Congestion Charge :(

malkie76

There's a massive "C" on the road on every entry point into London. It's a simple matter of sending a text message to pay for the congestion charge. You state you knew there was a charge to be paid - ignorance is NOT an excuse.

Shafted_2

What a group of pontificating self righteous responses.

Lots of assumptions. Most of them totally wrong.

I did not know I had to pay a congestion charge. As I said I thought it was to do with peak time etc. this belief was validated by the fact that I drove through London a few months previously and did not get a bill.

I've visited London several times over the last few years and never seen anything about congestion charges or how to pay. Maybe because I wasn't looking, but if I didn't know about it I wouldn't look would I. When I told my son who has now been down there over a week he didn't know what I was talking about. He has seen or heard nothing about it.

I certainly didn't know I had to pay in advance and I would get a Penalty charge for not doing so or I would have paid it. (expletives self deleted). :mad:

dacouch

If you drove through London previously and did not get charged you must have not entered into the charging zone and / or it was out of the charging time.

If you were not looking you must have missed a lot of signs advising the charging zone was coming up and when you entered into it.

There are lots of place you can pay the charge, newsagents (In and outside of london), the website and post offices etc

FlameCloud

Shafted wrote: »

What a group of pontificating self righteous responses.

Lots of assumptions. Most of them totally wrong.

I did not know I had to pay a congestion charge. As I said I thought it was to do with peak time etc. this belief was validated by the fact that I drove through London a few months previously and did not get a bill.

I've visited London several times over the last few years and never seen anything about congestion charges or how to pay. Maybe because I wasn't looking, but if I didn't know about it I wouldn't look would I. When I told my son who has now been down there over a week he didn't know what I was talking about. He has seen or heard nothing about it.

I certainly didn't know I had to pay in advance and I would get a Penalty charge for not doing so or I would have paid it. (expletives self deleted). :mad:

What a load of rubbish. I live in central London, inside the congestion zone and at some points your view is spoiled by the sheer amount of 'C' signs.

DrScotsman

Shafted wrote: »

I did not know I had to pay a congestion charge. As I said I thought it was to do with peak time etc. this belief was validated by the fact that I drove through London a few months previously and did not get a bill.

Ignoring the fact that you seemed to miss all the signs mentioning the times, your earlier post says that you DID know about the charge on the day ("Saw a sign on the Motorway") - you just assumed it didn't apply to you. Clearly there was no way you could be certain about that, so you could have EASILY avoided all this mess if you just cautiously Googled when you got back, realised your mistake, and then paid the £8 (or £10 for the day after).

Anything wrong with what I said there?

Shafted_2

If truth is rubbish then you have a problem.

What is wrong Dr is that why would I even consider doing that?

If I park somewhere I look for a meter or I pay at the barrier.
If I drive on a toll road I pay at the booth.

I have never come across a system where you don't know how much or what to pay and there is a penalty before you have accepted or refused to pay the bill.

BTW the sign I saw was on the motorway on an elevated section just before the end of the M1. We weren't sure whether it was relevant.

I feel like I've entered a parallel universe where there are people who plan parking before they set off on a journey. Everyone I've mentioned it to up here are shocked at what has happened. Maybe it's a North / South thing.

dacouch

I drove down the M1 into central London last week, there are literally dozens of signs warning that you are approaching the congestion charging zone, there are also plenty of warnings as you drive into an actual charging zone. Being London you are driving at slow speeds so have plenty of time to see and read the signs

cajef

I find it difficult to believe that somebody did not know anything about the congestion charge in London, when it was introduced by Ken Livingstone it was in all the national newspapers and on all the major television news channels.

Since its introduction several years ago I have never had cause to travel into central London but am fully aware of the charge and would make the necessary enquiries about how to pay either on line or by phone if I ever have the need to.

malkie76

Shafted wrote: »

I have never come across a system where you don't know how much or what to pay and there is a penalty before you have accepted or refused to pay the bill.

Then you obviously don't have a TV licence!

Similarly you can physically board a train at many stations without a ticket, yet if you are caught on a train without a ticket you get charged full whack and a fine. You can't fain ignorance and claim that you didn't know you needed a ticket.

It's identical with the congestion charge. You conceed you were fully aware that a congestion charge existed, but you lacked knowledge of the times of the charge and payment methods. The onus is entirely on you to research otherwise the penalty applies - as stated above ignorance isn't an excuse.

You cannot miss the road signs (including the ones with the times on) unless you are driving without due care and attention. :money:

sweetstudent

Shafted wrote: »

If truth is rubbish then you have a problem.

What is wrong Dr is that why would I even consider doing that?

If I park somewhere I look for a meter or I pay at the barrier.
If I drive on a toll road I pay at the booth.

I have never come across a system where you don't know how much or what to pay and there is a penalty before you have accepted or refused to pay the bill.

BTW the sign I saw was on the motorway on an elevated section just before the end of the M1. We weren't sure whether it was relevant.

I feel like I've entered a parallel universe where there are people who plan parking before they set off on a journey. Everyone I've mentioned it to up here are shocked at what has happened. Maybe it's a North / South thing.

I live in Birmingham, and when I go to London, as my destination is usually either Central London or in Stratford I always went by train, mainly because it was cheaper and faster (as i had a YP railcard) and because it usually involved overnight stays.I also took with my my Oyster Card. Yet when i first went I researched TFL and I brought an Oyster Card when i go to London. Yet I knew about the congestion charge, when I was at uni, I had a friend from Hong Kong, who drove here and he prefer to go to London by train to avoid all the traffic and congestion charge.

So you stating that it is a North/South thing is totally ignorant and tbh frank just pay the fine and admit that you were wrong!