Conned in to paying the London Congestion Charge by official TFL website

Lumenico

For the first time ever I went through the (C) zone at about 9pm recently. I had no idea it was 'free' after 6pm. A day later I went to pay the (C) charge on the TFL website. Upon entering my car registration the website informed me I owed £14, which I paid.
The next day I found out that the (C) charge was only payable between 7am & 6pm. I asked TFL for a refund. They responded "We are unable to refund the daily charge payment because it is the customer's responsibility to ensure that the details of the payment are checked before completing the payment transaction." So .... if I get this right, the TFL website saying I owe £14 requires 'more checking' ... really?! :shocked:
At best this is unconscionable behavior, if not a straight-out rort or con.Can anybody advise on this please?

peter_the_piper

IMHO it would have been worth checking before paying however you have a right to think the website is fit for purpose, which it clearly is not.

Coupon-mad

Lumenico wrote: »

For the first time ever I went through the (C) zone at about 9pm recently. I had no idea it was 'free' after 6pm. A day later I went to pay the (C) charge on the TFL website. Upon entering my car registration the website informed me I owed £14, which I paid.
The next day I found out that the (C) charge was only payable between 7am & 6pm. I asked TFL for a refund. They responded "We are unable to refund the daily charge payment because it is the customer's responsibility to ensure that the details of the payment are checked before completing the payment transaction." So .... if I get this right, the TFL website saying I owe £14 requires 'more checking' ... really?! :shocked:
At best this is unconscionable behavior, if not a straight-out rort or con.Can anybody advise on this please?

Sounds absolutely ridiculous. Reply and ask for a copy of their complaints procedure/policy and ask whether they fall within an ombudsman scheme as you wish to escalate the complaint.

Local authorities have an Ombudsman so I wonder if TFL fall within that too.

k3lvc

Conned is a bit strong - the Congestion charge has been operating since 2003 and there are (far too) many roadsigns telling you of it's existence and the timings involved

When I go onto the website to try and pay the first thing that comes up is "The Congestion Charge is an £11.50 daily charge for driving a vehicle within the charging zone between 07:00 and 18:00, Monday to Friday. The easiest way to pay the charge is by registering for Congestion Charge Auto Pay. There are a range of exemptions and discounts available to certain vehicles and individuals."

How much clearer do you need it to be ?

I do however agree that in this day and age it should be possible for the site to notify whether you entered within the timings

DoaM

k3lvc wrote: »

I do however agree that in this day and age it should be possible for the site to notify whether you entered within the timings

Especially since they already know that OP's vehicle did enter, and will have also known the times. This lack of refinement is (IMHO) deliberate so as to catch out the unwary and generate additional revenue.

k3lvc

DoaM wrote: »

Especially since they already know that OP's vehicle did enter, and will have also known the times. This lack of refinement is (IMHO) deliberate so as to catch out the unwary and generate additional revenue.

I'm with you but they also don't hide the 'rules' - I've paid before now when I probably didn't need to as I think I entered the zone to avoid an incident - I don't feel conned

Lumenico

DoaM ... I agree with you entirely. I very much believe the system is designed to catch out the unwary - plain and simple. The clincher for me is that the website even added the penalty rate of £14, not the £11.50, so if it was never payable in the first place, how come the system was 'timely' enough to load the cost with the penalty, but not be advisory or informative that no payment was required?! If you need any more convincing that this is a con for the unwary, then look no further than the fact that 'no refunds' are possible.

Blackyblue

The way the Congestion charge is operated is a con from start to finish.
To prove it is a Con, and just a money making scheme, they offer discounts if you sign up for their "fleet" discount scheme.
This is if you have 6 or more cars, you can operate your cars in London for less than everyone else.
Also if you use Central London regularly you can get a discount by signing up to an auto-pay account, and you pay Monthly instead of daily and get a discount.

Therefore it is a Con.

If it were about the environment "they would not" have discounts for buying in Bulk or for regular use, as the whole point of the charge is supposed to be about stopping people from regular use or Bulk use.

waamo

Blackyblue wrote: »

The way the Congestion charge is operated is a con from start to finish.
To prove it is a Con, and just a money making scheme, they offer discounts if you sign up for their "fleet" discount scheme.
This is if you have 6 or more cars, you can operate your cars in London for less than everyone else.
Also if you use Central London regularly you can get a discount by signing up to an auto-pay account, and you pay Monthly instead of daily and get a discount.

Therefore it is a Con.

If it were about the environment "they would not" have discounts for buying in Bulk or for regular use, as the whole point of the charge is supposed to be about stopping people from regular use or Bulk use.

Holy Necro Batman.