Congestion / clean air zones and checking if you need to pay

[Blackpool Rock]

I already get stressed enough driving in towns / cities that i'm not familiar with and had to go near Birmingham a few days ago.
Unfortunately on the approach there was a lorry up my arse and I ended up missing a right turn and the sat nav took me through Birmingham or at least the outskirts but I have no fucking idea where I was or whether I actually entered the zone 

That's fine I think i'll just go online and check on their website whether or not i've entered the zone and need to pay the £8 but unfortunately I don't think it's possible 

I can look and establish that my car is chargeable and that you can pay X days before or after going into the zone but you can't enter a reg number and get the system to say either yes you entered and need to pay or no you didn't   

I'm sure I did the same thing in London about 10 years ago and it told you but looking again I don't think it's possible for London either, not sure if that's changed 

So if i've entered by mistake then i'm happy to pay the £8 albeit still miffed about it but I may be paying £8 when I don't need to and seemingly they are more than happy to take the money even if you don't actually owe it 
The car details must be in their system to be able to issue a fine so there is no reason why a reg number checking facility couldn't be available, we all know the reason and that's so they steal more cash from motorists who pay when they don't need to and even more from others who don't even know they have entered and get issued a £120 fine, robbing cunts 

On the various websites it's all about the onus is on you to know if you need to pay but it was far from clear, in London I passed a sign with a big letter "C" on it and it was painted on the road so was reasonably clear however not so in Brum.
Their website goes on about 300 signs but then there are different signs for entering the zone and others warning you about it's close (I think), I only saw 1 sign which looked like a digital bus stop display but driving at 30 in an unfamiliar area I was on the sign by the time I saw it so only briefly saw it said something about clean air zone, certainly not enough time to read the fucking thing 
Under normal circumstances i'd assume passing a sign meant I entered the zone but not so sure now 

Yet again how have we allowed big brother to rule us like this 

Anyway does anyone know if it is actually possible to check and see if you have entered and need to pay as I can't find it, seemingly our system is designed to fuck you over and extract money whenever possible.
I'm thinking that for the sake of £8 i'm better off just paying and avoiding the stress of waiting for a fine to drop through the letterbox

[lillythesavage]

I already get stressed enough driving in towns / cities that i'm not familiar with and had to go near Birmingham a few days ago.
Unfortunately on the approach there was a lorry up my arse and I ended up missing a right turn and the sat nav took me through Birmingham or at least the outskirts but I have no fucking idea where I was or whether I actually entered the zone 

That's fine I think i'll just go online and check on their website whether or not i've entered the zone and need to pay the £8 but unfortunately I don't think it's possible 

I can look and establish that my car is chargeable and that you can pay X days before or after going into the zone but you can't enter a reg number and get the system to say either yes you entered and need to pay or no you didn't   

I'm sure I did the same thing in London about 10 years ago and it told you but looking again I don't think it's possible for London either, not sure if that's changed 

So if i've entered by mistake then i'm happy to pay the £8 albeit still miffed about it but I may be paying £8 when I don't need to and seemingly they are more than happy to take the money even if you don't actually owe it 
The car details must be in their system to be able to issue a fine so there is no reason why a reg number checking facility couldn't be available, we all know the reason and that's so they steal more cash from motorists who pay when they don't need to and even more from others who don't even know they have entered and get issued a £120 fine, robbing cunts 

On the various websites it's all about the onus is on you to know if you need to pay but it was far from clear, in London I passed a sign with a big letter "C" on it and it was painted on the road so was reasonably clear however not so in Brum.
Their website goes on about 300 signs but then there are different signs for entering the zone and others warning you about it's close (I think), I only saw 1 sign which looked like a digital bus stop display but driving at 30 in an unfamiliar area I was on the sign by the time I saw it so only briefly saw it said something about clean air zone, certainly not enough time to read the fucking thing 
Under normal circumstances i'd assume passing a sign meant I entered the zone but not so sure now 

Yet again how have we allowed big brother to rule us like this 

Anyway does anyone know if it is actually possible to check and see if you have entered and need to pay as I can't find it, seemingly our system is designed to fuck you over and extract money whenever possible.
I'm thinking that for the sake of £8 i'm better off just paying and avoiding the stress of waiting for a fine to drop through the letterbox

You have a full understanding, you can check a vehicle, but not if you have entered the zone, you are expected to read the signs, in a sea of others while concentrating on the road and pavements around you.

There is no way to check, you either pay, or wait for the fine.

That said, London used to give you a warning letter the first time you entered and did not pay, not sure if they do now or any others will do it for new zones.

The very first London Lez, for trucks had warning signs that were very big, and in plenty of time, with a route to turn around and avoid it, now they are on the boundary with no option but to carry on past them if you have not spotted the few road direction signs that sometimes have ULEZ under the place names.

Try looking up the road you were on, that should give you the answer if you know the road name or number.

[Whiteknight]

Definitely easier and safer to set up Autopay for Congestion charge and ULEZ charge.

[lillythesavage]

Definitely easier and safer to set up Autopay for Congestion charge and ULEZ charge.

Maybe, but he was on a one off trip.

Fine too if you are happy giving access to your bank account and trust those with access to the information.

The reason I will not do it though is cloning, another car the same racking up fines with pictures, or in this case you paying, the battle to return your money would be a long one. If you get fines you can fight it much easier than when they have your money.

I would not trust TFL staff to make my tea, with good reason.

[catweazle]

The Birmingham zone is a nightmare. I had to be there for an event last Autumn, and was booked into a City centre Hotel.  Satnav took me onto a road that was actually  closed for roadworks and I didn't seen the signage for the charging. 


First thing I knew about the clean air zone  was two fixed penalty notices  (one entering the city, the other leaving it).

[MrBamboo]

I already get stressed enough driving in towns / cities that i'm not familiar with and had to go near Birmingham a few days ago.
Unfortunately on the approach there was a lorry up my arse and I ended up missing a right turn and the sat nav took me through Birmingham or at least the outskirts but I have no fucking idea where I was or whether I actually entered the zone 

That's fine I think i'll just go online and check on their website whether or not i've entered the zone and need to pay the £8 but unfortunately I don't think it's possible 

I can look and establish that my car is chargeable and that you can pay X days before or after going into the zone but you can't enter a reg number and get the system to say either yes you entered and need to pay or no you didn't   

I'm sure I did the same thing in London about 10 years ago and it told you but looking again I don't think it's possible for London either, not sure if that's changed 

So if i've entered by mistake then i'm happy to pay the £8 albeit still miffed about it but I may be paying £8 when I don't need to and seemingly they are more than happy to take the money even if you don't actually owe it 
The car details must be in their system to be able to issue a fine so there is no reason why a reg number checking facility couldn't be available, we all know the reason and that's so they steal more cash from motorists who pay when they don't need to and even more from others who don't even know they have entered and get issued a £120 fine, robbing cunts 

On the various websites it's all about the onus is on you to know if you need to pay but it was far from clear, in London I passed a sign with a big letter "C" on it and it was painted on the road so was reasonably clear however not so in Brum.
Their website goes on about 300 signs but then there are different signs for entering the zone and others warning you about it's close (I think), I only saw 1 sign which looked like a digital bus stop display but driving at 30 in an unfamiliar area I was on the sign by the time I saw it so only briefly saw it said something about clean air zone, certainly not enough time to read the fucking thing 
Under normal circumstances i'd assume passing a sign meant I entered the zone but not so sure now 

Yet again how have we allowed big brother to rule us like this 

Anyway does anyone know if it is actually possible to check and see if you have entered and need to pay as I can't find it, seemingly our system is designed to fuck you over and extract money whenever possible.
I'm thinking that for the sake of £8 i'm better off just paying and avoiding the stress of waiting for a fine to drop through the letterbox

The CAZ in Bham is a nightmare, I work within it and have had to change my car because of it, and now have customers and suppliers who refuse to visit our offices
because of the charge.
In summary of your questions:
There is no way of checking if your car (reg No) entered the Zone, you either pay the 8 quid which you have
6 days to pay or wait for the fine, £120.00 reduced to £60.00 if paid within 14 day's.
Also note, the 24 hour window you pay for is not from the time you entered. It runs from midnight to midnight, ie if you entered
the Zone at 10pm and left at 2am you will need to pay twice, one for before midnight and one for after midnight !!!

Hope that helps,

[lillythesavage]

The CAZ in Bham is a nightmare, I work within it and have had to change my car because of it, and now have customers and suppliers who refuse to visit our offices
because of the charge.
In summary of your questions:
There is no way of checking if your car (reg No) entered the Zone, you either pay the 8 quid which you have
6 days to pay or wait for the fine, £120.00 reduced to £60.00 if paid within 14 day's.
Also note, the 24 hour window you pay for is not from the time you entered. It runs from midnight to midnight, ie if you entered
the Zone at 10pm and left at 2am you will need to pay twice, one for before midnight and one for after midnight !!!

Hope that helps,

Purely a money making exercise that has nothing to do with pollution, where do they think the pollution goes from the outskirts of the zone and the extra miles covered skirting around it?

I guess it is 24 hour in Brum, London has just quietly reduced the hours, back to 7-6 weekdays and 12-6 weekends and bank holidays.

It can seriously damage business within it and many cannot afford to change cars as you did. Pensioners who did as told and bought retirement diesels have had the wheels taken from under them if they live within the Zone.

[Blackpool Rock]

The CAZ in Bham is a nightmare, I work within it and have had to change my car because of it, and now have customers and suppliers who refuse to visit our offices
because of the charge.
In summary of your questions:
There is no way of checking if your car (reg No) entered the Zone, you either pay the 8 quid which you have
6 days to pay or wait for the fine, £120.00 reduced to £60.00 if paid within 14 day's.
Also note, the 24 hour window you pay for is not from the time you entered. It runs from midnight to midnight, ie if you entered
the Zone at 10pm and left at 2am you will need to pay twice, one for before midnight and one for after midnight !!!

Hope that helps,

Thanks Bamboo that's pretty much what I thought but worth checking in case i'd just not found the right link.

Basically the whole system is designed in a shit way to raise more revenue, should be illegal to rip people off like this 

If I get time in the next couple of days I may try to trace my route using google maps street view

[Liverpool]

That said, London used to give you a warning letter the first time you entered and did not pay, not sure if they do now or any others will do it for new zones.

Not any more. TFL gave me a nice £85 fine just before Christmas as I'd driven into the C zone near the Edgware Road and not realised.

[Taggart]

Tyne Tunnel has a newish ANPR charging system too.

[lillythesavage]

Not any more. TFL gave me a nice £85 fine just before Christmas as I'd driven into the C zone near the Edgware Road and not realised.

Thanks for the update, expected these days.

Thieves are back in action too, London is returning to normal, blacked out rear windows are the target, they have no clue if anything is there but smash a rear window to find out.

Took my friend nearly 2 weeks to get a replacement. cannot beat the good old boot but few cars have them these days.

[daviemac]

Tyne Tunnel has a newish ANPR charging system too.

Yeah and people from all over the country who've never been to the NE let alone gone through the tunnel are getting penalty notices. 

[lewisjones23]

the delayed Manchester one is ridiculous

the area that the ‘ zone ‘ covers is a joke with how big it is

[JontyR]

Not any more. TFL gave me a nice £85 fine just before Christmas as I'd driven into the C zone near the Edgware Road and not realised.

Pre-covid I fell foul of TFL. Drove in when fees didn't apply, stayed overnight in the car park and then having finished earlier than planned the following day exitted to load up the gear prior to returning home. This little 3 minute excursion got me a fine and even though I pleaded my case got absolutely nothing back. Bugger.

[MrBamboo]

Thanks Bamboo that's pretty much what I thought but worth checking in case i'd just not found the right link.

Basically the whole system is designed in a shit way to raise more revenue, should be illegal to rip people off like this 

If I get time in the next couple of days I may try to trace my route using google maps street view

No probs, hope it helped, in a nutshell Bham has a ring road the A4540 which circles the city centre.  This road is  not in the charging Zone but if you turn off it towards the centre you will enter the Caz. And  despite what the council say, there are a lot more cameras than signs !!!

[lillythesavage]

Yeah and people from all over the country who've never been to the NE let alone gone through the tunnel are getting penalty notices.

The latest being rolled out is putting up no vehicle signs on open roads, I assume near schools, making them pedestrian zones 3 hours a day unless you have a parking permit for the area or are a taxi.

By the time you see the signs, often half way down a side street or as soon as you turn in, you are fucked, nowhere to turn round or too dangerous at junctions, and you are pictured anyway level with the sign.

There is no exemption for deliveries either, if you have off street parking you are also fucked for 3 hours a day, buy a permit or have a statue on your drive, no exemptions for school holidays, no option to pay daily, instant fine in the post.

[daviemac]

The latest being rolled out is putting up no vehicle signs on open roads, I assume near schools, making them pedestrian zones 3 hours a day unless you have a parking permit for the area or are a taxi.

By the time you see the signs, often half way down a side street or as soon as you turn in, you are fucked, nowhere to turn round or too dangerous at junctions, and you are pictured anyway level with the sign.

There is no exemption for deliveries either, if you have off street parking you are also fucked for 3 hours a day, buy a permit or have a statue on your drive, no exemptions for school holidays, no option to pay daily, instant fine in the post.

Haven't seen that in my area, the point I was making was the ANPR system at the Tyne Tunnel getting the vehicle registration wrong so the penalty notice going to the wrong person.

BTW they made £1 million in fines in the first month it was introduced.

[lillythesavage]

Haven't seen that in my area, the point I was making was the ANPR system at the Tyne Tunnel getting the vehicle registration wrong so the penalty notice going to the wrong person.

BTW they made £1 million in fines in the first month it was introduced.

It will come to most areas if it makes money, what gets my goat is a pandemic, a war, the biggest inflation ever and crippling energy bills, and the fuckers, mainly the council, want to take all your spare income if you dare to own a car, and the poor suffer the most.

So many have had to give up the freedom of a car and days out with the kids or grand kids for what is a tax on car ownership. 

[Strawberry]

I encountered the Manchester signs this week, nowhere near the centre  . Later when I checked online I found out it's not in action. I had actually missed my intended turnoff, if I take the intended route next time I won't be in the non-operational zone however tha route is sometimes impassable in winter.

Everyone wants cars, government tried to persuade some out of them before the pandemic, then persuaded more than that back. Roads are heaving and electric options are not viable for many yet.

[Watts.E.Dunn]

Fecking congestion charge zone, many years ago was driving around west London was heading the wrong way on  a lage dual carridgeway though if i just turn left there can then go over that flyover to get to the other side, the left turn was under a railway bridge and yes!! Zone sign just the other side of the bridge so decided to reverse out more a tight three point turn but "Kirching" thats 40 fecking quid..

The barstards  that run Cambridge conucil hate cars we'll have that crap up here before, long let alone the high st trumpington Shell garage, robbing fuckers, who have put the price of fuel up and it was supposed to come down but its still 1.80 litre!, theiving fucking scum!..

[lillythesavage]

Fecking congestion charge zone, many years ago was driving around west London was heading the wrong way on  a lage dual carridgeway though if i just turn left there can then go over that flyover to get to the other side, the left turn was under a railway bridge and yes!! Zone sign just the other side of the bridge so decided to reverse out more a tight three point turn but "Kirching" thats 40 fecking quid..

The barstards  that run Cambridge conucil hate cars we'll have that crap up here before, long let alone the high st trumpington Shell garage, robbing fuckers, who have put the price of fuel up and it was supposed to come down but its still 1.80 litre!, theiving fucking scum!..

They put it up so the 5p goes in their pockets, seen the same thing in Essex, Tesco only 2p, they are going to share it

[Watts.E.Dunn]

Bought a tank of Diesel 165.9 litre at Tescos in Fulbourn..

Two nights ago..

[standardpostage]

the delayed Manchester one is ridiculous

the area that the ‘ zone ‘ covers is a joke with how big it is

Just had a quick look. It is massive.

The whole country will be a clean air zone before long.

[Blackpool Rock]

Tried using Google maps to trace my route but struggled however looking at place names I do remember Sutton Coldfield and it being rather leafy but couldn't find where i was on street view.

Next did an AA route planner from Sutton Coldfield to my destination and it indicated I needed the A4041 eventually turning right onto the A34 then picking up the M6.
Google street view confirms this was the route as I remember that junction so looking at the bigger map I was probably 1-2 miles outside the zone so decided not to pay.

Now sit for a few weeks and see if a fine drops through the letterbox 

I'm 99.9% sure I didn't go in the zone but how many other people who don't know the area and aren't sure will stump up £8 to avoid the possibility of paying £120 reduced to £60 if you pay quick 

[lillythesavage]

Just had a quick look. It is massive.

The whole country will be a clean air zone before long.

I do wonder if councils, Royal mail, bus companies etc, are paying this, they have plenty of non compliant vehicles on fleet 

I have been driving a 63 plate, registered Jan 2014, 32 tonne Scania this week, doing around 3/4 miles to the gallon on the work it is on, running all day to keep the aircon cold, it is not Euro 6, but is exempt from ULEZ charges because it is 2014 registered.

[Blackpool Rock]

the delayed Manchester one is ridiculous

the area that the ‘ zone ‘ covers is a joke with how big it is

Fuck me yeah, I assumed it would be within the M60 or something like that but it's about half of the North West 
I only took note and looked for the map as I went for a punt on Monday to Bury and normally use the M66 then go over the moors as it avoids the M62/M60/M61 hold ups during bust times.
Didn't notice any signs going but I did see one on the M66 coming back so had to look online but it's not in operation yet.
But again this is part of the problem as i've presumably missed the sign going but even when i've seen it coming back I couldn't tell you what it says apart from having a cloud or couple of clouds on it and something about clean air zone, not a scooby whether I need to pay if the zone was in fact operational

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[Marmalade]

So this is a cheap, easy, practically effortless way for councils to take in more cash with some trendy eco virtue-signalling for P.R.?

Tip to councils: place warning notices behind a tree. That way more innocent victims will be caught. (By the time someone appeals to the courts you will have RAKED it in!

Don’t forget to put parking (and towing) charges up. All that admin doesn’t pay for itself. A few more cycle lanes wouldn’t hurt as that will make the congestion more real and encourage good grace payments. Of course, while cars are stuck in traffic waiting as a cyclist turns right somewhere, they will be belching exhaust. So start thinking of ways to charge them extra once they have to ‘go electric’.