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 ..........................................
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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.
(no offence Oohaah).
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.
Oh, speak of the devil
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-22477769