I would like to find out under the FOI Act 2000 how many people have pre-paid the congestion charge and /or ULEZ with the intention of traveling within the zone but didn't travel within the zone and therefore ended up paying for a service they did not use. I would like to find out how many people have made a request by phone, email etc for a refund to TFL but was told it was non-refundable and so lost money. I would like to know since TFL have a record of all vehicles travelling within the zone and therefore who paid and who didn't, if there is therefore a record of which vehicles paid but did not use the service. How many are these? I would like to find out how much in total TFL have made from this policy of non-refund of services not used but paid for.

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TfL Ref: FOI-2190-2021

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 29^th January 2021 asking for information about congestion charge and ULEZ payments.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. 

Specifically you asked:

“I would like to find out under the FOI Act 2000 how many people have pre-paid the congestion charge and / or ULEZ with the intention of traveling within the zone but didn't travel within the zone and therefore ended up paying for a service they did not use.

I would like to find out how many people have made a request by phone, email etc for a refund to TFL but was told it was non-refundable and so lost money.

I would like to know since TFL have a record of all vehicles travelling within the zone and therefore who paid and who didn't, if there is therefore a record of which vehicles paid but did not use the service. How many are these?

I would like to find out how much in total TFL have made from this policy of non-refund of services not used but paid for.”

TfL does not hold the requested information.

The Congestion Charge and ULEZ operate using Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology. Each entry point to, and exit from, the zone is clearly signed and as a vehicle either enters, leaves or drives within the zone its registration is recorded along with an image of the vehicle. At the end of the next charging day, when the 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 charge or listed on a Congestion Charging Auto Pay account. Where a match is found the image and record of the vehicle is deleted. If no match is found the details are retained for enforcement purposes.

As the records of all vehicles which have paid the Congestion or ULEZ charges are deleted we are unable to verify retrospectively whether a vehicle which has paid the charge has been used within the zone or not. We therefore do not hold information on how many charges were purchased for vehicles that did not enter the zone, nor how much revenue such instances may have generated.

In terms of refund requests, and whether or not they were successful, we do not keep a record of requests made by phone. We cannot therefore answer your question. Even where we do retain a record of such requests (because they were made in writing), we could only obtain the requested information by reviewing each individual case at disproportionate cost.

If you are considering submitting a further FOI request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted by the current situation.

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

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