Earlier this year I attended Scotch on the rocks, it was my first ever time driving in London which was a nightmare experience I can tell you. I'm sure people who live in London think it's fine to drive but I don't think I will ever willingly drive into London again, especially during rush hour when it is almost impossible to get on to busy roundabouts, I spent most of my time trying to avoid lunatic drivers and trying not to get lost.
Anyway as a result of this trip I entered a congestion zone, now I knew this meant I would have to pay a congestion charge, but this is all I knew and I assumed I had been caught on camera and would get a bill in the post.
To my great surprise a few weeks later I got a £120 fine in the post for not paying my congestion charge. As I had not received my congestion charge I responded and stated this fact, only to be told I am supposed to pay it in advance or stop at any shop that has the congestion charge logo and that it is my responsibility to know this.
OK fair enough this is probably common knowledge to anyone who lives or works in London or travels into London regularly, but surely anyone like myself who does not live in London, work in London or have any reason what so ever to drive in London, also has no reason to know how the congestion charges work either. Just as someone who works in a hairdresser has no reason to know CSS, HTML or Flash or even that they should know them. Or is it just me ?
I have of course appealed the fine based on facts above but my appeal fell on deaf ears. Transport for London have made it quite quite clear with their responses that they have zero flexibility, zero tolerance and absolutely no understanding or sympathy for anyone whatsoever.
After doing a bit of Google research it seems I am not alone and folks like me are in fact their intended prey, poor hapless individuals visiting London who don't know how the congestion charges work and it is from us where they make most of their money, intentionally.
Seems like just another government money making scam to me, rather like wheel clamping.
So for Christ sake, if you plan to travel into London, make sure you know if you will going into a congestion zone and pay your fees in advance or risk a £120 fine.
Nov 29, 2010 at 3:12 AM Wow, that is LOW! I bet they use PHP so they are angry with the world.
Nov 29, 2010 at 3:39 PM Congestion Charge? I've never heard of such a thing. It's like someone one day said, "I like tolls because we can charge people for entering an area.... but it seems unfair that once they are in, we can't continue to charge them." :D
I thought NYC was congested - but London must be out of control.
Nov 10, 2011 at 6:39 AM I also got scammed. I even suggested that they could donate the money to Help For Heroes as a sort of middle ground, they refused. Seems like the London's Mayor's Office is relying on the revenue from their scam to support their office admin costs.
In other countries with toll gate free charging areas, the tolls are automatic. As you said, a bill in the post would be more appropriate, this is simply theft.
Nov 9, 2012 at 5:17 PM I drove in London over a three day visit. Did not know about the Congestion Charge until I received three notices a month later. How are visitors supposed to know. I understand toll roads where you know what you are paying for in advance, but London's system is very unfair. When you are driving around following a GPS trying to avoid the crazy drivers you cannot read these signs or understand what they mean. Very unfair.
Dec 7, 2013 at 3:41 PM Same here. Tried to go to the Portuguese Consulate last week only to have the iPad GPS run out of battery and to be stranded in the middle of London. Prior to that though i had the good sense( or not) to write down the roads i had to take to get out of that mad city and back home to Great Yarmouth where i live without even being able to make into my appointment. Interestingly enough the roads are not well marked, you if you follow a road, you will always get to a point where there is at least 3 bifurcations and with 3 new different road numbers. I really think is either a scam or pure incompetence, and people should not pay for it. But it only shows what breed of judges and sense of justice capitalist societies live on. I think that if you go into a congestion charge zone it should be well marked and give you plenty of chances to pay it, after all nobody is stupid enough to choose not to pay the charge when the bloody cameras will not miss a single unpaid car.
Jan 29, 2014 at 4:04 PM "the bloody cameras will not miss a single unpaid car" yet they miss car crime, muggings, robbery, drug dealers well almost everything that isn't an easy target.
Feb 18, 2014 at 4:09 PM Hi,
Yes I have said all along that this is one of the biggest scams out and I am really disappointed in our government for doing this. I got caught out by this scam last year because I didn't have a clue how to pay it. I feel sorry for those older people who do not have the facilities to read about this on the internet because as far as I am aware it is not posted anywhere else for them to see. I have recently found out that a well known hospital is right on the border of the congestion charge zone so crossing over a line to enter the hospital will cost you money even though the road it is situated on is outside the zone. When I called the number to reluctantly pay my fine I was told to use public transport. I can assure you that public transport before 9am in the morning is extremely expensive and driving to London is a fraction of the cost (If you know how to pay or avoid the congestion charge that is!)
Feb 26, 2014 at 5:49 PM I always use this site to pay my congestion fees paylondoncongestion.co.uk
They offer online support and you can pay your charge via mobile. :)
Mar 7, 2014 at 12:39 AM Hi,
Here is an update on my recent drive to London. After a 6 hour journey, which should of been just under 2 hours, I managed to avoid the congestion charge zone, but guess what? I get a £130 fine posted through my door a week later for allegedly stopping in a yellow box junction due to a build up of traffic ahead. I don't even remember stopping in it and probably didn't. I wonder if they caught the car that went through 3 sets of traffic lights that day. This government really make my blood boil. I have now stopped all work in London and refuse to go there.
Mar 12, 2014 at 6:21 PM The same has happened to me! I went twice in one week for medical treatment so got two fines.
I'm not paying them though!!
Apr 25, 2014 at 2:25 PM Yep, went at 4.30 am to Great Ormond Street Hospital for a 7.30 am surgery for my grand daughter. Have never driven in London or to London previously. Totally relied on satnav and was exhausted and stressed when we arrived. Only to find our grand daughter had chicken pox on arrival! So we had to turn around and drive 3 hour trip home. I felt sick with tiredness and extreme concentration and had two toddlers with chicken pox to tend to for the next week or so. I'd heard a bit about congestion zone and saw a sign whilst my nose was to the windscreen intently concentrating on my driving, but nothing said how, where and by whence to pay... I assumed a bill would follow. How wrong I was. A charity lent me money to get my grand daughter to GOSH because I was penniless. I have paid back the charity, have a £65 penalty sti4ll to pay and as yet still no operation has been yours home performed.I will continue to appeal, and presumably lose and have to pay in the end. Such is life these days. Sadly. 😢
Apr 25, 2014 at 7:31 PM Today I THINK i crossed the zone at 17.55 but not sure so rang the help line to see if they can check on my regestration. Id happily pay if i had even for the 5minutes £10 as they will only increase it with penelty etc, but had i not then I didnt want to pay... they were not help
full at all kept repeting like a robot... its your responsibilty to check if you have entered the zone.. novice in London raining and yes its my responsibilty thats why im asking as i do want to pay only if.. no they cany check I should just pay to avoid any penelaties... Boris is making a mint from us... Q. surely they can check if I have crossed the zone line and let me know..
May 14, 2014 at 12:02 AM i have a smart car, that is exempt from congestion charges, but i am being charged £195 for using my car in London, If I don't pay they are threatening with bailiffs
taking my possessions !!!!
May 14, 2014 at 2:32 AM perhaps you should point them at their own website
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge/discounts-and-exemptions
May 19, 2015 at 4:54 PM I also got scammed. I expected a daily cong charge via the post. I had no idea how to pay on the day. To make matters worse I had a hired car from hertz and the 1st I heard of the fine was 2 weeks later so I was fined £65 and hertz decided to add another £42 admin charge since I got a congestion charge. Be warned guys check and pay daily con charge and don't hire from hertz. Total scam from uk gov and hertz. Any other fine comes via the post ie speeding or breaking red light. I'd never visit London again
Sep 17, 2015 at 4:16 PM What exactly does the congestion charge zone do apart from punishing everyone that lives, works, visits or supplies goods and services to inner London? If its about pollution then why is every taxi, bus, delivery vehicle and any mode of transport not electric or hydrogen powered? Where does all the money go except perpetuating a scheme that has made absolutely no difference to clean air and traffic flow?
Oct 24, 2015 at 4:29 PM Hi
Recently just read your comments on theses charges in London
I come from outa London near Gatwick
Don't visit London a lot do not understand theses charges what soever
My dyslectic son recently drove to Bromley to pick up my younger son
Birthday present in a escort van as it was a motorbike collection
This morning I've had a fine for green zone charges !
On ringing them they said there's another one issued days later also
On its way WHAT £500 pounds just for driving throw Bromley
Because he returned to collect something they forgot to give him he entered twice
Iam totally disgusted he didn't relize he was in a green zone what soever
He can't read sever condition but there's no appeal process for people
Who have this condition basically I've to find £250 within next 14days and again when the other arrives I can't afford to pay this it's only a little van Iam so worried about this fine
Any advise would be very grateful
Clare
Dec 4, 2015 at 7:29 PM I had the same s**t... I live in Wales had no idea of the charge and got landed with the bill, I appealed it and it got rejected, they then doubled the fine... I decided I ain't paying no fine and I dout that bailiffs are coming all the way to wales for £200 dept... It will cost them more to get here 😂