Business travellers driving rental cars in central London last year paid in excess of £200,000 in Congestion Charge penalties with one rental company alone. On that basis, it is feasible that collectively, the total figure could be well in excess of £1 million.
Sixt Rent a Car, which has 150 UK locations, says that more than 350 of its customers a month were being fined, despite the availability of information leaflets from its own outlets and Transport for London (TfL).
Operations director Bob Baillie says: "Unlike locals and regular commuters, occasional business renters are not as aware of the charge as they might be and are driving into the toll zones without realising. For our customers, it's an additional expense that is pricing them out of doing business in the capital."