Dartford Crossing

amiehall

I live in the north of England and have never been to Kent before. Turns out when I went last weekend I used the dartford crossing and should have paid.

I didn't go through a toll or anything but apparently you're supposed to pay online. I'm not sure how I was supposed to know about this! A friend just mentioned it in passing today when I was talking about my trip so I googled it.

When I've looked at the signs online I can plain imagine myself ignoring them as adverts or something as all it seems to say is to search for them online with no explicit instruction. It needs to say "you are on a toll road, go online to pay". Or potentially the signs were blocked with trucks.

I paid today but I'm worried I'll be fined as I was a week late.

I don't mean to sound like I'm blaming someone else but honestly I'm an observant driver. I definitely saw no signs telling you how much it would be, how can they send you up a toll road without telling you how much it costs? I feel like I'm better informed as to how to contact the cone hotline than I was about paying this.

kripel

now was wondering the same, they had some construction works going on few months ago when I went there and there were no payment tolls , and nowhere written u should pay online.

duchy

I drove through the Dartford Crossing this weekend - You can't miss the signs - they are massive (and there are several of them from about 2 miles from the crossing onwards) and clearly say you have to paywithin 24 hours of crossing - and don't look anything like adverts.

Sorry I think to say you didn't see them is unlikely to get you off.

Iceweasel

Did you pay for the return journey?

Next time try going North to Scotland where we don't have toll bridges and tunnels any more.

What exactly is the Dartford Crossing toll charge for, as the bridge paid for itself in 2002/3?

kripel

duchy wrote: »

I drove through the Dartford Crossing this weekend - You can't miss the signs - they are massive (and there are several of them from about 2 miles from the crossing onwards) and clearly say you have to paywithin 24 hours of crossing - and don't look anything like adverts.

Sorry I think to say you didn't see them is unlikely to get you off.

well Im not the only one turns out who clearly dont see them
anyway If the !!!!ers want to get paid they are gonna need to re-open the tolls, i dont mind paying the 2quid as i drive there maybe 2-3x per year but im not going to chase them to pay them 2quid.

alderpoint

If you managed to pay online, then IMO you are unlikely to be fined. From what I've read elsewhere, an initial warning letter is just a reminder and gives you the opportunity to pay up as they do seem to have recognised that many will not know they have to pay.

Some do claim the signs are obvious, and they may well be if you know they are there. But when you are on a strange road in lots of traffic it is easier to automatically filter out that which seems irrelevant to the task in hand of safe driving.

Having only used the Dartford crossing once since the online system came into place (we normally go around the M25 the other way), it struck me as an over-bureaucratic solution to a relatively simple problem. We ended up paying at a local PayPoint shop, as it seemed the only way to pay cheaply and avoid giving lots of personal details away.

robbies_gal

i use it all the time i wouldnt say the signs are very eplanaotry-just says dart charge the times and the website

i dont think they make it clear at all

for anyone using it more often if you pay before you go you still get a discount as before

photome

the first time you dont pay a warning letter is issued with a chance to pay the toll and avoid the £75 extra charge, takes a good while to come through though

Sam_Fallow

No toll booths?

This is news to me and it bothers me as I had planned to use this crossing quite soon and within a couple of hours after crossing would have been on a ferry to the continent and not planning to return for a couple of months. I don't own a smartphone or have internet access at the destination point.

So I looked at the website to see if I could arrange a payment in advance and it turns out I wouldn't have to pay as it is free for 'tax exempt vehicles due to disability.'

roddydogs

Is the QE bridge free? thats only one way?

Nodding_Donkey

I registered all our household vehicles online and deposited a tenner in the Dart Charge account. It will probably take a year to use it but it will be better than forgetting and getting hit with a penalty charge.