Dart Charge registration now available for go live 30 Nov
Discussion
Sent them an email, and I was kind 'cos I sent it in English, and here is their reply:-
Dear Tony Brown
Thanks for your message. Your query has been passed on to the Highways Agency, who manage this material. They will ensure that your query is dealt with by the appropriate team. They will reply to you directly (unfortunately we can not give an estimate time on when you will receive a response).
So I sent back the following:-
Tony Brown
Nov 26 12:32
GOV.UK email So I assume your team speak fluent French, as does my friend? I mean, he’s French so he would do. But he doesn’t speak English at all. He needs to know how to deal with his visit to the UK and the new crossing terms, so he’ll need it explained to him in French please. Quite what you are going to do for the Germans, the Swedes, the Finns, the Greeks, Spaniards, Italians and Croats but above all the Polish HGV drivers I don’t know so perhaps you will need quite a large team.
Tony Brown
Nov 26 09:25
Dear Tony Brown
Thanks for your message. Your query has been passed on to the Highways Agency, who manage this material. They will ensure that your query is dealt with by the appropriate team. They will reply to you directly (unfortunately we can not give an estimate time on when you will receive a response).
So I sent back the following:-
Tony Brown
Nov 26 12:32
GOV.UK email So I assume your team speak fluent French, as does my friend? I mean, he’s French so he would do. But he doesn’t speak English at all. He needs to know how to deal with his visit to the UK and the new crossing terms, so he’ll need it explained to him in French please. Quite what you are going to do for the Germans, the Swedes, the Finns, the Greeks, Spaniards, Italians and Croats but above all the Polish HGV drivers I don’t know so perhaps you will need quite a large team.
Tony Brown
Nov 26 09:25
lowdrag said:
Sent them an email, and I was kind 'cos I sent it in English, and here is their reply:-
Dear Tony Brown
Thanks for your message. Your query has been passed on to the Highways Agency, who manage this material. They will ensure that your query is dealt with by the appropriate team. They will reply to you directly (unfortunately we can not give an estimate time on when you will receive a response).
So I sent back the following:-
Tony Brown
Nov 26 12:32
GOV.UK email So I assume your team speak fluent French, as does my friend? I mean, he’s French so he would do. But he doesn’t speak English at all. He needs to know how to deal with his visit to the UK and the new crossing terms, so he’ll need it explained to him in French please. Quite what you are going to do for the Germans, the Swedes, the Finns, the Greeks, Spaniards, Italians and Croats but above all the Polish HGV drivers I don’t know so perhaps you will need quite a large team.
Tony Brown
Nov 26 09:25
Good post. In the absence of any concrete information from the crossing organisation/s this `appears'Dear Tony Brown
Thanks for your message. Your query has been passed on to the Highways Agency, who manage this material. They will ensure that your query is dealt with by the appropriate team. They will reply to you directly (unfortunately we can not give an estimate time on when you will receive a response).
So I sent back the following:-
Tony Brown
Nov 26 12:32
GOV.UK email So I assume your team speak fluent French, as does my friend? I mean, he’s French so he would do. But he doesn’t speak English at all. He needs to know how to deal with his visit to the UK and the new crossing terms, so he’ll need it explained to him in French please. Quite what you are going to do for the Germans, the Swedes, the Finns, the Greeks, Spaniards, Italians and Croats but above all the Polish HGV drivers I don’t know so perhaps you will need quite a large team.
Tony Brown
Nov 26 09:25
to be something they have not thought through properly, (or they have thought it through, and decided they are not especially worried about making it financially unfair for UK drivers, particularly UK HGV`s.)
lowdrag said:
Sent them an email, and I was kind 'cos I sent it in English, and here is their reply:-
Dear Tony Brown
Thanks for your message. Your query has been passed on to the Highways Agency, who manage this material. They will ensure that your query is dealt with by the appropriate team. They will reply to you directly (unfortunately we can not give an estimate time on when you will receive a response).
So I sent back the following:-
Tony Brown
Nov 26 12:32
GOV.UK email So I assume your team speak fluent French, as does my friend? I mean, he’s French so he would do. But he doesn’t speak English at all. He needs to know how to deal with his visit to the UK and the new crossing terms, so he’ll need it explained to him in French please. Quite what you are going to do for the Germans, the Swedes, the Finns, the Greeks, Spaniards, Italians and Croats but above all the Polish HGV drivers I don’t know so perhaps you will need quite a large team.
Tony Brown
Nov 26 09:25
When I drive in France I have to try and understand road instructions written in French and when the auto tickets don't work properly at the Péages I have to muddle by with my limited French vocabulary. Your mate has an advantage that you speak English, and I assume fluent French, so why don't you explain it to him or just send him this link https://translate.google.co.uk/Dear Tony Brown
Thanks for your message. Your query has been passed on to the Highways Agency, who manage this material. They will ensure that your query is dealt with by the appropriate team. They will reply to you directly (unfortunately we can not give an estimate time on when you will receive a response).
So I sent back the following:-
Tony Brown
Nov 26 12:32
GOV.UK email So I assume your team speak fluent French, as does my friend? I mean, he’s French so he would do. But he doesn’t speak English at all. He needs to know how to deal with his visit to the UK and the new crossing terms, so he’ll need it explained to him in French please. Quite what you are going to do for the Germans, the Swedes, the Finns, the Greeks, Spaniards, Italians and Croats but above all the Polish HGV drivers I don’t know so perhaps you will need quite a large team.
Tony Brown
Nov 26 09:25
I think we are a little too forgiving of those who fail to plan ahead when traveling to the UK. If I drive to Switzerland I must pay to use the motorways, not for the time I'm there, for the full year. We hired cars in Portugal earlier this year and had to pay extra for the transponder in it for the toll roads.I think it was €30, I doubt we used that in the 4 days hire... Plus there is always the Blackwall tunnel as another option.
You miss the point. If we pay taxes, we expect service, not any rubbish thrown at us. Of course I could help, and will do, but the point of the Polish or Rumanian HGV driver still remains, as does the fact that tourism is one of the biggest British industries. Arrive in France at Calais, take the motorway, and you find that helpfully the ticket machines are also set up for RHD cars. You breathe a sigh of relief and think "most considerate" until you find out that they are the only ones in France. But will there be a fleet of BiB at either side of the Thames waiting to fine foreigners vast amounts because they don't understand the new system?
Here we have a badly thought out change exactly, as already said, like the congestion charge. We should and must expect better from our hard-earned taxes, not just any old system cobbled together. I am trying to make a point, that's all.
Here we have a badly thought out change exactly, as already said, like the congestion charge. We should and must expect better from our hard-earned taxes, not just any old system cobbled together. I am trying to make a point, that's all.
lowdrag said:
ANPR does not exist in France at all. Those gantries are for the radar cameras. Maybe one day it will - I mean, they are installing now the average speed camera system - but the French rely in the main on regular spot checks for paperwork.
I thought they were just speed cameras at first, but then I saw the ones they've put up at Dartford. They are exactly the same. Funny enough we were talking about how France is changing and becoming more like the UK with our friends down there. More and more speed bumps and traffic calming and 30kph limits appearing. More stretches of motorways that were 130kph now 110 or even 90, with cameras of course. More and more cameras too. You'll soon have it or similar. Always really annoyed me that they've never had a LHD booth at Dartford. I mean, how hard can it be? Annoyingly, returning from Le Mans this year, they'd removed the fast tag lane at many booths and had them all manned with people standing there doing the ticket/paying for RHD cars.
Oh, our experience of calling Sanef is that they say they don't speak English and then once you've started talking to them in poor French, they usually switch to very good English. My experience with many French is that they at least like you to try and speak French and then when you've tried, they're happy to talk in English.
Can't see anyone at the Dart crossing speaking French mind.
I wonder how visitors to the UK deal with the congestion charge? Do they pay?
Edited by Gixer on Wednesday 26th November 17:00
Well, I have just registered and topped up a new Dart Charge account, without referencing my existing Dart Tag account at all, and using the same name, address and email. So, since I won't be going through the tunnel until Sunday (pity me that!) I'll remove the tags from the cars now and let's see what happens on Sunday. I simply can't see any point in having the tag on the screen whatsoever.
lowdrag said:
ANPR does not exist in France at all. Those gantries are for the radar cameras. Maybe one day it will - I mean, they are installing now the average speed camera system - but the French rely in the main on regular spot checks for paperwork.
Actually it does exist and as British HGV drivers will have to comply with paying the French Eco tax (if they ever manage to agree on it) why worry about eastern European drivers not understanding something at the Dartford tunnel. There'll be no BiB on either side of the bridge because revenue collection is nothing to do with them.We have decided ourselves to visit my family in Essex after Xmas so will be travelling tunnel/bridge and will not be paying. It seems silly to pay when on French plates, doesn't it? I'll let you know what happens, but my new email address might well be hmprisons.co.uk or still a French one. We'll see.
Crossed twice today. The queues do seem to be less and move more quickly. However, despite registering last week and adding funds to my account, the balance 5 minutes ago showed no deductions. Tried to send them a message using the contact form on the DC webpage, firstly you can't use any punctuation marks in the message, and then when you try to send it repeatedly shows an error page. Hardly surprising in reality but FFS you've had long enough to get it working and right.
I travelled over the crossing twice today, account setup the night before.
Just logged n to add yet another car and its showing nothing in the crossing or payment history.
Has anyone been across and seen there account charged yet? Will be raging if i get a fine come through. Of course ill contest it but it shouldnt come to that anyway
Just logged n to add yet another car and its showing nothing in the crossing or payment history.
Has anyone been across and seen there account charged yet? Will be raging if i get a fine come through. Of course ill contest it but it shouldnt come to that anyway
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