I tried to pay the congestion charge twice but it didn’t collect the pending payments

I tried to pay a congestion charge to Transport for London (TfL), but payment was declined twice. My bank, Nationwide, told me TfL had not collected the funds but refused to confirm this in writing. I sent screenshots of the pending transactions to TfL, which refused to accept them, and said I must pay the fine when it arrives.
RB, Bournemouth, Dorset

This is a dispiritingly familiar story. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve reported the breathtaking intransigence of TfL. In 2019 it told me I had prompted it to improve its system, but still drivers are penalised for its own incompetence.