Our ref: FOI-2159-2425/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 6 October 2024 asking for information about Congestion Charging.

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold some of the information you require.

1. Number of Payments Made in Error:

•           The number of vehicles that paid the congestion charge for the last 12 months but were subsequently found not to have entered the congestion zone during the time for which the payment was made.  

We do not hold his information. It may be useful if I outline how we operate the Congestion Charging scheme. The scheme operates using Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology. Each entry point to, and exit from, the zones are clearly signed and as a vehicle enters, leaves or drives within the zone its registration is recorded along with an image of the vehicle. 

When the three day payment period has expired, the list of vehicles observed in the zone is compared against the vehicles for which a charge has been paid and those which are 100% discounted, exempt from the charges or listed on an Auto Pay account. Where a match is found the image and record of the vehicle is deleted or retained for Auto Pay purposes.  If no match is found the details are retained for enforcement purposes. 

As the records of vehicles which have driven in the zone and for which a charge has been paid, are deleted we do not know how many charges will have been paid for vehicles which didn’t enter the zone.   

2. Policies and Decisions Regarding a Registration Checker:

•           Any internal discussions, correspondence, or decision-making records regarding the potential development or implementation of a registration checker tool that would allow drivers to verify whether their vehicle had entered the congestion zone before making a payment. 

We do not hold this information - there have been no such considerations.

3. Deliberate Omission and Financial Impact:

•           Any records or reports that discuss the financial impact of not providing a registration checker tool, including any estimated revenue derived from payments that could be considered erroneous or made out of uncertainty.  

We do not hold this information. 

•           Any records that discuss whether the omission of such a tool might disadvantage the public or could lead to a higher likelihood of mistaken payments. 

We do not hold this information. 

However, in January 2011 we introduced Auto Pay. This allows motorists to register with us and be automatically billed each time they drive within one of our charging zones. This ensures registered users do not need to verify of they have been in the zone and will never receive a PCN. This also eliminates the possibility of a registered user paying the charge when they don’t need to. 

4. Refund Policies and Criteria:

•           The criteria and decision-making process used by TfL for determining whether a congestion charge payment should be refunded, particularly for those payments made in error. 

 5. Administrative Guidance and Internal Policies:

•           Copies of any administrative guidance or internal policies provided to TfL staff regarding the handling of erroneous payments or the congestion charge refund process.

We run the Congestion Charging scheme in line with the Scheme Order, a copy of which is available online at  https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/congestion-charge

The Scheme Order does not provide for the refund of daily charge payments, and this is the legal basis we use for not refunding dally charge payments. This includes requests for refunds when the charge has been paid in error. 

While we do consider all complaints about our services on an individual basis, we do not hold any guidelines around refunding daily charge payments. 

6. Revenue from Congestion Charges and Erroneous Payments:

•           The total revenue derived from congestion charge payments over the past 12 months and an estimate (if available) of how much of this revenue is attributable to payments made in error.  

We record charge income per financial period rather than calendar year.  From 15 October 2023 to 12 October 2024 Congestion Charge income from charge payments was £208.9m. 

We do not hold information on how much income was received from charges paid in error. 

7. Complaints and Risk Assessments:

•           Any records of complaints received from members of the public regarding payments made erroneously, specifically complaints about the inability to verify whether a charge was actually owed.

We do not record complaints to this level of specificity.

•           Any risk assessments or internal reviews that TfL has conducted in relation to the risk of financial disadvantage or loss to consumers because of the lack of a registration checker or similar verification system. 

We do not hold this information. No such internal reviews have been carried out. 

Please let me know if this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason. 

If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London