Transport for London 

The Congestion Charge Scheme has been in place since February 2003 to reduce congestion in Central London.

A once-per-day charge applies within the charging zone, paid in advance or on the day, but must be paid by midnight of the day after entering.

Visit TfL's official site to check if your journey takes you inside the zone, find the most up-to-date details of the Charge cost and application hours, make payment, and check for any discounts and exemptions.

TOP TIPS
An Auto Pay Account is the simplest way to avoid the risk of a PCN sign up here.

Scam / fake websites exist, charging an additional fee and giving incorrect information about the scheme and TfL. Only pay the Charge through Transport for London's official site.

The Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was launched on 8th April 2019 to improve air quality in Central London. Most vehicles, including cars and vans, must meet exhaust emission standards or be liable for a daily charge to drive within the ULEZ area.

The ULEZ applies to certain vehicles entering the zone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Like the Congestion Charge, only one Charge is applicable per vehicle per day, and you can pay the Charge in advance or up to midnight the day after entering the zone.

You can check if your vehicle meets the criteria or whether the Charge applies through TfL's official website here.

Some discounts and exemptions apply. To check whether you are entitled to a discount or exemption, please check TfL's office website here.

TOP TIPS

TfL has a scrappage scheme to help with the cost of replacing some of the most polluting vehicles. Click here to find out more about this scheme

TfL is responsible for the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN), termed 'red routes' because of the painted red lines.

These roads are London's main routes, and although they make up only 5% of the total road length, they carry more than 30% of London's traffic. See a map of London's red routes.

TfL's priority is to keep London moving and reduce delays, not raising revenue through fines, and so they are trying to help people better understand red routes.

Signs and road markings along the red routes tell you what you can and can't do. If you don't follow signs and markings, TfL may issue you a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). If you do not challenge or pay the PCN, then CDER Group may be instructed to collect the outstanding debt on behalf of TfL.

You can find detailed information on the various rules and restrictions on the red routes on TfL's official site here.

The Direct Vision Standard (DVS) and safety permit for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) requires operators of lorries over 12 tonnes gross vehicle weight to obtain a safety permit before entering and operating in most of Greater London. Otherwise, you may receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).

The Direct Vision Standard measures how much an HGV driver can see directly through their cab windows, which affects the level of risk to vulnerable road users, such as people walking and cycling near the vehicle.

The Direct Vision Standard and HGV safety permit for HGVs is part of the Mayor of London's Vision Zero plan to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries on London's transport network by 2041.

More detailed information about the Direct Vision Standard is on TfL's official site here.

The easiest way to avoid these penalties is to use TfL's AutoPay service.

With Auto Pay, TfL will bill you automatically for the number of charging days your vehicle travels within the Congestion Charge area and, if it doesn't meet the standards, the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) and Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

More information about this service can be found here on TfL's official site.

You must pay the correct Charge for each day of travel within the Congestion Charge or ULEZ areas.

If you believe we have contacted you about a Transport for London penalty that you have already paid, please provide us with evidence of your payment as soon as possible so we can stop further action.

We will need a copy of the receipt from Transport for London, showing the amount paid, payment reference and date of payment. You should also include any supporting information that will help us resolve the matter quickly, for example, the method of payment and to whom and where payment was made.

If the crossing was paid via a pre-paid account, you must provide us with evidence of the account, including account number, name and address, and proof that the crossing in question was taken from the account.

You should send your evidence, including your CDER Group case reference, name and address, to

Email: customercare@contactcder.co.uk

or

Post: CDER Group, PO Box 58, Darlington, DL1 9AE

We may need to contact you if we need more information to confirm that the payment relates to this penalty charge. Until we receive all the required evidence, we must continue recovery action

Before issuing the unpaid penalty charge to CDER Group to collect on their behalf, Transport for London will have sent several letters and notices to the address they hold for you. This address is generally the one you have given the DVLA as the vehicle's registered keeper.

If they have received no reply to their correspondence by the due dates, they will have applied to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) to register the penalty as a debt and sent an Order for Recovery to you.

If you have not received this correspondence and wish to appeal the penalty charge, you must contact the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC), using an 'out of time' form to explain why you're making a late challenge.

You can ask for more time to challenge a court order ('order for recovery') if you:

• were contacted about a penalty charge notice (PCN) you didn't know about
• were contacted about a paid or cancelled PCN
• didn't get a response to your formal challenge ('representation') or appeal

Once you have submitted your completed form to the TEC, you should contact us, providing evidence of the confirmation/acknowledgement email from the TEC, so we can temporarily suspend action on your case until the TEC and Transport for London have considered your request.

For more information about submitting an 'out of time' form, please refer to the GOV.UK website or contact the TEC helpdesk on 0300 123 1059.

If you have made a previous appeal ('representation') contesting this penalty charge but have yet to receive a reply, you must contact the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) using an 'out of time' form to explain why you're making a late challenge.

You can ask for more time to challenge a court order ('order for recovery') if you:

• were contacted about a penalty charge notice (PCN) you didn't know about
• were contacted about a paid or cancelled PCN
• didn't get a response to your formal challenge ('representation') or appeal

Once you have submitted your completed form to the TEC, you should contact us, providing evidence of the application, so we can temporarily suspend action on your case until the TEC and Highways England have considered your request.

For more information about submitting an 'out of time' form, please refer to the GOV.UK website or contact the TEC helpdesk on 0300 123 1059.

Please do not ignore our correspondence; it will not go away. 

If you have received a Notice of a debt you do not believe you owe, you may need to submit evidence or information to stop enforcement action. We appreciate that this may seem like an inconvenience, but we are required to continue to act to recover the debt until we receive the evidence, so it is important that you do this as soon as possible.

If you

• are receiving letters for someone who does not live at your address
• sold the vehicle before the date of the contravention.
• are the new owner of the vehicle
• have never owned the vehicle the charge relates to

Please visit our page 'Submit Evidence' for further guidance on what to do; otherwise, please contact us as soon as possible on 0330 460 5295

Do not ignore the correspondence you have received from us – the problem will not go away. We are here to help.

If you are not able to pay the balance in full, you must contact us immediately 0330 460 5295 (local rate) to discuss the payment options available to you to prevent further recovery action and additional costs.

Within the guidelines we have been given by National Highways, we will work with you to agree a realistic payment arrangement, based on an assessment of your circumstances.

Please be aware that payment arrangements are discretionary, and failure to maintain the payment terms will result in further enforcement action.

If you are having difficulty managing your debts, and would like some free, independent advice, please visit our page Extra Support.