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Congestion Charge Penalty Notices - Now I'm *really* grumpy

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    Congestion Charge Penalty Notices - Now I'm *really* grumpy

    At the start of april I paid for a year's worth of London congestion charge at the reduced rate, being a resident, and confirmed on the phone with Transport for London (TFL) that everything was then fine for me to drive.

    A month later I started receiving a flurry of penalty notices, five in total, and on phoning again it turned out that the computer had wrongly set my start date to April 20! WTF!!

    Several people I phoned at TFL have emphatically agreed this was wrong, and assured me it would be looked into and remedied. But yesterday my car was impounded and I'm told can't be returned until I pay all the penalties and daily charges which now amount to close on £1500

    I know they're bang to rights, and everyone I speak to at TFL agrees. But when I finally spoke to a drone in the Penalty Notice Section (and he really did sound like the ultimate geekoid stone-walling bureaucrat) he said I should have made a written representation for each of the penalties, as had been suggested to me earlier.

    But as I had explained I haven't done this on principle, since if they have admitted their mistake then they should rectify it without requiring me to jump through their hoops!

    Anyway, to cut a long story short(ish), this will be going to court in due course, and I wondered if anyone knew of any campaign or support websites for what must be numerous other people f*cked over in similar ways by TFL?

    P.S. Luckily, they're legally obliged to record all phone calls, and I've ordered a CD of these (which take up to 42 days to prepare - Christ alive, even Noah only had to wait 40 days! )

    P.P.S The mantra of the TFL Penalty department droid was that a penalty notice is a "legal document", which implies their procedures must be followed. But as I pointed out, so is a cheque but that's worthless if there's no money in your account!
    Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

    #2
    I know a lawyer who knows about this stuff, I will ask him, remind me if I forget to come back to you.

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      #3
      Originally posted by Lucy View Post
      I know a lawyer who knows about this stuff, I will ask him, remind me if I forget to come back to you.
      Very many thanks for your prompt reply Lucy! If you can, I'll be very grateful.

      P.S. It would be fine to just give me his details.
      Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

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        #4
        Originally posted by OwlHoot View Post
        Very many thanks for your prompt reply Lucy! If you can, I'll be very grateful.

        P.S. It would be fine to just give me his details.
        He does more consultancy / legislation stuff not private practice, but I am fairly sure he will know about the rules and what they are going on about.

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          #5
          Have a look here:

          http://forums.pepipoo.com/

          you need to join to get the case law stuff but they generally deal with all motorist related things from speeding to bus lane fines, etc.

          Comment


            #6
            Wait outside the offices of the Mayor of London. As he cycles into work, put a stick between his spokes. Then approach his prostrate form and explain that you're merely doing to him what he's doing to you.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by NickFitz View Post
              Wait outside the offices of the Mayor of London. As he cycles into work, put a stick between his spokes. Then approach his prostrate form and explain that you're merely doing to him what he's doing to you.
              prostate, from the rear, and see how he likes it.
              The squint, the cocked eye and clenched first are the cornerstones of all Merseyside communication from birth to grave

              Comment


                #8
                I'd contact watchdog also. I doubt that you are alone in this
                Rule Number 1 - Assuming that you have a valid contract in place always try to get your poo onto your timesheet, provided that the timesheet is valid for your current contract and covers the period of time that you are billing for.

                I preferred version 1!

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                  #9
                  I think these are the guys you need.

                  Apologies, details are a bit vague, but saw a programme about them once and they came across as being very fair probably because it is run by normal (as opposed to drones) individuals.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

                    Here are a couple more promising ones I've found so far, while Googling for a solicitor specialising in Congestion Charge disputes:

                    London Motorists Action Group

                    Bailiff Advice Online

                    P.S. NickFitz & EO, nice idea but surely it's isn't Bicycling Boris who needs a kicking (yet) but the late unlamented newt fancier!


                    Edit: Here's another useful page for any Londoner with the misfortune to have dealings with TfL over Congestion Charging, or most likely anything else for that matter:

                    Lessons from my dealings with TfL

                    To view it, you may need to register (free) with the "London Motorists Action Group" cited above.
                    Last edited by OwlHoot; 21 June 2008, 14:47.
                    Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

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