Congestion charge cock up
Congestion charge cock up
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Mon Ami Mate

Original Poster:

6,589 posts

299 months

Saturday 1st December 2007
quotequote all
Drove into Notting Hill on Wednesday for a meeting and have just realised that I forgot to pay the congestion charge. How likely am I to get away with it?

Jasandjules

72,680 posts

260 months

Saturday 1st December 2007
quotequote all
Mon Ami Mate said:
Drove into Notting Hill on Wednesday for a meeting and have just realised that I forgot to pay the congestion charge. How likely am I to get away with it?
Not very I am afraid. Tax collection systems are rather strong in UK PLC.

TripleS

4,294 posts

273 months

Saturday 1st December 2007
quotequote all
As I understand it the standard charge applies if paid not later than 10.00 pm on the day you drive in, but after that the charge goes up further as payment is delayed. More delay = additional charges, and so it goes on.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

EU_Foreigner

2,838 posts

257 months

Saturday 1st December 2007
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Every entry point has a camera so you will receive the paperwork in the post. £60 I think

V8DNW

102 posts

256 months

Saturday 1st December 2007
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In our experience, you've got no chance of getting away with it.
What's really, really annoying is that if you do miss payment within the day/day after there is no way you can do anything until the fine arrives.
Whoever designed the payment process was having a laugh with that one.

GKP

15,099 posts

272 months

Saturday 1st December 2007
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If it wasn't for the revenue generated by late payment 'fines', the Kengestion Zone would be seriously out of pocket each month.

Funk

27,793 posts

240 months

Saturday 1st December 2007
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Just drive an uninsured, un-taxed and un-registered car. You can get away with murder then. Might as well not bother with an MOT either whilst you're at it.

Mon Ami Mate

Original Poster:

6,589 posts

299 months

Saturday 1st December 2007
quotequote all
frown

sublimatica

3,211 posts

285 months

Saturday 1st December 2007
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I sold my car on Monday at 3pm to a chap from London. I got him to sign a receipt with the date and time on, mainly because I thought he might get snagged on a speed camera on the way home. I forgot all about the CC in London.

Yesterday I received a PCN from the CC folk. Instant £50 fine, rising to £100 if I don't pay the £50 within 14 days, and then £150 if the £100 isn't paid within 28 days. They're pretty well organised.

There are six specific reasons why the penalty may be withdrawn, including the claim that I'm not the registered keeper. Naturally I've written to them (recorded delivery) with copies of the relevant V5 slip and the receipt the buyer signed. We'll see whether they're interested in dropping their claim on me and sending it to the new keeper faced with the evidence, or whether it's not going to be as easy as that. I have a certain amount of faith at the moment, but we'll see how things turn out.

I don't think you'll have much choice except to pay the fine and the quicker you do it, the better.

Uncle Wonko

105 posts

229 months

Sunday 2nd December 2007
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Your answer to being protected from the congestion charge is to read www.fair-parking.co.uk

Santa Claws

420 posts

231 months

Sunday 2nd December 2007
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Uncle Wonko said:
Your answer to being protected from the congestion charge is to read www.fair-parking.co.uk
Amazing scheme.


Uncle Wonko

105 posts

229 months

Sunday 2nd December 2007
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Thank you.

Would you believe that I am about to deal with a 'Notice To Owner' from Birmingham City Council (176,000 tickets a year) that after being precise with it's description of the RTA 1991, s66,s76 and schedule 2, the Council is amazingly sloppy when it comes to advising the 'owner' of what happens next.

According to this notice which must surely have been proof read, one option open to the BCC after issuing a charge certificate is to then 'issue a County Court Order against you then put the case in the hands of the bailiffs'. They must know that no such thing exists. Let alone 'against you'.

They may register the Charge Certificate with the Traffic Management Centre at Northampton County Court and that may give them authority to send in the bailiffs, but that is NOT a County Court Order.

Of the 176,000 persons a year that will receive this Notice To Owner, it may be possible that quite of number of them will read this as being threatened with a County Court Judgment being registered against them.

Maybe that and the section that mentions that it is possible to appeal BCC's decision to the Parking Adjudicator, but without advising on where that body can be contacted is an second oversight on the part of BCC.

But I certainly read it as a deliberate attempt to mislead and defraud people into paying a fine that has no basis in law. If it did then BCC is obliged to quote the Statute giving them the appropriate authority - as they did when quoting RTA 1991 s66, s76 and schedule 2

Even stranger is the part that invites a declaration and then advises that 'supplying information and knowing it to be false may result in prosection and a fine upon conviction of up to level five on the standard scale, currently £5000.

Either Birmingham City Council should reprint all it's Notices To Owner, or they can start to prosecute themselves.

And they expect trust and respect..................