Tfl appeal

Ashsdad

Hi, whilst attending an appointment at Moorefields Eye hospital I have been issued with a congestion charge. The route into City Road from Old Street was blocked by police officers dealing with an incident and we were directed to carry on at Old St roundabout which took us into the Congestion Zone. We had no alternative but to take this route. There is no U turn here, and other roads off all lead into the CZ.
We turned off as soon as possible and cut back onto City Road.
I appealed the CC when it turn up explaining the circumstances but it was rejected. They state that ' they cannot find any information related to my representation and nor was a diversion in operation.'
Now as its an offence to not proceed in the direction given by an officer directing traffic I had no option but to enter the zone.
How can I obtain the information that corroborates my version of events and do these circumstances permit me to refuse payment.

Thanks in advance

AdrianC

The penalty is not for entering the zone, it is for failing to pay on the day of entry or the day after entry. Being directed to enter the zone by a police officer because the free boundary route was temporarily closed does not exempt you from having to pay.

There are six valid grounds for appealing a penalty.

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge/penalties-and-enforcement/challenge-a-penalty-charge/make-a-representation

Ground one: I was not the keeper at the time of the contravention, eg I have never been the keeper, I ceased to be the keeper, I became the keeper after the date of the contravention.

Ground two: I had paid the Congestion Charge due for the vehicle used on that date, in the time and manner required by the charging scheme.

Ground three: no penalty charge is payable under the charging scheme, eg I was not within the charging area during charging hours.

Ground four: the vehicle was used or kept without my consent, eg stolen.

Ground five: the penalty charge exceeds the amount payable in the circumstances of the case, eg I have been requested to pay a penalty charge amount above that detailed in the regulations.

Ground six: we are a vehicle hire firm and the vehicle was hired under an agreement at the time and the person liable signed a statement of liability for any resulting penalty charges.

None of those apply to your situation.

That appeal representation page also includes a "Mitigation and discretion" section.

If none of the six grounds are applicable you may still make a representation to us, explaining your circumstances and we will carefully consider these.

We will consider mitigating circumstances and in reaching any decision we will always consider the use of our discretion.

...

If, however there are mitigating circumstances which meant that you ... had to enter the zone in an emergency then we may consider these so please make a representation. You will need to explain the circumstances that prevented you from paying and you should provide supporting evidence to demonstrate the emergency. For example, you may have been prevented from paying the charge due to a medical emergency or made a genuine attempt to pay the charge. Where this is the case, you should explain the circumstances as fully as possible and enclose as much evidence as possible to support your case.

I presume your representation was on the basis of that last paragraph. What did you include as supporting evidence?

DB1904

Phone the Met, there will be an incident log and they'll give you the number.

tower

Had something similar when travelling to my son in south London, Tower bridge my usual route was shut for emergency repairs and I was diverted over Southwark bridge in the congestion zone. I made a call and was told the incident was logged (2 hour closure) and everyone who followed the diversion wouldn’t be charged and I wasn’t. The Police probably didn’t log it.