I’m seeking the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The data I would like to request covers car cloning and the Congestion Charge. My request is based on the issue of car cloning – where criminals use another vehicle’s identity/registration plate to disguise the identity of their own. 1) How many PCNs were issued to drivers by TfL for failing to pay the Congestion Charge between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2018? 2) How many PCNs were issued to drivers by TfL for failing to pay the Congestion Charge between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2019? 3) How many PCNs were issued to drivers by TfL for failing to pay the Congestion Charge between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2020? 4) How many PCNs were cancelled in 2018 by TfL on the grounds the vehicle was cloned? 5) How many PCNs were cancelled in 2019 by TfL on the grounds the vehicle was cloned? 6) How many PCNs were cancelled in 2020 by TfL on the grounds the vehicle was cloned? I would like this information as a data set (ideally Microsoft Excel). If some parts of this request are easier to answer than others, I would ask that you release the available data as soon as possible. If you need any clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me before the deadline.

---

Our ref: FOI-2273-2021/GH

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 9 February 2021 asking for information about Congestion Charge Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs).

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.

Please note that as part of our COVID-19 response, temporary changes were introduced to the Congestion Charging scheme from 22 June 2020, extending the charge to cover 7am-10pm seven days a week.

1. How many PCNs were issued to drivers by TfL for failing to pay the Congestion Charge between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2018?

    

    

   TfL issued 720,325 PCNs during this period for non-payment of the Congestion Charge.

    

    

2. How many PCNs were issued to drivers by TfL for failing to pay the Congestion Charge between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2019?

    

    

   TfL issued 729,154 PCNs during this period for non-payment of the Congestion Charge.

    

    

3. How many PCNs were issued to drivers by TfL for failing to pay the Congestion Charge between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2020?

TfL issued 947,069 PCNs during this period for non-payment of the Congestion Charge.

4) How many PCNs were cancelled in 2018 by TfL on the grounds the vehicle was cloned?

5) How many PCNs were cancelled in 2019 by TfL on the grounds the vehicle was cloned?

6) How many PCNs were cancelled in 2020 by TfL on the grounds the vehicle was cloned?

For questions 4-6 we do not record reason data for PCN cancellation in a way that enables us to report on it. To answer these questions we would therefore need to look at every cancelled PCN to see if the reason was relevant to your request. This would be a huge task and would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.

Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with requests if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit of 18 hours at £25 per hour (the rate stipulated by the Regulations).

If this is not the information you are looking for please do not hesitate to contact me.

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.

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

Back to top

---