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Fight against unfair and dishonest Congestion Charge Penalty Notices
I'd like to mount a legal challenge against Transport for London's outrageous Congestion Charge Penalty Notice policy. I am posting here to gauge people's oppinion on the matter and to gather support for this cause.
Here's the case against the current Congestion Charge Penalty Charge Notice policy
Transport for London's policy of issuing Penalty Charge Notices to Congestion Charge Zone users in the event they are unable to make payment within an entirely unreasonable ONE DAY deadline, is both dishonest and utterly unjustified.
It is dishonest because it is designed to trap as many Londoners as possible into paying £60 (or more) for one day's Congestion Charge Zone use, rather than the stipulated £8 that TFL publicize and indeed the £8 to which the government - and by implication the British Public - has agreed to.
Furthermore, this policy is wholly unjustified in that just as the mechanism exists to send and administer Penalty Charge Notices, it can at no extra cost send and administer fair bills for usage.
Indeed no other entity in the land granted a licence to provide necessary goods or services (such as electricity, gas, water and in this case road access) and with the means to automatically identify its patrons, is allowed to impose penalties using the outrageous justification that payment has not been made within ONE DAY of usage. There is no reason why Transport for London should be the anomaly in this matter, and be allowed to continue to operate this wholly unwarranted one day payment deadline Penalty Charge Notice policy.
Additionally, the issuance of "Penalty" Charge Notices under these circumstances unjustifiably stigmatises Congestion Charge Zone users by implying that they have wronged the community and hence need be "penalised". Not being able to meet TFL's unreasonable and unjustified one day payment deadline most certainly does not constitute a wrong against the community.
I am hence writing to plead that someone with the means to do so please challenge Transport for London, in the courts if need be, so that they may retract this unjust Penalty Charge Notice policy which every year fleeces the hundreds of thousands if not millions of Londoners who's livelihoods depend on access to the Congestion Zone.
Lastly I will add that in my conversations with Transport for London Congestion Charge call centre staff, they entirely agree with the points I raise, yet declare their powerlessness to change this awfully unjust practice.
I am one of the hundreds of thousands of Londoners who have been trapped by this policy. On the last two occasions this occured I had to unexpectedly drive into the congestion charge zone a few hours before taking flights out of the country. This left me in a position where I was unable to meet their preposterous one day payment deadline.
Transport for London needs to operate like any law abiding utility, charging for congestion charge zone use by means of a billing system, giving users the opportunity to pay at their convenience, whether by Direct Debit or otherwise. Additionally, it is clear that Authorities must regulate the operators of the Congestion Charge much like they already regulate other utilities, with a view to protect the public against the clear abuses that are currently taking place and that may take place in the future.
Here's the case against the current Congestion Charge Penalty Charge Notice policy
Transport for London's policy of issuing Penalty Charge Notices to Congestion Charge Zone users in the event they are unable to make payment within an entirely unreasonable ONE DAY deadline, is both dishonest and utterly unjustified.
It is dishonest because it is designed to trap as many Londoners as possible into paying £60 (or more) for one day's Congestion Charge Zone use, rather than the stipulated £8 that TFL publicize and indeed the £8 to which the government - and by implication the British Public - has agreed to.
Furthermore, this policy is wholly unjustified in that just as the mechanism exists to send and administer Penalty Charge Notices, it can at no extra cost send and administer fair bills for usage.
Indeed no other entity in the land granted a licence to provide necessary goods or services (such as electricity, gas, water and in this case road access) and with the means to automatically identify its patrons, is allowed to impose penalties using the outrageous justification that payment has not been made within ONE DAY of usage. There is no reason why Transport for London should be the anomaly in this matter, and be allowed to continue to operate this wholly unwarranted one day payment deadline Penalty Charge Notice policy.
Additionally, the issuance of "Penalty" Charge Notices under these circumstances unjustifiably stigmatises Congestion Charge Zone users by implying that they have wronged the community and hence need be "penalised". Not being able to meet TFL's unreasonable and unjustified one day payment deadline most certainly does not constitute a wrong against the community.
I am hence writing to plead that someone with the means to do so please challenge Transport for London, in the courts if need be, so that they may retract this unjust Penalty Charge Notice policy which every year fleeces the hundreds of thousands if not millions of Londoners who's livelihoods depend on access to the Congestion Zone.
Lastly I will add that in my conversations with Transport for London Congestion Charge call centre staff, they entirely agree with the points I raise, yet declare their powerlessness to change this awfully unjust practice.
I am one of the hundreds of thousands of Londoners who have been trapped by this policy. On the last two occasions this occured I had to unexpectedly drive into the congestion charge zone a few hours before taking flights out of the country. This left me in a position where I was unable to meet their preposterous one day payment deadline.
Transport for London needs to operate like any law abiding utility, charging for congestion charge zone use by means of a billing system, giving users the opportunity to pay at their convenience, whether by Direct Debit or otherwise. Additionally, it is clear that Authorities must regulate the operators of the Congestion Charge much like they already regulate other utilities, with a view to protect the public against the clear abuses that are currently taking place and that may take place in the future.
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Comments
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I don't think it will get anywhere as a legal challenge to be honest.Can we just take it as read I didn't mean to offend you?0
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I don't think it will get anywhere as a legal challenge to be honest.
Why don't you think so?
TFL has been given permission to run this scheme on the basis of an £8 charge. It is plainly clear that their payment mechanisms and ONE DAY payment deadline PCN policy is designed to raise the real cost to users well above the stipulated and agreed £8.
This is clearly an outrageous abuse and no electricity or water utility would get away with doing something similar. Can you imagine your water utility attempting to charge you 7.5 times the cost of your bill (£8 x 7.5 = £60) if you are late in payment by ONE DAY whilst not even providing you with a Direct Debit payment mechanism?
Why should TFL be any different and be able to get away with this sort of abuse?0 -
Unless your lawyer I would leave well alone. There plenty of smart layers in London effected by the congestion charge and non of them have challenged it so far. Just use the Tube or register your car as a taxi.0
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Mankysteve wrote: »Unless your lawyer I would leave well alone. There plenty of smart layers in London effected by the congestion charge and non of them have challenged it so far. Just use the Tube or register your car as a taxi.
Ha ha ha, funny, but seriously
Are there no lawyers, MPs or London borough councillors that read and partticipate in this forum?
This is clearly an abusive practice and there is political will (and votes-rightly so) behind tackling such abuses.0 -
The scheme is a money-making racket. The 'late' payment charges are built-in to the system in an attempt to offset the high cost of administering it."You were only supposed to blow the bl**dy doors off!!"0
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maninthestreet wrote: »The scheme is a money-making racket. The 'late' payment charges are built-in to the system in an attempt to offset the high cost of administering it.
Is there any public information on the financials of the scheme?
ie a proper set of accounts including balance sheet, cash flow and income statements with revenue split by type of charge (£8, $10, £60 or £180) and all expenditures???0 -
You had to take flights unexpectedly? , you can pay the congestion charge in advance , and you can pay £10 the next dayVuja De - the feeling you'll be here later0
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You had to take flights unexpectedly? , you can pay the congestion charge in advance , and you can pay £10 the next day
Ha ha ha, you make yourself sound like you work for TFL and personally benefit from this scam.
Additionally you seem to have incorrectly read my post. If you read it again you'll see that it was the UNEXPECTED trip into the congestion charge prior to the EXPECTED flight that caused my particular problem. As you can understand this UNEXPECTED detour makes it impossible for me to pre pay as you err... "helpfully" suggest.
Nevertheless, the reasons why people are often unable to meet this dishonest ONE DAY deadline are irrelevant, and the fact still remains that this practice is clearly an abuse and should be abolished in favour of a direct debit billing system.0 -
You can pay the charge: so during the 2 hours you have to kill once you are "airport side" you don't have 5 minutes to ring up or pay online ??Ex forum ambassador
Long term forum member0 -
You can pay the charge in a whole lot of ways.
By post.
By SMS text.
By mobile phone (from anywhere in the world)
By land line (including airports)
At a shop (including airports)
Online (from anywhere in the world)
If you think the congestion charge is unfair try taking in a lorry that doesn't meet the emmision requirements. Thats £200 a day!0
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