Request ID: FOI-1650-2223 Date published: 04 November 2022
You asked
PLEASE ACCEPT A FOI REQUEST ABOUT HOW CCLONDON AND TFL COLLECT UNPAID DEBTS. HOW MUCH COMMISSION DO THEIR CONTRACTORS (e.g. CDER) RECEIVE? HOW MANY CASES HAVE PROCEEDED TO COURT IN THE YEARS 2020 AND 2021?
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-1650-2223
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 9th October 2022 asking for information about the collection of unpaid debts.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“PLEASE ACCEPT A FOI REQUEST ABOUT HOW CCLONDON AND TFL COLLECT UNPAID DEBTS. HOW MUCH COMMISSION DO THEIR CONTRACTORS (e.g. CDER) RECEIVE? HOW MANY CASES HAVE PROCEEDED TO COURT IN THE YEARS 2020 AND 2021?”
I can confirm that we hold the information you require.
In answer to your first question, details of our contracts for “Debt Management and Enforcement Services” are published in our Contracts Register, which is available on our website here:
As you can see, the entry for CDER is on page 210 of the register, with the contract value listed within the range £25m - £50m. Note further the comment in the register entry that there is no cost to TfL as the activity is ‘revenue generating’. Similar entries are included in the register for Marston (Holdings) Ltd on page 116 and Bristow and Sutor on page 209. These contracts all began in May 2021. The exact value of the contracts is exempt from disclosure under section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act (the “commercial prejudice” exemption), on the basis that to release precise figures would undermine TfL’s position in any future negotiations for such contracts.
The application of this exemption is subject to consideration of the ‘Public Interest Test’, to determine whether the greater public interest rests in the exemption applying or not. We recognise the need for openness and transparency in the operation of our business, and the fact you have requested the information is in itself an argument for release. However, TfL also has a duty to secure the best value for money given we are largely funded from the public purse (in the form of grants from Government and fares from passengers). In this instance we believe that the greater public interest rests in the exemption applying, to ensure our future negotiations are not undermined, to the detriment of the public purse (and particularly given that some information about the value of the contracts is already published proactively in the contracts register).
In relation to your second question, we do not take court action for debt collection in connection with Road User Charging scheme - and therefore the answer for both years is none. More information about the process of collecting debt in regard to our Road User Charging Schemes can be found on our website here:
With specific reference to Auto Pay (which I note your original correspondence with TfL related to), please also see the associated Terms & Conditions that every account holder signs up to, published on our website here:
https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/terms-and-conditions/pay-to-drive-in-london - see the section “Auto Pay Service”. The process for closing an Auto Pay account and recovering an Auto Pay balance is detailed here should payment fail for any reason. This is under sections 10.9 - 10.13. We only pass a case to our contracted Enforcement Agents when we have issued at least three requests for payment directly to the account holder and the balance remains unpaid.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
