I find myself caught up in Transport for London’s Orwellian bureaucracy, as you described it in your 2019 article about online payment glitches. I paid the £15 congestion charge on the day I drove into the city three months ago. The payment showed as pending on my bank statement for a week, so I contacted my bank, which advised me to get in touch with TfL. I emailed two screenshots showing the transaction. Days later I received a penalty charge notice (PCN) of £160 and again contacted TfL. I received no response. I therefore made a formal representation and cited your article, but my appeal has been rejected.
IB, London
I had repeated complaints about this before the pandemic. Like you, drivers paid the charge online and the payment showed as pending on their bank accounts for several days before disappearing. TfL insists that drivers in this position should wait for a PCN to be issued, then challenge it. When an appeal fails, they are directed to London Tribunals, but they risk losing the 50% discount applied to payments made within 14 days of the PCN.
