Easiest way to pay London Congestion Charge for a single visit?

ThisIsWeird

I understand you can download an App and this will work alongside numberplate recognition - so all done automatically? Or - if I know when the visit will occur - it can be paid for in advance?

Any pros or cons, please? Or different ways?

Thanks

Goudy

Depending on how often you travel into the zone, you can set up "auto pay".

Single trips can be paid online in advance or up to midnight the day of travel for £15.
Pay by midnight up to the three days after travel and it's £17.50.

Auto pay is still £15 but to subscribe there is a £10 year charge for it.
Auto pay will tot up all your charges over a period of 30 days and then send you a charge notice via email. (not a bill, you have to log in to see what you owe).
It's linked to a payement method like a bank account or credit card, so you don't need to log in and pay each month, but you can do that at any point during the month if you wish.

ThisIsWeird

Thanks Goudy. Easier to just pay in advance by the sounds.

Bigwheels1111

When I renew the blue badge this year I will apply for the 3 year exemption for £10.
Just in case.
I got a ticket for the zone when my car broke down, was on the back of the recovery truck at the time.
A pain in the A4se to get sorted.

baser999

Be wise to check if you’re liable to ULEZ as well 

ThisIsWeird

Thanks. I think I should be ok, but will check.

Do I take it that every time you cross the line, you get charged, however briefly or short a distance?!

Goudy

You can cross in and out many times in the same day for the same fine, sorry fee.

But the chances of getting captured on a camera for a brief trip or wrong turn over the boundary are very very high.
I would say it's a certainty but there are one or two badly positioned cameras that you can wiggle around, though the ones I know are exit wiggles rather than entrance wiggles.

ThisIsWeird

Thanks Goudy.

I have no issues with the fi...fee, but may have some toing and froing to do on that day - collecting someone from a hospital, going to their flat to collect stuff - that sort of thing. So, only one 'fee' per day? Cool.

DullGreyGuy

Goudy said:

Auto pay is still £15 but to subscribe there is a £10 year charge for it.

The £10 fee is being dropped from the end of January this year

Autopay, once there is no annual fee, in principle is the easiest option but its always sensible to keep an eye on the account/emails as there have been cases on here where people have had their vehicles cloned and been ignoring the notices assuming spam/marketing etc because they hadnt been to London

Really depends if its a total one off or a once every now and then trip.

ThisIsWeird

Cheers - thinking about it, there may need to be return trips for check-ups, so looks like it makes sense to get the App. Also, this trip is now likely to be over 2 days.

baser999

ThisIsWeird said:

Cheers - thinking about it, there may need to be return trips for check-ups, so looks like it makes sense to get the App. Also, this trip is now likely to be over 2 days.

One of my sons went to the O2 and the event was due to finish around 23:30 and the plan was to pick him up. Realised this would involve driving into ULEZ so there’d be a charge for getting there and because we’d still be in the zone to get him home after midnight a second charge to get out! So £25 for the hour; perhaps robbery would be the correct term.
But hey, isn’t that what dads are for 😏