Dartford Crossing

Radshire

Mr. Chips

This is exactly the complete lunacy of the process (or lack thereof) which I experienced. The only way is to phone them up and they'll tell you if there are charges for that registration. Per my post in this thread, they are unable to provide any other detail over the phone. How are you supposed to verify that it was you that crossed is beyond me.
I would interested to know how you get on and if you ever do find out. It makes me so mad when people collect money for doing NOTHING then design and implement a completely inadequate process for that collection. Whoever is in charge has a lot to answer for from frustrated drivers such as us.
The only thing I haven't tried is to put out a unsupportive tweet and see if anyone replies. I've used this trick in the past to good affect because firms don't ever want bad tweets about them trending.
Good luck and sorry I didn't see you post before your deadline tonight.

MrChips

I've sent a tweet - I'll let you know what they say.

Dclutterchique

MrChips wrote: »

Thanks - but I don't think that helps. I tried my own car reg which hasn't been anywhere near the crossing for over a year and it still lets you pay, and doesn't flag up that no money is owed. I guess this is because you can pay in advance of a crossing.

Oh well, it was a bit of a long shot. I was (slightly) hoping that there would be some sort of option further into the process to say something along the lines of 'Reg No XXX used crossing on xx/xx/xxxx' and it would flag up if you did or didn't need to pay. I guess that's what I get for expecting the system to tell us anything useful. :doh:

FreddieFrugal

Just wanted to add that we've just driven over the crossing, first time ever. I was aware of the toll, so googled it last night and found out you had to pay online and did.

However as OP suggested, if we didn't already know about it, the sign posting was incredibly poor. I only saw one small sign, I probably missed the other due to traffic getting in the way.

I'm not surprised you missed it.

MrChips

From my twitter activity today, it seems the preferred solution for Dart Charge in my circumstances is to send the car registration number via direct message and they will confirm. Surely in this day and age this isn't right?

Radshire

Well, at least you got a reply on Twitter.
Not sure how their public airing of what registration owes what (you could give anyone's reg) is a particularly good idea, but there does seem to be a distinct lack of thought in the whole of the dart charge process!

Good luck with getting it resolved.
I do wonder whether they would actually get around to issuing a PCN given the huge backlog they have.

Fletch7

I did see one of those motorway warning signs on the A1 (M) southbound last night, warning about the new dart charge system. This was at junction 35 for the M18 so I had a 180 mile warning if Id been headed that way!

So if they can warn us yorkshire folk about it you'd think it would be obvious around the toll itself...

jimjames

Fletch7 wrote: »

I did see one of those motorway warning signs on the A1 (M) southbound last night, warning about the new dart charge system. This was at junction 35 for the M18 so I had a 180 mile warning if Id been headed that way!

So if they can warn us yorkshire folk about it you'd think it would be obvious around the toll itself...

You'd think so but we went through the crossing last week and was surprised at the lack of signage. There is not one sign that mentions TOLL, red C above lanes as you come over the bridge but I think the signs are completely lacking. If I wasn't local and using it regularly then I can fully understand why you'd have no idea you need to pay.

This video shows the route to the bridge - how many signs can you spot that explain what you need to do?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdwmokoWqLo&feature=youtu.be
Might be of use if anyone is appealing the fine.

Cornucopia

I don't have any issue with them adding more signage, but the most important signs would be before J31, at the point when drivers are committed to paying the toll. (And this isn't covered by the video).

To an extent, it's too late by the time you reach the point where the tolls used to be. Although reminders would be useful.

jrtfan

I agree, the signage doesn't really provide an awful lot of information especially for anyone from outside the area and who might not know about the latest charging system:

http://www.aph.com/community/holidays/dartford-crossing-new-charging-system-explained/

All it says is 'find us online' and then underneath, 'DartCharge' followed by 'pay by midnight tomorrow'. By the time somebody notices the sign for the first time, they've passed it without necessarily being able to register what it's saying.

It wouldn't harm if the Council(s) acquired more of these signs and installed them on the major roads leading to the crossing, say within a 6 mile radius of it, so that they kept appearing the closer somebody gets to the crossing itself.

Not only would this help to get the message across to drivers and give them more of a chance to absorb the information, it would also account for the possibility of the signage being obscured by high-sided vehicles when other drivers are passing in the middle or outside lane of a motorway.

As somebody who lives within 4 miles of the crossing, I know there is a sign on the section of the A2 between Gravesend and Bean. I nipped onto Google Earth and used Street View to 'travel' this section of the road, intending to locate the sign and then copy the link to paste in here (rather than sourcing a picture of a sign elsewhere). Ironically, I was unable to find it on GE thanks to the number of lorries using the inside lane on the day the images were made!

Certainly in May this year, it was correct that drivers forgetting to pay the charge for the first time didn't receive the £70 penalty fine. In fact, the PCN gave them the opportunity to pay for all crossings made within the last (I think) 4 weeks in one go, at the normal price. So if somebody had used the crossing to go back and forth twice or more in fairly quick succession and forgot to pay each time, they weren't penalised providing it was a first offence. I can confirm this because it happened to me; although, I don't know if the rules regarding first-offenders have changed meanwhile.

The PCNs can take a number of weeks to come through, though.

I have a DartTag on my car which registers each time I use the crossing and deducts the appropriate amount from my account. But earlier this year I had to use the crossing on 2 occasions using my husband's car which doesn't have a DartTag, because my own was off the road temporarily. Through force of habit I suppose, I crossed as usual and completely forgot about having to pay.

On the first occasion, my mistake didn't register until a week later and I debated whether or not to ring and confess what had happened, but decided in the end to leave it and let them contact me instead. This oversight should have prompted me to remember about paying the charge on the second occasion I used the crossing, but no. I realised my mistake within 48 hours that time and quickly went online to pay the charge, hoping it would register.

The PCN arrived about 4 weeks after I'd made my first crossing. There wasn't a fine because it was a first-time offence, but they did issue a charge for both of the crossings. I paid for both of them and assumed they would be in touch again, saying I had now made an over-payment - the fact they didn't get in touch makes me think there is now one payment credited to my husband's car registration.

My advice to anyone in a similar situation would be, don't bother trying to phone them if you've missed the payment deadline and it's your first offence - their procedures seem a little too rigid, from what Radshire describes of their recent experience, and you'll only risk confusing the issue:

Radshire wrote: »

A quick google search suggests that customers can avoid the Penalty Claims Notice (PCN) if they have not offended before and if you make payment within 14 days.

I phoned customer services (CS) and explained that I had crossed twice and wanted to pay. They told me the outstanding balance was £75 for the registration number of my car. £5 for the crossings and 2x£35 for the charges.
Given that they could have made that up from the information I'd given them, I asked them to confirm my crossing dates and times....they could not because they couldn't give that information out over the phone.
They advised me to pay...I did not

I wrote to CS and asked them the questions...they advised that they could not confirm crossing dates or times "in accordance with the terms and conditions" but that I should pay the fine.

I tried to pay the PCN online....but you need a PCN number

Just sit tight and they will send the PCN out to you, in due course.