London Congestion Charging

[obi_waynne]

Has anyone been caught out by the London Congestion Charges?

I know a chap who hadn't realised he'd popped in to the zone, a few days later the fine for non payment came through the door!

Why don't they use a toll road system rather than an electronic tag the number plate and send a fine.

They should really send a bill with 14 days to pay rather than just applying a fine some 24 hours after you enter the zone. What happens if you are on holiday for a week and have to pop into London?

Do you think the Zone is working as intended?

 

[HDi fun]

I got clobbered last August - being unaware of the way it operates I was just expecting an invoice in the post, not a fine for not paying.

I fought it and won - the fine and charge itself were both dropped on compassionate grounds. . . . . . Eventually

 

[T9 man]

I am registered with CC London as a matter of course. You hand over your bank details and car registration and that's that. The cameras read your number plate on entry. After a month (For me) I get a detailed emailed list of my entry into the zone along with the time and date. Two weeks later the money is removed from my bank account.
The cost for being pre-registered means you are charged at £9.00 a day instead of the £10.00 per day for those who pay daily/weekly or monthly.

This works for me as I am forever in and out of the zone so it is quite easy for one to forget to pay. The slight advantage is is that on occasion I get a free entry into the zone. If you are too close to the car in front then the cameras cannot read your plate, on a few occasions I know for a fact I was in London but no record appears on my bill.

I will say this though, it is a thundering waste of time! When it first came out and for just a fiver, the roads were clear and it was lovely. Well worth the money in my opinion at the time, as time moved on the fee was deemed not too much of an issue to my fellow motorists and soon the roads were bumper to bumper with cars again.

I am just being mugged on a daily basis by CC London, with nothing to show for it except a dwindling bank account and added frustration with traffic.

 

[davalav]

Never have driven in to London, and never will. Greedy so and so's don't deserve my money. Would rather pay for the train!

 

[Yugguy]

Never have driven in to London, and never will. Greedy so and so's don't deserve my money. Would rather pay for the train!

LOL, to be fair I think that's the aim of the kengestion charge...

 

[davalav]

LOL, to be fair I think that's the aim of the kengestion charge...

*Congestion..

Your probably right there mate! I hate any form of public transport. But I rarely go to London, so I am not really that bothered. I think for poeple like Oz, who live and work in London, it maybe cheaper paying the toll for the congestion then getting the train.

 

[HDi fun]

I am registered with CC London as a matter of course. You hand over your bank details and car registration and that's that. The cameras read your number plate on entry. After a month (For me) I get a detailed emailed list of my entry into the zone along with the time and date. Two weeks later the money is removed from my bank account.
The cost for being pre-registered means you are charged at £9.00 a day instead of the £10.00 per day for those who pay daily/weekly or monthly.

This works for me as I am forever in and out of the zone so it is quite easy for one to forget to pay. The slight advantage is is that on occasion I get a free entry into the zone. If you are too close to the car in front then the cameras cannot read your plate, on a few occasions I know for a fact I was in London but no record appears on my bill.

I will say this though, it is a thundering waste of time! When it first came out and for just a fiver, the roads were clear and it was lovely. Well worth the money in my opinion at the time, as time moved on the fee was deemed not too much of an issue to my fellow motorists and soon the roads were bumper to bumper with cars again.

I am just being mugged on a daily basis by CC London, with nothing to show for it except a dwindling bank account and added frustration with traffic.

It's not really fair to complain about other cars on the road when you, too, are there and occupying road space yourself !!

 

[Yugguy]

get yourself an auris hybrid and you wont have to pay at all.

 

[T9 man]

It's not really fair to complain about other cars on the road when you, too, are there and occupying road space yourself !!

Let me put it another way! :blink:

You are self employed and you live in London just 5.4 miles from your clients. Some do goody class A1 Muppet who refuses to listen to the feedback from the general public and businesses, decides to throw up a ruddy "camera border" between you and them and then has the temerity to charge you £5 to drive in and work for them.

With this amazing damn cheek, he also promises you the dream of an easier journey into the beloved metropolis because lots of traffic will now stay away.

With his usual up yours mate attitude along with his now famous it's my way or the highway stance, he progressively raises the cost of entry into London from £5/day to a staggering £10/day; then he declares it will be good for all of us and he has survey's to prove it!

Well Boris I say this; show me that survey that I as a huge tax payer contributed towards, and I will show you exactly where you can store it for future reference! Yes there maybe a pair of tongs and a tub of Vaseline required to extract it, but hey ho - that's life!

 

[HDi fun]

Thing is that being a big contributor to the public purse does not mean you can take the stance that the road is yours to enjoy in isolation. All those other drivers are prepared to pay for the privilege too.

Where should the daily fee be set then? At a point where you can afford it and no one else can?

Let's say it's £50,000 per day......... There will be people who still have the means to afford it and will pay it out of arrogance. But if you refuse to part with £50k each day those that are prepared to do so won't be impeded by your car being in their way and obstructing their passage.

See where I am going?

You cannot complain about a busy set of roads when you too are contributing to the busy roads, contributing to the congestion

 

[T9 man]

I think this has gone over beyond and through the point I was trying to make :blink:

After looking through my OP I cannot for the life of me find where I wrote I wanted exclusive access to the public highway!

OK, one last attempt at trying to get my point across! The congestion charge for a fee was supposed to make the travel into London a bit quieter due to generating less traffic for "ALL" and thus help to provide some much needed funds for alternative transport inside the capital.

After I have lived with this Alice in Wonderland outlook from the Mayor for some time now, I have yet to see any reduction in the amount of traffic on the roads as I head into central London to see my clients. In point of fact, the traffic flowed considerably better along the dual carriageway and I shaved 15 minutes of my usual journey when the Olympics was on and we only had the one lane to drive in as the right hand lane was dedicated for Olympic traffic only.

 

[turbonutter69]

Public transport is actually quite cheap in London with an Oyster card.

*Congestion..

Your probably right there mate! I hate any form of public transport. But I rarely go to London, so I am not really that bothered. I think for poeple like Oz, who live and work in London, it maybe cheaper paying the toll for the congestion then getting the train.

 

[T9 man]

*Congestion..

Your probably right there mate! I hate any form of public transport. But I rarely go to London, so I am not really that bothered. I think for poeple like Oz, who live and work in London, it maybe cheaper paying the toll for the congestion then getting the train.

Indeed young Dave, in fact at times I wish that public transport could be utilised but for me it is not even an option :sad2:

I carry around in the beast at all times the following equipment, 2 x tool boxes, 1 x cordless drill & impact driver, 1 x case full of test equipment, 1 x laptop, 1 x portable printer, 1 x case with different sets of technical drawings (forever changing), 1 x box of spare fuses, indicator lamps, diodes, resistors, etc.

As you can imagine the boot is pretty full to busting, all essential equipment for the call-outs that I have to do for my clients.

 

[T9 man]

Public transport is actually quite cheap in London with an Oyster card.

It is TN and I actually have one which I do keep for emergency's, it also covers some of the over ground trains now which is handy

 

[Yugguy]

It wasn't Boris that brought in the congestion charge, it was newt boy.

 

[turbonutter69]

My uncle has one for me when I go to visit.
Isn't it something like you pay so much then after a certain amount, travel is free the rest of the day?

It is TN and I actually have one which I do keep for emergency's, it also covers some of the over ground trains now which is handy

 

[T9 man]

My uncle has one for me when I go to visit.
Isn't it something like you pay so much then after a certain amount, travel is free the rest of the day?

Not sure TN, mine is on a pay & go account and I get a reminder sent if the funds are running low. You must remember to touch the Oyster card on the card reader pad at the end of your journey, even if there is nobody at the station and the barriers are open or something weird and wonderful happens to your account apparently and not in a good way.

 

[HDi fun]

I think this has gone over beyond and through the point I was trying to make :blink:

After looking through my OP I cannot for the life of me find where I wrote I wanted exclusive access to the public highway!

OK, one last attempt at trying to get my point across! The congestion charge for a fee was supposed to make the travel into London a bit quieter due to generating less traffic for "ALL" and thus help to provide some much needed funds for alternative transport inside the capital.

After I have lived with this Alice in Wonderland outlook from the Mayor for some time now, I have yet to see any reduction in the amount of traffic on the roads as I head into central London to see my clients. In point of fact, the traffic flowed considerably better along the dual carriageway and I shaved 15 minutes of my usual journey when the Olympics was on and we only had the one lane to drive in as the right hand lane was dedicated for Olympic traffic only.

Fair enough. I drove into Central London (Harley St) on 1st August last year (right in the middle of the Olympics) and it was deserted. Actually managed to achieve 40mph on the Euston Road for the first time ever !!

 

[T9 man]

Fair enough. I drove into Central London (Harley St) on 1st August last year (right in the middle of the Olympics) and it was deserted. Actually managed to achieve 40mph on the Euston Road for the first time ever !!

That road is mayhem at the best of times young man, you done well there. Along the Lower & Upper Thames Street in London the traffic is so slow that I will pass a pedestrian in Lower Thames Street in my high powered Saab and they will have overtaken me by the time I reach Upper Thames Street :embarrest: There is a moral there somewhere