Contesting Congestion Charge Penalty
Discussion
Earlier this year we received a congestion penalty notice in the post for a vehicle we do not even own, the car had been sold two months previous to the time of the alleged offence.
I wrote to them to explain that the car had been passed on the a dealer, gave them the dealers details, along with copies of the paperwork from the dealer showing the date the car had been passed on. I also spoke to the dealer who said they would also contact TFL with the new owners details.
A couple of weeks later I get another letter from TFL saying the dealer had been on contact & they were unable to communicate with them as due to data protection they need my permission to talk to them.
I duly replied by return, stating once again the details of the dealer that took the car and that they have my permission to talk to the dealer about the alleged offence.
A further two weeks goes by & I receive yet another letter, this time with an increased fine, so I call them to ask why. Apparently I'd not used the correct wording when writing to them giving them permission to talk to the dealer, so I ask for the correct wording, which I type as I'm on the phone to them, I then read back what I had written to them, they say all OK, the letter is sent again.
I now receive another letter saying that my latest representation has been made outside of the 28 day cutoff period & that I must pay the fine. The reason it's after the 28 day cutoff is that they always take about two weeks to reply, I always replied by return, by recorded delivery.
One again I call them & the turd on the other end of the phone trys to say that whilst they do have the new owners details from the dealer, they cannot accept them as they were provided prior to my letter giving TLF permission to talk to the dealer.
The dealer then calls TFL to give them the info again, TFL accept the info from the dealer.
The offence is now under further investigation with TFL's representation dept.
I honestly cannot see what else I can do.
I wrote to them to explain that the car had been passed on the a dealer, gave them the dealers details, along with copies of the paperwork from the dealer showing the date the car had been passed on. I also spoke to the dealer who said they would also contact TFL with the new owners details.
A couple of weeks later I get another letter from TFL saying the dealer had been on contact & they were unable to communicate with them as due to data protection they need my permission to talk to them.
I duly replied by return, stating once again the details of the dealer that took the car and that they have my permission to talk to the dealer about the alleged offence.
A further two weeks goes by & I receive yet another letter, this time with an increased fine, so I call them to ask why. Apparently I'd not used the correct wording when writing to them giving them permission to talk to the dealer, so I ask for the correct wording, which I type as I'm on the phone to them, I then read back what I had written to them, they say all OK, the letter is sent again.
I now receive another letter saying that my latest representation has been made outside of the 28 day cutoff period & that I must pay the fine. The reason it's after the 28 day cutoff is that they always take about two weeks to reply, I always replied by return, by recorded delivery.
One again I call them & the turd on the other end of the phone trys to say that whilst they do have the new owners details from the dealer, they cannot accept them as they were provided prior to my letter giving TLF permission to talk to the dealer.
The dealer then calls TFL to give them the info again, TFL accept the info from the dealer.
The offence is now under further investigation with TFL's representation dept.
I honestly cannot see what else I can do.
megaphone said:
Have you contacted the DVLA to find out why the vehicle is still registered to you/your company? I'd do this immediately before more trouble comes your way!
Yes, it is not currently registered to me, it appears that they were very slow in processing the transfer of ownership.
.)Up until February/March this year, TfL were reasonably straightforward to deal with, but since then they have become a bunch of pedantic, obstructive, nit-picking jobsworths who seem to go out of their way to make life difficult.
I've stopped trying to reason with them now, and I'm just going straight to PATAS at the earliest opportunity. It's far easier and quicker to getting spurious tickets dealt with.
4-0 so far this year to me, with 2 more in process.
If you were not the registered keeper at the time, stop the messing about with letters of authority and asking dealers to interject, just bang in an appeal on those grounds - http://www.patas.gov.uk/congestioncharge/ccappeals...
I've stopped trying to reason with them now, and I'm just going straight to PATAS at the earliest opportunity. It's far easier and quicker to getting spurious tickets dealt with.
4-0 so far this year to me, with 2 more in process.
If you were not the registered keeper at the time, stop the messing about with letters of authority and asking dealers to interject, just bang in an appeal on those grounds - http://www.patas.gov.uk/congestioncharge/ccappeals...
Think yourself lucky.
Many years ago my father received a parking ticket in similar circumstances. He told the local council who he had sold the car and they asked him to spend half a day at court to confirm this to a judge, which he pretty much ignored, until we came home and had a "we called to arrest you" note from the Police.
At the point it became apparent he was going to have to spend the 1/2 day at court. To be fair the magistrate apologised for wasting his time and awarded costs against the council, but it does make TFL look like beginners at this stage....
Many years ago my father received a parking ticket in similar circumstances. He told the local council who he had sold the car and they asked him to spend half a day at court to confirm this to a judge, which he pretty much ignored, until we came home and had a "we called to arrest you" note from the Police.
At the point it became apparent he was going to have to spend the 1/2 day at court. To be fair the magistrate apologised for wasting his time and awarded costs against the council, but it does make TFL look like beginners at this stage....
A blue badge holder, for a £10 fee, can 'buy' an exemption valid for the period covered by the blue badge. I only know two blue badge holders, and both of them have had demands for a fine when the numberplate was correctly entered and thus exempt.
So not the best of IT systems I think.
So not the best of IT systems I think.
IN51GHT said:
A couple of weeks later I get another letter from TFL saying the dealer had been on contact & they were unable to communicate with them as due to data protection they need my permission to talk to them.
I have never heard such a load of twaddle. In any case, if you were no longer the RK (and had evidence to back it up) the contravention (by you) did not occur. End of story. Take it to PATAS where TfL will either not contest or, if they do, are almost guaranteed to lose.It takes a special kind of stupid to work for this local government body. Or maybe a lobotomy is part of the first day induction.
Monday I told TFL that I was going PATAS, today I'm told they have dropped the case, but as a parting comment the felt the need to remind me of the requirement to abide by regulations of the congestion charging zone at all times, at which point I'm afraid I lost it in spectacular style with them on the phone.
Thanks to all who suggested PATAS, I was unaware of them.
Thanks to all who suggested PATAS, I was unaware of them.
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff