London Congestion Charge *be careful when paying online*

oohaahmortimer

I rang to pay the congestion charge last night after 10pm when the lines are shut and was told to go to cclondon.com which when googled i stupidly went on to the top link of Pay Congestion Charge - paylondoncongestion.com and these are a rip off firm which charge an extra £5 !!
Being a lazy /stupid idiot i proceeded with the payment without reading the small print at the bottom and just thought the price had gone up aaaaaah

When i rang the official TFL congestion charge people this morning to ask why it was £15 they explained to me that it will have been paid by this firm who pocket the £5 and they are currently under investigation /court case or something or other ongoing between TFL and the 'entrepreneurs' who took advantage of my stupidness !

Just a warning to anyone who is as lazy/stupid as me to be careful .......

I'm not gonna bother chasing the 'entrepreneurs' cos at the bottom it has written this

"For the avoidance of doubt, please note that this website is neither owned by nor affiliated with Transport for London (TFL) and you may also make your charge payment direct on their website online. We levy a service fee for checking and processing your application via this website. This fee also provides you with the services and guarantees as described above. If you do not wish to pay for a processing service fee, please use one of the suggested alternative means of submitting your payment.
Payonline Limited Registered in England & Wales 08286141"

a fool and his money ..........................................

BIG_ROB

Bet it was Bob Crow on the other end!?

cafc999

BIG_ROB said:

Bet it was Bob Crow on the other end!?

no.....he was on strike..!!

EGAddick

There are literally hundreds of websites like this that appear to be the official page for a defined service, government or otherwise, but are actually just private companies that are happy to take your money and charge you a 'service fee' for something that is free elsewhere.

It was on Watchdog a few weeks ago, whether it's applying for an international health card or booking your driving test, if there's a govt/authroitative insitution that requires online registration and payment you can bet there is a private firm ready and waiting - they pay Google to make sure their adverts appear at the top, but the trick is to look and notice that the link is an advert. Lots of people have apparently been deceived.

thai malaysia addick

Yes, I was one click away from wasting a fiver. I just became suspicious in time.

CafcWest

There's a very similar scam if you are travelling to USA and have to get an ESTA - you can pay the USA immigration direct or there are several companies that will do it for you and add a fee on top for doing nothing! Same if you need to get the NHS cards to be covered for health services in Europe - the EHIC. Lookout for websites that you can apply through who will charge you. Instead go to the NHS site and they are free and normally arrive in about 3 days!

BIG_ROB

cafc999 said:

BIG_ROB said:

Bet it was Bob Crow on the other end!?

no.....he was on strike..!!

Sounds about right that pal!

Davo55

I can thoroughly recommend using CC Autopay. £10 per year but every time you drive in the CC zone it just automatically debits the £9 per day congestion charge from my bank account. Nice and easy, never have to worry about paying it same day, never have to worry about late payment fines.

Kap10

BIG_ROB said:

cafc999 said:

BIG_ROB said:

Bet it was Bob Crow on the other end!?

no.....he was on strike..!!

Sounds about right that pal!

Of course he is not. That is a slur on his reputation. He was on a Christmas shopping day spending his Olympics bonus. Which he received for his members doing their job and not inconveniencing the public or games visitors. It's boxing day he is on strike.

Brendan_O_Connell

This is my firm, I also own a firm for people that are too stupid/lazy to fill out a PPI claim form that would take a normal person with half a brain cell five minutes to complete. I then charge them 35% of what they get back from the Financial Services company that robbed them of their own money in the first place.

(no offence Oohaah).

Dippenhall

Just fallen for paying my fishing licence on a scam site www.rodlicence.net. I needed to get the licence that minute so I could legally fish that day so in a hurry. Just googled and hit the top site. Realised as soon as I'd completed the transaction that it was a scam when the normal confirmations didn't appear. Cancelled immediately in line with the T&Cs which I then chose to read. So assuming they are not thieves as well as con artists, I will be refunded the £38 for an £18 licence because my details would not have had a chance to be processed and passed on to the Environment Agency. If not I have the owners's name and address and it's only 30 minutes away.

I don't think I'm particularly stupid but lazy yes and that gives an opening for the con artist. It is a matter of being misled by a con artist into thinking you are effecting one transaction when in fact it is an entirely different transaction. These sort of scam websites are run by those who would be happy trading in stolen dog shit for a living and I don't understand how they remain legal.

People who are legally robbed by PPI claims companies are not necessarily stupid or lazy, just uninformed. It's like arguing a mugger's victim is at fault for being vulnerable. I hope mis-selling of PPI claims services gets as much attention as mis-selling of the insurance in the first place.

MrOneLung

You are paying the company for a service, no rip off that I can see.

man_at_milletts

Kap10 said:

BIG_ROB said:

cafc999 said:

BIG_ROB said:

Bet it was Bob Crow on the other end!?

no.....he was on strike..!!

Sounds about right that pal!

Of course he is not. That is a slur on his reputation. He was on a Christmas shopping day spending his Olympics bonus. Which he received for his members doing their job and not inconveniencing the public or games visitors. It's boxing day he is on strike.

I think you're bias Kap cos he's a spanner.

Oh, speak of the devil

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-22477769

Dippenhall

MrOneLung said:

You are paying the company for a service, no rip off that I can see.

You obviously qualify as a user under Mr O'Connell's stupid category.

MrOneLung

Dippenhall said:

MrOneLung said:

You are paying the company for a service, no rip off that I can see.

You obviously qualify as a user under Mr O'Connell's stupid category.

I would never use such a website as would have the comon sense to use the 'proper' ones , but to say it is a rip off is wrong.

Dippenhall

MrOneLung said:

Dippenhall said:

MrOneLung said:

You are paying the company for a service, no rip off that I can see.

You obviously qualify as a user under Mr O'Connell's stupid category.

I would never use such a website as would have the comon sense to use the 'proper' ones , but to say it is a rip off is wrong.

I'm bored this afternoon and I could bore you by explaining why it is a rip off but it would be obvious to anyone with common sense like you. So I will assume you are on for a wind up rather than think you really are stupid and thank you for providing a few moments of distraction.

Lincsaddick

The moral of the story is: Be very careful whenever buying anything online .. these rip-offs have been going on for years.