London Congestion Charge for French cars?

[Punch]

Unfortuately I have to rush back to London for a funeral in my French registered vehicule. I would like to know if French registered cars are liable for the congestion charge?  I have been onto the goverment website and see that they nominate a company called EPC for foreign registration payment collection.

However France is not one of the countries listed on the EPC website whereby EPC have power of atourney . I am not by any means trying to get out of paying but if there is no agreement that French registrations would be pursued I obviously don't want to pay if it is not necessary. Does anyone have any personal experience or advice please?

 

[Punch]

NO takers yet ? Where's Sunday Driver when you need him? lol.

[Will]

I think Noel Edmonds knows the answer to that - from recent press evidence he appears to have two French-registered 4x4s, one for France, one for England. So draw your own conclusions...

Trouble is, he, or the person who he says looks after his cars, has overlooked that both have the same immatriculation number.

[Tony F Dordogne]

Blimey Punch, give the guy a chance, perhaps he hasn't logged on.

As far as I know - we were back in the UK/London for a similar purpose a couple of weeks ago - French registered cars are subject to the congestion charge and if you don't pay, it is likely - tho not guaranteed - that you will be pursued for payment.

And of course, if you go back to London and commit another offence and get clocked for it, for example by a warden, you will certainly have your car towed for non-payment this time around because you'll be on the enforcement computer.

If you can, why not do what we did? We were staying outside the zone and travelled into London by train or cab - may not be as convenient but saves any problems in the short or long term, or just pay the charge, it's the easiest thing to do and will make sure you don't get any problems.

[Sunday Driver]

[quote user="Punch"]NO takers yet ? Where's Sunday Driver when you need him? lol.[/quote]

In bed asleep at that time of the morning....[;-)]

In simple terms, if you enter the London congestion zone in your car, then you are liable to pay the published charge. 

In the event of non-payment, your foreign registration is passed to EPC who act as the collection agency for Transport for London.  The power of attorney you mention merely authorises EPC to collect fines on behalf of TFL by bringing legal procedings against you in any relevant jurisdiction.

 

 

[Punch]

Thanks everyone - it's pretty much as I'd thought. I will go online and pay the charge now in advance to save any problems. I need to drive direct to the funeral in Golders green so have to take my car as I have some heavy items for one of the attendees, otherwise it would have been the train.

 

 

 

 

[Nearly Retired (I am now)]

If you are coming from Dover drive up the Camberwell New Road A202, follow it through the Oval, over Vauxhall Bridge, Victoria, Hyde Park Corner, Park Lane and Edgware Road. This will get you on the way to Golders Green without the charge. It's the one South-North route that is specifically excluded from the zone. Coming from Portsmouth take M3, M25 and drop down to GG - no need to pay Ken his £8 at all.

Take a look at the Tfl wbsite - the route's there and GG is miles and miles outside it.

[Benjamin]

I've just looked on the Tfl website. There are several exemptions from paying the congestion charge, one of which is if you hold a Blue Disabled badge.

We have no plans to drive through London in the foreseeable future but I can't help wondering if a French registered vehicle has to pay the congestion charge then would a French issued Blue Badge entitle you to the exemption?

Incidentially, to register for this exemption requires a payment of £10.00 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No catching our Ken out, is there?

[AnOther]

He had probably had Michael O'Leary as a tutor................[6]

[Quillan]

[quote user="Punch"]

Thanks everyone - it's pretty much as I'd thought. I will go online and pay the charge now in advance to save any problems. I need to drive direct to the funeral in Golders green so have to take my car as I have some heavy items for one of the attendees, otherwise it would have been the train.

[/quote]

How did you get on?

 ask because I was of the opinion that it checks the car reg against the DVLC database like most of the online insurance companies in the UK. Having never tried it I would be interested to know.

[Will]

As smebody who has previously frequently used a French registered car in Britain, I can categorically state that I have never been asked for a congestion charge. Judging by the number of foreign registered (including a large number from Paris and suburbs) cars in regulat use in our UK commuter town, I think a lot of people, and not just Noel Edmonds, have caught on to this dodge. I don't see it lasting much longer though.

[BJSLIV]

Interesting to hear what really happens compared to the theory.

From Transport For LondonsWebsite

How will you make sure that foreign vehicles pay the Congestion Charge?

Any images of foreign vehicle registration marks that are captured within the charging zone, during charging hours, without having paid the appropriate charge, will be passed to Euro Parking Collection plc (EPC).

They identify the registered keeper of the vehicle and issue the Penalty Charge Notice to their address in exactly the same way as Transport for London does for UK vehicles.

[Sunday Driver]

From EPC's website:

Legal Enforcement

On receipt of the relevant judgment from the local court where the contravention occurred, the relevant authority may seek to enforce that judgment in the contravener's domiciled country. Amongst the acts forming the legal basis for this procedure is the Council Regulation (EC) 44/2001, which states that a judgment given in any signatory's state and enforceable in that state shall be enforced in any other signatory's state when, on application by any interested party, it has been declared enforceable there. Thus, an Order granted by the Parking Enforcement Centre or similar authority in other jurisdictions is a valid judgment under the terms of the Council Regulation. In the UK, the relevant authority may enforce any judgment obtained in a foreign jurisdiction under the Foreign Judgment (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933. This legislation has been incorporated into the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgment Act 1982 and this act will be applied through the courts under RSC Order 71. Furthermore, treaties such as the European Convention on the Punishment of Road Traffic Offences 1964, the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters 1959 and the Council Decision on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to financial penalties, may be applicable.

 

[Will]

I think the legalese above shows why people have been able to escape the charge with foreign vehicles - it hardly seems worth a private company going through the European courts just to collect their percentage on a single payment or two due from a bona-fide visitor. Though I am sure it would be different for persistent offenders who build up an amount worth pursuing. I certainly would not condone blatant contravention of the law. But as I said above, I don't see any let-offs lasting much longer.