Friday 6th July 2012
£174m in unpaid Congestion Charges
...And diplomatic missions in particular are refusing to pay
Figures from Transport for London show that there is £174 million owed in outstanding Congestion Charge fees. This is despite a decrease in the number of people evading the charge during 2011-12 from 2010-2011 (33,684, from 52,103).
Currently, the fee for entering central London between 7am and 6pm is £10; if this isn’t paid on the day, the charge becomes £12. After this, charge certificates are sent out by TfL. The final course of action is to engage bailiffs, who reportedly approached 28,000 drivers last year for payment.
30,000 drivers evaded C-Charge in 2011
Despite this massive shortfall in funds, TfL remains adamant the right procedures are in place. Nick Fairholme directs TfL’s congestion charging and traffic enforcement and says he is “satisfied” with that its current process of non-payment “works well”.
It appears its biggest hurdle in retrieving much of the owed money is the failure of many diplomatic missions to pay the congestion charge, or the subsequent fines. TfL admits a “significant” amount of the money owed is from foreign embassies. The problem has become so severe that it is now pursuing the issue through the International Court of Justice
However, around 200,000 letters have been sent out in the past three years to individuals warning that bailiffs will be used if they don’t pay up. So those not on diplomatic missions to the capital are certainly not free from blame!
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School boy
Original Poster
891 posts
80 months
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I wouldn't pay if I was a diplomat. Good on them.
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Pistonwot
413 posts
28 months
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Well done to everyone who told them to stick it up their ****, maybe the rest will develop a spine because of it.
People have a duty as British Nationals to ignore these greedy parasites, the bullying tactics and their "officers" who intimidate with idle threats.
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mrmr96
11,958 posts
73 months
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School boy said: I wouldn't pay if I was a diplomat. Good on them. Why?
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405dogvan
3,353 posts
134 months
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I'm willing to best most of the rest is owed by either
Cloned Cars (or just fake plates) - TFL have a history of bullying people who live nowhere near London but apparently go into the city every day *coughs*
Mis-registered Cars or Cars which have lost their ownership somehow (e.g. cars which the DVLA has no valid current keeper for)
Mistakes made by the systems/cameras - e.g .wrong plates/wrong cars/disputed journeys...
The spread of NPR across the land is, of course, fueled by the need to reduce all that BUT the only reason we're seeing that happening is there's money to be made from having everyone 'on the leash' like that.
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rswift
661 posts
44 months
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Do they have the power, facilities to chase Foreign registered cars, and do the old style black & white plates pick up on the cameras ? .... just wondering ?
I usually drive onto central London a few times a week, but mostly after 6 pm, or the weekends. There has been an exemption for LPG powered cars, but this will finish in Dec.
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School boy
Original Poster
891 posts
80 months
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mrmr96 said: Why? As I don't agree with the scheme.
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mrmr96
11,958 posts
73 months
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School boy said: mrmr96 said: Why? As I don't agree with the scheme. So you presumably refuse to pay it anyway? What difference would being a diplomat be? I don't think they're exempt from the law any more than you are?
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School boy
Original Poster
891 posts
80 months
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mrmr96 said: So you presumably refuse to pay it anyway? What difference would being a diplomat be? I don't think they're exempt from the law any more than you are? I don't and they are...
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mrmr96
11,958 posts
73 months
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School boy said: mrmr96 said: So you presumably refuse to pay it anyway? What difference would being a diplomat be? I don't think they're exempt from the law any more than you are? I don't and they are... If they are, then why are they being pursued?
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alock
1,708 posts
80 months
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mrmr96 said: If they are, then why are they being pursued? I think they consider it a tax instead of a charge. Just because the name is "Congestion Charge" doesn't mean it isn't really a "Drive into London tax". If it's a tax then they don't have to pay.
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gaz9185
71 posts
40 months
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Who can blame the overtaxed, exploited and hounded motorist for playing them at their own game: we pay more than enough already through constantly increasing VED, petrol duty, IP tax, VAT, MOT fees, speed cameras, zone parking, meter parking, car parks etc. so the powers-that-be must expect resistance. Wait until the government finish their current deliberations on the levels of VED rates due to the shortfall in the total take and see what happens - just shows the mentality that when they introduced nil and low rates for some cars they didn't consider the total annual take. 
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School boy
Original Poster
891 posts
80 months
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Diplomats are technically immune from any law so they can get away with it. It's not like they chose to put the embassy in the zone either.
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Root Ginger
20 posts
88 months
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Mr fox
279 posts
20 months
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It's a shame the article dosent mention that it is £10 if paid within 24hrs, then £12 for the next 24hrs and then the next day it jumps up to £180.....WTF, and the amount I've had to pay has made me jump on a scooter instead, but I'm sure they'll start charging those too.
Regards
Mr. Fox
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dingocooke
478 posts
89 months
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I call BS...if as the article say's:
'Figures from Transport for London show that there is £174 million owed in outstanding Congestion Charge fees. This is despite a decrease in the number of people evading the charge during 2011-12 from 2010-2011 (33,684, from 52,103'
then surely the sums don't make sense...£174million div 33,684 £5,165 owed per driver....that's a lot of congestion charging in one year; or are TFL saying £174m total is since it started???
If thats the case, it's just more misleading rubbish from Ken's old cronies or journalists.....but who would ever expect a politico or a journo to mislead....and they call the banking community!!!
You couldnt make this c r a p up........... :-D
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Mike Brown
48 posts
56 months
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I feel its fundamentally wrong, how can any authority impose charges to use roads that we have the right to use, either through prescriptive rights or the sheer fact that we have already paid tax to use them.They are the peoples roads not TFL's. I bet the Americans wouldnt stand for it. I am all for reduced emmissions, but dont agree with this way of reducing them and the traffic which I know is what its about.
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KM666
1,002 posts
52 months
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I've had bailiffs turn up looking for the bloke who lived here before me, on more than one occasion. He owed many many many companies including the DVLA large amounts of money. I can therefore conclude that bailiffs are thick see you next tuesdays who are as ineffective as the half wit business's who lent my houses delightful former occupants vast sums of money.
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mrmr96
11,958 posts
73 months
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School boy said: Diplomats are technically immune from any law Really? Didn't think that was true. So murder/treason etc is not illegal if you're a diplomat?
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Pistonwot
413 posts
28 months
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mrmr96 said: School boy said: I wouldn't pay if I was a diplomat. Good on them. Why? Because diplomats are generally well educated and those who are dumb enough to be paying this are idiots for simply assuming the position without thinking first.
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Greg 172
174 posts
70 months
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mrmr96 said: School boy said: Diplomats are technically immune from any law Really? Didn't think that was true. So murder/treason etc is not illegal if you're a diplomat? Technically. Although I suspect the country endorsing their diplomat in that case would have a lot of work to do dealing with the situation....
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