Congestion Charging (CC)

[arsenal]

Shortly after my friend sold his car he received a letter from CC asking him to pay a penalty for the offence he did not commit. He replied late, after 28 days explaining that he was not the owner of this car when the incident occurred. However, CC wrote to him saying because he did not reply in time he should pay �120 or they will apply to County Court. Can my friend avoid this penalty??? Thanx

[gilf]

It would have been his resposibility to send of his part of the documents as soon as possible therefore if he could prove he posted them as soon as possible and that the car was not in his possesion then he would be OK. This however I doubt.

[gilf]

Sorry that sounded a bit rude, I meant if he was like me he possibly kept hold of the document for a few days and would find it difficult to prove he did not own the car at that time.

[arsenal]

The documents were sent to DVLA about 10 days before the offence occured. but it seems their system was not yet updated.

[Ewood27]

I sold a car a few years ago and sent the necessary paperwork to the DVLC promptly, only to be contacted twice about parking offences after I had sold it. If the new owner does not do his bit with the DVLC, it seems they do not update their records - or they are just slow.
Your friend should gather what documentary evidence he can and fight it. He did not transgress Livingstone's cash till and should not be liable to pay anything. This is not the only tale of someone being hounded for CC payment which they have not incurred.

[arsenal]

When this incident occurred my friend was actually at work. If there is evidence that he was not the driver, would that be enough proof? Thanx Guys

[Miss Zippy]

It won't be enough for your friend to merely show that he was not driving the car on that day; he has to prove that he was not the registered keeper. Firstly, has your friend checked with DVLA that their records have now been updated and your friend has been removed as the owner of the vehicle? If so, this should be all the evidence you need. If not, your friend needs to provide all the evidence he can that he did not own the car at the time of the incident. Did he take a photocopy of the log book showing the new owner's details before he sent it off? If he can demonstrate movement of money into an account (i.e. payment he received for the vehicle), this could help. Has he tried to contact the new owner to see if they will provide a signed statement (nothing fancy, just a letter will do) to the effect that they are the owner (I know they will be landing themselves in it, but they may do the decent thing). Finally, if the congestion peeps do pursue with a county court claim, your friend could, in turn, claim against the purchaser of the vehicle, though I personally wouldn't recommend this as it is more hassle than it's worth, especially for such a small sum.

[arsenal]

He has written to CC again, we will wait and see what is their reply. Miss Zippy, DVLA has updated the system, I think few days after the incident occurred.

[BenDToy]

From a layman's point of view, if he can prove that he sold the vehicle before the offence was commited then he has nothing to worry about. The 28 day thing is a red herring. He cannot be guilty of not replying to a letter which should not have been sent to him. That said, the policy of persecuting the easy targets continues....!