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After breach & termination of a contract, am I still bound by any of it?
The short version:
A car club with whom I'm no longer a member is trying to charge me for a penalty charge they previously told me to pay TFL directly (transfer of liability). TFL have yet to send it to me and owing to a separate incident, I cancelled my membership. Now the club want me to pay them but I don't have an account with them anymore. Am I still bound by anything that makes me liable to pay?
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The long version:
I was member of a popular car sharing club and used this service to help a friend move house in early summer. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, the van I borrowed had a gross laden weight above that allowed through the Rotherhithe tunnel. TFL took umbrage with this and slapped the car club with a penalty charge notice, the car club forwarded this onto me, with a hefty processing charge.
Realising my error, I went to pay the fine - it was an honest mistake and I learned my lesson the hard way. Then another charge came in, and another...and another. TFL intended to fine me for each journey I made (and I made several trips under the river that day). For each one, liability was transferred over to me and I was charged an additional processing fee.
They instructed me to wait for TFL to send me the fines directly. I was told in writing not to pay the club and that I may wait up-to six months. I was now facing a £620 charge which was extremely concerning. The pandemic has not been a friend to my industry and my financial safety net has taken a severe beating. Though I doubt it will work, my plan is to politely fall on my sword before TFL - it was an honest mistake and perhaps they might consider consolidating the fines into a single charge. It was my first offence.
About a month later, without reason, the car club took £9.50 from my account. This sum was unrelated to the journey I made on the day - which by then I had paid for in full. It doesn't pertain to the hourly or half-hourly rate of the vehicle (which was £11 and £5.50 respectively) and it couldn't be explained. I don't like the idea of a multi-national corporation reaching into my wallet at whim and although the sum isn't huge I made a complaint. There was confusion at first and then I reached a department that refused to consider my concern or do the maths. We went round and round and they either sent me boilerplate "How to check your account" or assured me that it was an automated process and all was right and proper.
I cancelled my account immediately. TFL has yet to come through.
Just before Christmas, the company re-sent me the Penalty Charge Notices for the aforementioned incident with a demand to pay them directly. When I called; an operator wasn't able to bring up my account - I explained to him I didn't have one. He was at a loss for what to do. He forwarded the issue onto another department and since then I've received another automated request for payment but nothing else. I would still like the opportunity to request leniency from TFL, but if by some monumental balls up I don't have to pay - it's a gift horse I'm not prepared to stare down.
Although I was a member at the time of the incident. I wasn't a member when they reached out for direct payment. With no contract between us, am I still bound by anything that makes me liable?
A car club with whom I'm no longer a member is trying to charge me for a penalty charge they previously told me to pay TFL directly (transfer of liability). TFL have yet to send it to me and owing to a separate incident, I cancelled my membership. Now the club want me to pay them but I don't have an account with them anymore. Am I still bound by anything that makes me liable to pay?
====
The long version:
I was member of a popular car sharing club and used this service to help a friend move house in early summer. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, the van I borrowed had a gross laden weight above that allowed through the Rotherhithe tunnel. TFL took umbrage with this and slapped the car club with a penalty charge notice, the car club forwarded this onto me, with a hefty processing charge.
Realising my error, I went to pay the fine - it was an honest mistake and I learned my lesson the hard way. Then another charge came in, and another...and another. TFL intended to fine me for each journey I made (and I made several trips under the river that day). For each one, liability was transferred over to me and I was charged an additional processing fee.
They instructed me to wait for TFL to send me the fines directly. I was told in writing not to pay the club and that I may wait up-to six months. I was now facing a £620 charge which was extremely concerning. The pandemic has not been a friend to my industry and my financial safety net has taken a severe beating. Though I doubt it will work, my plan is to politely fall on my sword before TFL - it was an honest mistake and perhaps they might consider consolidating the fines into a single charge. It was my first offence.
About a month later, without reason, the car club took £9.50 from my account. This sum was unrelated to the journey I made on the day - which by then I had paid for in full. It doesn't pertain to the hourly or half-hourly rate of the vehicle (which was £11 and £5.50 respectively) and it couldn't be explained. I don't like the idea of a multi-national corporation reaching into my wallet at whim and although the sum isn't huge I made a complaint. There was confusion at first and then I reached a department that refused to consider my concern or do the maths. We went round and round and they either sent me boilerplate "How to check your account" or assured me that it was an automated process and all was right and proper.
I cancelled my account immediately. TFL has yet to come through.
Just before Christmas, the company re-sent me the Penalty Charge Notices for the aforementioned incident with a demand to pay them directly. When I called; an operator wasn't able to bring up my account - I explained to him I didn't have one. He was at a loss for what to do. He forwarded the issue onto another department and since then I've received another automated request for payment but nothing else. I would still like the opportunity to request leniency from TFL, but if by some monumental balls up I don't have to pay - it's a gift horse I'm not prepared to stare down.
Although I was a member at the time of the incident. I wasn't a member when they reached out for direct payment. With no contract between us, am I still bound by anything that makes me liable?
