TFL Process

i_Seeker

Hi All!

First time posting.

THE PROBLEM
I recently had a knock at the door where it turned out be a bailiff. Apparently I owed over £500 to TFL for a Congestion Charging contravention in June 2015. I was threatened with having my car taken away, so I paid.

I filed my PE2 and PE3 forms and I am awaiting a decision.

I have since spoken with and attempted to explain that in the same month I allegedly went through the congestion charging zone, I moved out and so did not receive any letters and was not aware of it.

I complained that I had changed my address with the DVLA, and they should have had sufficient time to contact me at my new address.

TFL stated at first that they were not aware of my new address until November 2015, and by then it was too late, as it was out of their hands by that stage. They stated that they appointed the bailiff on 20th of October 2015, and were only made aware of my address on 06th of November. The Advisor was kind enough to send me a letter with this information on it (it becomes relevant soon...)

Sounds straight forward right?

Wel no, I called and spoke to TFL again the next day where I asked some questions and established that they had made an application to DVLA for my address on 25th September. When I challenged the adviser on why they did not do anything on that information, he abruptly interruptedme, went back on his word (in my opinion) and told me that TFL had APPLIED on the 25-09-2015, but had not received a response until 06-11-2015. With the adviser's permission, this phone call is recorded.

This is where it gets fishy...

I applied for a Freedoms of Information Act 200 on DVLA requesting details of when TFL accessed my data and how the process works.

DVLA responded, and confirmed thatTFL receive their requests electronically on the same day, and confirmed that they had asked for my address on the 25th September.

SUMMARY

So TFL had my address a month before they appointed a bailiff, a month and a half before they applied to the Traffic Enforcement Centre for permission to recover goods, and as confirmed on another recorded conversation (with permission) that when they applied to TEC in November 2015 they stated that they only received my new address on 06th November 2015, and failed to mention that they had my address as at 25th September 2015.

QUESTIONS

1. TFL's case is that by the time they received my new address the "wheels were in motion", and it was "too late". When they had my new address in September, shouldn't they have attempted to contact me at the new address? Or acted upon it?

2. In their application to the TEC in November, they failed to mention that they had my address in September and did not act upon it. Does that invalidate their application?

3. Could TFL had called the bailiffs off at any stage once they appointed them? Or is it the case that once the bailiff were appointed TFL's hands were tied?

I lokf forward to hearing from you, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!:beer::j

i_Seeker

Is anyone able to answer this? Am I asking for too much on my first post?

The_Slithy_Tove

Not the best place for such tickets. Try Pepipoo's Council Parking Tickets & Clamping and Decriminalised Notices forum.

i_Seeker

Thought as much, thank you anyway.

Umkomaas

i_Seeker wrote: »

Thought as much, thank you anyway.

Further help:

You will be best served in dealing with bailiffs by making contact with 'Bailiff Advice Online'. Sheila, who provides this excellent service, has an extremely good reputation for assisting people with bailiff issues.

Calls and the email enquiry service are free.

Here's your link:

http://bailiffadviceonline.co.uk

HTH