Dart charge fine after 3 months

runfiblu

just received a fixed penalty notice for travelling over the Dartford tunnel on 6th Aug. definitely paid (bit of a palaver finding a shop in Bromley that would do it) but as so much time has passed by the receipt has been thrown out so I don't have any evidence.

I can't find any rules on the website about how long it should take for a notice to come and the telephone line is automated but I think that 3 months is excessive. as it is the first time I was given the option to pay before the 30/11, so I have done this but really think it is unfair. is there any way to clarify the rules?

tony1976

Snap!

I just received a fine post dated 17/11/2015. And like you my charge was from several months ago in July.

However at the very top of the letter (and I missed this when I first read it!) it says if I pay the crossing charge by 01/12/2015 the penalty charge will be cancelled. Ave a look at your letter, it the very second line in bold writing so your may be the same and you wont need to pay a penalty.

Personally I am confused as both me and my wife didn't see anything about a charge for the the bridge.

Nobbie1967

Snap,

My partner got this letter a few months back after paying the charge 3 days after using the bridge. Phoned them up to say that it had been payed and was assured that it was all sorted and just caused by the computers not marrying up the payment and charge notice. Then last week a letter comes saying that a fine of over £100 pounds is payable for non payment of charge. She had to write a letter explaining what happened and is still waiting for them to give the the all clear.

Make sure you keep a note of any phone calls you make and who you spoke to should you need them later. Luckily my partner did.

Sounds like you paid it twice just to avoid the fine, write to them stating the facts and ask for a refund. They must have a record of your payment in Bromley, they may just have to manually go and find it

Jayney33

I've had a similar experience, but slightly more complicated!!
I've just received a penalty notice for a crossing made in August, which I phoned & paid at the time & have the receipt. I was assured on the phone that this had cleared the matter at that time.
Since then, I made a crossing in October which I for got to pay at the time; when I phoned this week about the August PCN, I was told my payment in August has been used to pay for the October crossing!!!... therefore the August crossing is now way overdue with a charge of £107.50.
I simply could not fathom this, as it makes no sense and they could see receipt of my August payment. I was told my only option was to write a letter of 'representation' which I did by email, attaching the paid August receipt. The reply I got basicly states they are not at fault & any payments made can be used for future crossings!!!
Please can anyone help me sort this? They did say calls are recorded and I'm confident I was told in August that the payment I made had paid the August PCN.

tentickles666

Thank you so much for this!

We just, today, end of Nov got a charge from the middle of June. We didnt even see the charge signs. At first we thought it was a scam, then googled.

The letter is not clear that you can just pay 2.50, im sure most people, especially when you are flapping about because you were not expecting the letter, go straight to the charge notice. The only options to pay by post include the full charge!

So thanks for this, we paid online and just piad 2.50. I hate to think how many people automatically just sent off a cheque for £40

:T

mehtaman

I fully agree that the Dart Charge is not clearly marked, they should have signs to say it operates at 'any time' and there should be signs to indicate the cost... not just a letter C above the tunnel/bridge.

That being said, my brother just recieved 2 PCN's for a crossing in August...

The first PCN arrived around 2-3 weeks ago, for a southbound crossing at around 16:10.
He recalls crossing the bridge but did not know about the charge, so he logged in online and paid £2.50 before any more costs are incured.

Yesterday he recieved a 2nd PCN for the same day a northbound crossing at 16:15 - just 5 minutes after the first PCN was logged.
He paid the £2.50 fee for peace of mind but my brother is certain that he did not cross back within 5 minutes.

Has anyone else had such an odd PCN?
Could there be a case to appeal against the photographic evidence (even though he paid a £5 charge)?

bowlhead99

It does sound a bit odd. Usually it would be pretty tricky to get back the other way within 5 minutes as the traffic can be terrible. However, it's probably possible, so presumably he would need some evidence to show that he hadn't simply done two crossings in quick succession (for example because he accidentally joined the motorway going south instead of north and realised when on the crossing.)

Presumably he's not denying that after crossing the bridge to go somewhere, he came back home later, which is why it was very sensible to pay the nominal fee. I mean, to appeal it, basically he would be saying Hah, I can prove I didn't come back north at 16.15 because it was actually 18.15 when I came home north over the bridge... oh wait... erm... no I never came home, I'm still there.

The 'let you off for £2.50 your first day' is quite a nice rule to help out people who would otherwise be moaning that they never knew about it, so it's much better taking the offer than trying to escape on a technicality, fail and have a much bigger fee to pay.

mehtaman

We will check through his paperwork (as the journey was a commute to work) so its very unlikely he crossed back in 5 minutes.

We might just raise it with Dart Charge as a query into the timestamps but agree its not worth the hassel considering they offer a 'benifit of the doubt' option and no further action is taken.

Plus I've not my own PCN headache to deal with

JohnBravo

I can update you on my case.
I have challenged mine using enclosed slip and sent it via recorded signed for.
The £37 penalty was for crossing when I was returning from abroad mid October.
I have sent it Tuesday this week. The lady has said that it will arrive Thursday.

Today I have picked up some letters (it is Saturday)
And you know what? There is another Dart Charge but this time for crossing in September when I was leaving UK (15/09/2015).
The charge is for £105 and there is no option for representation (no slip).

What do you think? This clearly looks to me like some automated or intentional harassment.

How the heck they sent me a last one with a slip and instead of responding to my challenge which has arrived on Thursday they perfidiously sent another charge that arrives at my address Saturday!!!
And this is for a crossing that happened almost a month before this one and there was no letters or PCN before whatsoever!!!

Just to remind you that this is the first time I have used the crossing since this bloody scheme is in place.

I think I am going to CAB with this as this is really bad.

I cannot imagine how many people they have harassed over the last year (more than 1 million of PCNs issues in result of this new scheme).

Quentin

CAB won't help you sort this.

You need go take this to pepipoo

JohnBravo

The new one says "No representation was received against the PCN and full payment has not been made within the prescribed period."

I doubt they will be able to defend themselves that they have sent me letters previously (reminders) about the crossing in September. I have received none.
The fact that they have issued it just after they received my response re previous PCN, too coincidental and definitely in the wrong order.

This can be the practice they do with everyone. Unbelievable.