Recent Dartford Crossing Experience?
Discussion
Stupid Stupid! I have just remembered to pay for a return trip using the dartford crossing - 2 evenings ago over the Bridge and 1 hour later back via the Tunnel... so I missed "midnight the next day" for paying by 24 hours.
I've paid now, in vague hope it will stop a PCN arriving... so annoyed!!!! Likelihood of this? Slim I expect.
Has anyone any recent experience with the Dartford Crossing and paying late? I read somewhere about the 1st offence (which this is) being treated as an exception.... but as it was a return trip will this mean only one of them will be treated this way - i.e 2 PCNs will arrive.... a first and second offence within an hour of each other.
For a 1 day late payment, it looks like a fine of at least £70 (£35+£35 if paid within 14 days)... deep joy.
grrr...
I've paid now, in vague hope it will stop a PCN arriving... so annoyed!!!! Likelihood of this? Slim I expect.
Has anyone any recent experience with the Dartford Crossing and paying late? I read somewhere about the 1st offence (which this is) being treated as an exception.... but as it was a return trip will this mean only one of them will be treated this way - i.e 2 PCNs will arrive.... a first and second offence within an hour of each other.
For a 1 day late payment, it looks like a fine of at least £70 (£35+£35 if paid within 14 days)... deep joy.
grrr...
boltoc said:
I did a return trip in January that I forgot to pay for. All in one day and 6hrs apart.
I got two fines and also a letter saying if paid in IIRC 14 days the fine wouldn't be applied.
I paid straight away and was charged the two crossing fees plus £70.
I sent a complaint in and waited 28 days.
I called and was impressed quite how useless they were.
I wrote to complain again.
A further 3 months later I got a £70 refund on my credit card.
Yet, if you'd not been dumb enough to miss seeing the crossing and paying the charge in the first place all that trouble would have been avoided! I got two fines and also a letter saying if paid in IIRC 14 days the fine wouldn't be applied.
I paid straight away and was charged the two crossing fees plus £70.
I sent a complaint in and waited 28 days.
I called and was impressed quite how useless they were.
I wrote to complain again.
A further 3 months later I got a £70 refund on my credit card.
The new system works well IMO, even though I use it only half a dozen times each year. And at least they are normally fairly flexible with people who 'forget' to pay, as long as they're genuine, from what I've heard.
I screwed up last year, I have multiple cars registered with an auto top up. In October swapped the Boxster for a Mazda & updated the plate, a month later found a private plate for the Mazda & swapped it & forgot to update DART system! Did everything else including Ebbsfleet car park.
Got a fine through for each way same as you. I phoned them up & confessed to my stupidity & I paid the unpaid charge of £2.50 each way, job done..
I have rapidly changed the database for the new plate.,
Got a fine through for each way same as you. I phoned them up & confessed to my stupidity & I paid the unpaid charge of £2.50 each way, job done..
I have rapidly changed the database for the new plate.,
Hi all - yep, phoned up early this morning. Chap told me as first offence, non PCNs would be sent out and the payment I had made (only 24 hours late) would, on this occasion only, be accepted as payment.
Setting up an account and sticking some money on it for the future.
I think the non-toll booth is better overall in terms of queues but, it is so easy to forget to pay. For some reason much easier than the Congestion Charge which I never forget about.
Setting up an account and sticking some money on it for the future.
I think the non-toll booth is better overall in terms of queues but, it is so easy to forget to pay. For some reason much easier than the Congestion Charge which I never forget about.
It's still shambolic in truth, and a 'phone call will normally result in paying the crossing fee only if it is the first time the registration has appeared on their system. Unofficially, they are having major problems with the signage, in that it is not clear enough to be read and understood at motorway speeds. in 2015 Highways agency made 3.15m requests to the DVLA for keeper information - that is a huge number of unpaid crossings, and surpasses Transport for London congestion charge non-payers.
I'm having a lot of "fun" with the rental fleet I manage. For example, a van is hired on a Saturday and crosses back and forth without paying, and is returned on the Monday morning. That same van is hired again on Tuesday and makes a back and forth crossing but the driver logs on to pay, the PCN will be issued for the Tuesday crossing. The Tuesday hirer provides a receipt for payment, we submit that to Dart, who tell us that payment was used to cover the Saturday crossings.
Similarly, we have a number of cases where one hirer has made multiple crossings, but it can take months for the PCNs to arrive. By which time the hirer is long gone, and the credit card is declined. We can transfer liability for these, and I know that Dart have a huge backlog of Charge certificates and Orders for Recovery to process.
To compound that matter, if a vehicle is added to an autopay account, any outstanding PCNs are instantly collected. One hirer put £1000 onto their tp up account for their fleet of vehicles, only for Dart to take £900 in unpaid charges from the previous hirer, even though the PCN's had not been sent yet.
So yeah - just ring them up, apologise, pay the standard £2.50/£3.00.
I'm having a lot of "fun" with the rental fleet I manage. For example, a van is hired on a Saturday and crosses back and forth without paying, and is returned on the Monday morning. That same van is hired again on Tuesday and makes a back and forth crossing but the driver logs on to pay, the PCN will be issued for the Tuesday crossing. The Tuesday hirer provides a receipt for payment, we submit that to Dart, who tell us that payment was used to cover the Saturday crossings.
Similarly, we have a number of cases where one hirer has made multiple crossings, but it can take months for the PCNs to arrive. By which time the hirer is long gone, and the credit card is declined. We can transfer liability for these, and I know that Dart have a huge backlog of Charge certificates and Orders for Recovery to process.
To compound that matter, if a vehicle is added to an autopay account, any outstanding PCNs are instantly collected. One hirer put £1000 onto their tp up account for their fleet of vehicles, only for Dart to take £900 in unpaid charges from the previous hirer, even though the PCN's had not been sent yet.
So yeah - just ring them up, apologise, pay the standard £2.50/£3.00.
S11Steve said:
It's still shambolic in truth, and a 'phone call will normally result in paying the crossing fee only if it is the first time the registration has appeared on their system. Unofficially, they are having major problems with the signage, in that it is not clear enough to be read and understood at motorway speeds. in 2015 Highways agency made 3.15m requests to the DVLA for keeper information - that is a huge number of unpaid crossings, and surpasses Transport for London congestion charge non-payers.
I'm having a lot of "fun" with the rental fleet I manage. For example, a van is hired on a Saturday and crosses back and forth without paying, and is returned on the Monday morning. That same van is hired again on Tuesday and makes a back and forth crossing but the driver logs on to pay, the PCN will be issued for the Tuesday crossing. The Tuesday hirer provides a receipt for payment, we submit that to Dart, who tell us that payment was used to cover the Saturday crossings.
Similarly, we have a number of cases where one hirer has made multiple crossings, but it can take months for the PCNs to arrive. By which time the hirer is long gone, and the credit card is declined. We can transfer liability for these, and I know that Dart have a huge backlog of Charge certificates and Orders for Recovery to process.
To compound that matter, if a vehicle is added to an autopay account, any outstanding PCNs are instantly collected. One hirer put £1000 onto their tp up account for their fleet of vehicles, only for Dart to take £900 in unpaid charges from the previous hirer, even though the PCN's had not been sent yet.
So yeah - just ring them up, apologise, pay the standard £2.50/£3.00.
The Irish system on the M50 - at least with Hertz.... They pay the charge and pass it on (probably with an admin charge - but it's not large). Keeps life simple.I'm having a lot of "fun" with the rental fleet I manage. For example, a van is hired on a Saturday and crosses back and forth without paying, and is returned on the Monday morning. That same van is hired again on Tuesday and makes a back and forth crossing but the driver logs on to pay, the PCN will be issued for the Tuesday crossing. The Tuesday hirer provides a receipt for payment, we submit that to Dart, who tell us that payment was used to cover the Saturday crossings.
Similarly, we have a number of cases where one hirer has made multiple crossings, but it can take months for the PCNs to arrive. By which time the hirer is long gone, and the credit card is declined. We can transfer liability for these, and I know that Dart have a huge backlog of Charge certificates and Orders for Recovery to process.
To compound that matter, if a vehicle is added to an autopay account, any outstanding PCNs are instantly collected. One hirer put £1000 onto their tp up account for their fleet of vehicles, only for Dart to take £900 in unpaid charges from the previous hirer, even though the PCN's had not been sent yet.
So yeah - just ring them up, apologise, pay the standard £2.50/£3.00.
I've also noticed that their charge signs are far more noticeable than ours.
S11Steve said:
in 2015 Highways agency made 3.15m requests to the DVLA for keeper information - that is a huge number of unpaid crossings, and surpasses Transport for London congestion charge non-payers.
3,150,000 x £2.50 = £7,875,000 !! Not collected ever I bet !!That's why the Fee went up by 50p when the toll booths went. To pay for those that never pay !!
surveyor said:
The Irish system on the M50 - at least with Hertz.... They pay the charge and pass it on (probably with an admin charge - but it's not large). Keeps life simple.
I've also noticed that their charge signs are far more noticeable than ours.
I had exactly the same with a Hertz car driving into Sydney Australia. I used the toll roads and the tolls were collected by Hertz a couple of weeks later. I've also noticed that their charge signs are far more noticeable than ours.
Why can't Dart do something simple like this?
bad company said:
I had exactly the same with a Hertz car driving into Sydney Australia. I used the toll roads and the tolls were collected by Hertz a couple of weeks later.
Why can't Dart do something simple like this?
they use a tag in the car so you'd still have people with no tag or forgetting to move it between cars.Why can't Dart do something simple like this?
REALIST123 said:
boltoc said:
I did a return trip in January that I forgot to pay for. All in one day and 6hrs apart.
I got two fines and also a letter saying if paid in IIRC 14 days the fine wouldn't be applied.
I paid straight away and was charged the two crossing fees plus £70.
I sent a complaint in and waited 28 days.
I called and was impressed quite how useless they were.
I wrote to complain again.
A further 3 months later I got a £70 refund on my credit card.
Yet, if you'd not been dumb enough to miss seeing the crossing and paying the charge in the first place all that trouble would have been avoided! I got two fines and also a letter saying if paid in IIRC 14 days the fine wouldn't be applied.
I paid straight away and was charged the two crossing fees plus £70.
I sent a complaint in and waited 28 days.
I called and was impressed quite how useless they were.
I wrote to complain again.
A further 3 months later I got a £70 refund on my credit card.
The new system works well IMO, even though I use it only half a dozen times each year. And at least they are normally fairly flexible with people who 'forget' to pay, as long as they're genuine, from what I've heard.
Progress indeed.
bad company said:
I had exactly the same with a Hertz car driving into Sydney Australia. I used the toll roads and the tolls were collected by Hertz a couple of weeks later.
Why can't Dart do something simple like this?
When you go online to make a payment, there is no requirement to enter a crossing date. Until Dart can accurately attach crossings to payments received, most rental companies are trying to transfer liability to the driver to let them sort it out directly.Why can't Dart do something simple like this?
[quote]
For example, a van is hired on a Saturday and crosses back and forth without paying, and is returned on the Monday morning. That same van is hired again on Tuesday and makes a back and forth crossing but the driver logs on to pay, the PCN will be issued for the Tuesday crossing. The Tuesday hirer provides a receipt for payment, we submit that to Dart, who tell us that payment was used to cover the Saturday crossings.
As for the Dublin M50 toll - that is another shambles that has been passed to a toothless/witless debt collection agency called EPC Plc. Once it is passed to them by E-Flow in Dublin, the unpaid charge is marked as settled so they have no interest in pursuing it. However EPC Plc do not have the authority to enforce the debt here in the UK. I've had many lengthy discussions with them about it, and asked if they would like to settle it in front of a judge. I'm still waiting to receive a claim.
edwheels said:
Has anyone any recent experience with the Dartford Crossing and paying late?
Yep. I received a letter/PCN two weeks ago for not paying for using the crossing in November 2015. I moved house at the time, so imagine it's taken a while for them to find me.I went online, paid the crossing charge of £2.50 and it's all done, no extra charges.
edwheels said:
Stupid Stupid! I have just remembered to pay for a return trip using the dartford crossing - 2 evenings ago over the Bridge and 1 hour later back via the Tunnel... so I missed "midnight the next day" for paying by 24 hours.
I've paid now, in vague hope it will stop a PCN arriving... so annoyed!!!! Likelihood of this? Slim I expect.
Has anyone any recent experience with the Dartford Crossing and paying late? I read somewhere about the 1st offence (which this is) being treated as an exception.... but as it was a return trip will this mean only one of them will be treated this way - i.e 2 PCNs will arrive.... a first and second offence within an hour of each other.
For a 1 day late payment, it looks like a fine of at least £70 (£35+£35 if paid within 14 days)... deep joy.
grrr...
I did exactly the same, I paid a couple of days later. It doesn't count as I was after the deadline and the money from that payment gets logged against the car as credit for a future trip. So I still received a fine for non payment within the allotted time.I've paid now, in vague hope it will stop a PCN arriving... so annoyed!!!! Likelihood of this? Slim I expect.
Has anyone any recent experience with the Dartford Crossing and paying late? I read somewhere about the 1st offence (which this is) being treated as an exception.... but as it was a return trip will this mean only one of them will be treated this way - i.e 2 PCNs will arrive.... a first and second offence within an hour of each other.
For a 1 day late payment, it looks like a fine of at least £70 (£35+£35 if paid within 14 days)... deep joy.
grrr...
As this was an first offence they were being lenient (assuming they are still doing this) and simply asked me to pay for the crossing, but could not use the credit on the car to pay it. So paid another £5
I spoke to them on the phone and explained the silliness of not allowing the credit to be used, but that's the system.
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