't park or stop on at all.

What can I do?

dacouch

Did you not notice the signs about the congestion charge on the trunk roads / motorways before you enter London or the signs on the streets as you enter them and the painted "C" on the road?

Shafted_2

Saw a sign on the Motorway, but it didn't say how much or how to pay, just a sign. I couldn't have done anything about it anyway, as there was no turnoff after the sign. I thought it was just for peak hours, when they were talking about it in Manchester I thought it was just peak commuter time.

How are you supposed to 1.know and 2.pay.

After doing some searching, I've now found out it's £8 a day, if they'd have sent me a bill I'd pay it, if there'd been a toll booth I'd pay (I already did on the M6 toll) but they've sent me a Penalty notice for 2 days for £120.00. There's absolutely no way I can afford it. I really don't see how it can be legal.

Pssst

I have some sympathy with the OP.

I dont live anywhere near London. I have visited but not in my car.

Having said that, I am aware that there is congestion charging. Thats why i train it and use the tube.

If i did have need to drive, i would do my homework before leaving home so that i knoew how to pay.

Perhaps OP expected some kind of payment machine/toll bar?

I expect its a bit like a new visitor somehow being expected to know how Oyster cards work.

In the end,if your not sure,you have to do your homework before departure.

The_Banker_5

Shafted wrote: »

After doing some searching, I've now found out it's £8 a day, if they'd have sent me a bill I'd pay it.

But if they did that to everyone that didnt pay then there would be thousands of people who would do the same as you. They would simply forget to pay the congestion charge in the hope that it would be forgotten about and at the end of the day if they knew they were only going to be billed for the charge and not fined then the whole world and his dog would be doing it.

There has to be a fine so it acts as a deterrent to stop people thinking they dont have to pay.

Pleading ignorance is no excuse I am afraid.

Shafted_2

Research where you go ?? I did, I looked it up on Google maps and it gave me directions, I don't check the tax regimes of every country I visit!

When we saw the signs, me and my wife discussed it (very briefly) as driving through London can be an experience as many of the drivers there(esp taxis) are so inconsiderate and drive in such an aggressive manner. We basically said I wonder how it works, there's nowhere to pay (we would expect some kind of meter or booth).

We'd had the same conversation a few months previously when we went through London (similar route) and thought we might get a bill sent. We didn't get anything, so I assumed that the charge was just for peak times, or regular commuters, or commercial traffic etc. I also thought one possibility was that Boris had scrapped it, I thought he'd said he would when he was elected.

I'm not against the principle of congestion charging, but the implementation is ridiculous, there is no adequate signage or instructions and nowhere to pay, if I went tomorrow I still don't know where you can pay!!

I used to be in Local Government and when we introduced disc parking (a free scheme) we had to post notices and everywhere had clear signage and every shop in the area had stocks of the disc and signs explaining how it worked. Whilst in London I went in several places, shops and the like, and never once saw a mention of it. I paid several pounds (£9.80) for two hours parking and there was no mention on any of the meters or street signs in the area. When I was being extorted for parking charges I said it's probably how they get the money for the congestion charging!

I am now being threatened with bailiffs for a penalty charge that I knew nothing about. It's absolutely scandalous!

pelirocco

Shafted wrote: »

Research where you go ?? I did, I looked it up on Google maps and it gave me directions, I don't check the tax regimes of every country I visit!

When we saw the signs, me and my wife discussed it (very briefly) as driving through London can be an experience as many of the drivers there(esp taxis) are so inconsiderate and drive in such an aggressive manner. We basically said I wonder how it works, there's nowhere to pay (we would expect some kind of meter or booth).

We'd had the same conversation a few months previously when we went through London (similar route) and thought we might get a bill sent. We didn't get anything, so I assumed that the charge was just for peak times, or regular commuters, or commercial traffic etc. I also thought one possibility was that Boris had scrapped it, I thought he'd said he would when he was elected.

I'm not against the principle of congestion charging, but the implementation is ridiculous, there is no adequate signage or instructions and nowhere to pay, if I went tomorrow I still don't know where you can pay!!

I used to be in Local Government and when we introduced disc parking (a free scheme) we had to post notices and everywhere had clear signage and every shop in the area had stocks of the disc and signs explaining how it worked. Whilst in London I went in several places, shops and the like, and never once saw a mention of it. I paid several pounds (£9.80) for two hours parking and there was no mention on any of the meters or street signs in the area. When I was being extorted for parking charges I said it's probably how they get the money for the congestion charging!

I am now being threatened with bailiffs for a penalty charge that I knew nothing about. It's absolutely scandalous!

But you did know there was a charge , you just chose not to find out how to pay it . FYI you can pay online or over the phone , and in some shops ( I believe ) , you can pay in advance and you can pay the next day but the charge is £10 , weekends are free

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/congestioncharging/ ,,,,,,,,,,,,,you can also pay your fine there , i suggest you do it now , the baliffs fees are steep

DrScotsman

Shafted wrote: »

I'm not against the principle of congestion charging, but the implementation is ridiculous, there is no adequate signage or instructions and nowhere to pay, if I went tomorrow I still don't know where you can pay!!

There is 10 hours 10 minutes between your two posts. Even if you exclude sleep that is DEFINITELY enough time to have now learned the congestion charge.

1. Do the obvious thing, Google "London congestion charge"
2. The first link is transport for London, click that
3. Look around the page, notice "Where and when" and then click on that
   Now you know where you get charged and what times (07:00 and 18:00, Monday to Friday)
4. Back one page, notice "How to pay" and click on it.

Now you know everything you need to know, and it takes less than 2 minutes!
(And seriously, I've seen MANY Post Offices outside of London saying you can pay the congestion charge there, how can you not know?)

I have some sympathy for you not knowing before hand, but the fact you still haven't done your research just shows laziness.

Now as for "no signs", one of two things has happened. Either there are entrances to the congestion charging zone without signs, in which it's TfL's fault, in which case I'd crank out Google Streetview and start taking screenshots of the route you took. Or you missed a HUGE red "C", in which case it's your fault. See Road Signs, the signs that you see when you're entering the zone clearly say congestion charging.

I paid on street parking charges when I parked before 6pm (daylight robbery 40p for 5 mins) and then moved to a car park before 8am the following morning.

This post makes me think you're the kind of person who doesn't plan anything road-related and decides that no matter what happens, you WILL park there, and as close as possible. My dad is like that, he's parked in staff car parks, got parking tickets all over Europe, will always pay [strike]extortionate[/strike] high (but fair - it is the centre of town) Pay & Display to save some walking, and will call expensive 0870 numbers from his mobile when he discovers the road name doesn't exist in the Sat Nav when he could have just checked it before hand (cheers Cadbury World). What I'm trying to say is don't call it a daylight robbery when you didn't even try to find cheap parking beforehand.

Although I do realise you would want to get as close as possible to help your son unpack is belongings.

adouglasmhor

I haven't been to London in 12 years and I knew there is a congestion charge and I know if I drive in London I have to pay it. It's been on the news, in papers and on radio and telly programmes. I think you just couldn't be bothered and are now shimfing because you got caught.

ginnersinner

I have to agree with Dr Scotsman. It's clear that the OP knew of the congestion charge, but didn't bother his ar*e to spend 5 mins on-line finding out about where it is in force, when, and how to pay.

simmo66

:cool: i'm afraid you will have to pay up my hubby went through the congestion charge zone at 5.59 on two consecutive days we came back from holiday to two £60 fines, we appealed we were told to pay or both fines would increase to £120 EACH:eek: and if we did not pay that then they would increase to £180:eek: EACH, so we tightened our belts and paid out £120
i know it's a pain we have lived in london all our life and we still get caught out