Tristan Fontagio, 39, said he was left distraught during his son Cassius’ multiple appointments and open heart surgery
The dad said he "genuinely forgot" to pay the congestion charges during the traumatic months of appointments before being hit with the £460 fine.
But Tristan said he was stunned at TfL’s reply to his appeal that saw him offer to pay the congestion charge and detail the stress his family had been under.
The letter reads: "Although you have informed us of personal pressures that you were under at the time of contravention, TfL having considered them, does not on this occasion accept this as a valid reason for neglecting to purchase a charge."
"My son had his heart cut out of his chest, and I was dealing with all of that. There was no empathy or compassion at all."
It comes after the transport body was slammed for fining a woman who forgot to pay the congestion charge because she had a miscarriage.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan even stepped in after Cairis Hickey’s tweet about TfL’s letter went viral.
Tristan said he was horrified at the language he too had received from TfL after he had tried to explain the horrific past few months.
This is not a "Computer says no" story. An actual heartless monster working at TfL that came up with that decision.
Cassius is now doing well, but faces having more operations in his future.
Helen Chapman, TfL’s Director of Licensing, Regulation and Charging, said: "We are extremely sorry for any distress caused to Mr Fontagio as a result of this penalty charge, which shouldn’t have been pursued.
"We are currently reviewing how we handle sensitive cases to avoid errors that could cause undue stress to our customers."
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