Congestion chaos exposed

The full extent of the chaos engulfing the call centres which operate the congestion charge is revealed today.

An Evening Standard investigation has discovered confusion, muddle and panic in the centre which will have to handle up to 50,000 calls a day when the £5 daily charge is introduced on Monday.

Mayor Ken Livingstone admitted yesterday the introduction of the charge would result in "a bloody day", with people experiencing problems getting through to the call centre and thousands of motorists snarling up roads on the edge of the charge zone. But he added: "I do not think it is going to fail."

However, the dossier of problems we have uncovered threatens to undermine the entire system.

An undercover reporter spent two weeks working at the centre in Coventry which handles the payments and found:

* A huge backlog of applications, with many vital documents including passports being lost.

* Operators dealing with calls after just half an hour's training, often giving out inaccurate and incomplete information.

* Calls from mystified members of the public taking twice as long as expected.

* The call centre in Coventry is operated by Capita, whose staff have discovered the computer system is flawed, drasticallyslowing the application process. So bad is the problem that staff have been ordered not to say "bear with me" as they struggle to navigate their way through the system.

Capita is preparing staff for a barrage of angry calls when the system starts on Monday.

A spokesman for Transport for London, which is overseeing the introduction of the congestion charge said: "We accept there may have been some teething problems as there always would be in a scheme of this size - these are being dealt with. The reported average call time is acceptable at this stage.

"Congestion charging will come into operation on 17 February as planned. The call centre has been operating satisfactorily, taking in excess of 10,000 calls a day including two thousand payments a day - 150,000 people are ready for congestion charging after registering themselves or their vehicles.

"It will be reduced but it is reasonable at this time to expect that in the early days of the scheme calls will take longer as people get used to congestion charging. That is precisely why additional capacity has been brought in at the call centre in the early days."

Meanwhile, more evidence about the difficulty faced by many trying to register for a resident's discount was vividly illustrated by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of London today. Graham Zellick and his wife have been unable to register despite submitting numerous documents to prove they live in the charging zone.

In a letter to the Times Mr Zellick said: "My wife's application was rejected for want of the necessary documentation and a further letter has gone unanswered. My application has gone into some black hole and telephone inquiries are likewise unanswered."

In another letter the president of the Disabled Drivers Association, Denny Denly, tells how he tried several times to apply for a 100 per cent discount from the charge, only to be told this week that there was no need to register.