Dartford crossing rip off (1 Viewer)

[stringa]

Just thought I'd share this with you. We went to Dover from lincoln having put in the address into the sat nav off we went, straight there easy peasy after a month in Spain we returned home only to find my post, there was a letter from the Dartford crossing office presenting me with my bill of £250.00 for the crossing, the poxy crossing over the Thames, my appeal was turned down as I did not pay within 12 hours, I explained I was out off the country for 30 days or so but they had the last word pay up or it will go up to £500 and then £750.........The standard charge for my 17 year old mh would be £100.00 because of the emissions, anyone else had bother like this or is it just me.

 

[****]

I was told you are meant to pay online in advance for the crossing. When you pay it lasts for X amounts of months but if you cross during the night its free. You could play dumb and say you did not know about the payment arrangement as was expecting a toll booth.

 

[Robert Clark]

Some people may say that it's the people who use the Dartford Crossing without paying that are 'ripping' off the people who do pay.

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[andyman]

I wasnt aware that the Dartford Crossing charge was related to emmissions.
Are you sure you did not enter the LEZ.

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Just you I think.

The crossing charge and the ways to pay are very well publicised.

It looks like you may have strayed into the LEZ as well because your emissions are irrelevant for the Dartford Crossing. It's either £2.50 for a one off or £1.67 with an account. The penalty charges for DartCharge aren't what you quote either so I don't think that's what you've been charged for: https://www.gov.uk/dartford-crossing-fees-exemptions-penalties

The LEZ charge however is £100 per day and they are completely strict on it with no exceptions so the charges you quote would make sense for that.

I'm not entirely sure how you would have managed to accidentally stray into the zone though. The M25 isn't part of it and it's extremely well signed on all the approaches.

 

[chaser]

Sorry. But why didn't you pay at the time, plenty signs, and threads on here, less than a fiver, just not worth risking it.

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[St Piran]

 

[Badknee]

We'll according to the map the M25 does run through it.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

We'll according to the map the M25 does run through it.

Yes but the M25 itself is not part of the LEZ

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[Robert Clark]

We'll according to the map the M25 does run through it.

Whether it does or doesn't isn't it the drivers responsibility to drive within the laws/regulations?

 

[Badknee]

Are there any peeps that travel that stretch regularly to clarify?

 

[mitzimad]

he good news is if you went over the bridge or through the tunnel that fine is still to arrive

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[chaser]

Where's the op gone, could he enlighten us a bit more, there might be a lesson to be learned here, it's certainly not just the crossing.

 

[andyman]

Are there any peeps that travel that stretch regularly to clarify?

The M25 is not part of the LEZ, it is dificult not to see all the LEZ signs when you leave the M25.
I wonder if they had the satnav set to quickest route. Iy may have took them off the M25 and back on due to traffic. If you came down the M1 and it took you on the south circular you would go through the LEZ.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Are there any peeps that travel that stretch regularly to clarify?

The M25 is not part of the LEZ, it is dificult not to see all the LEZ signs when you leave the M25.
I wonder if they had the satnav set to quickest route. Iy may have took them off the M25 and back on due to traffic. If you came down the M1 and it took you on the south circular you would go through the LEZ.

Yes - driven it many, many times

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[Theonlysue]

If you stay on m25 you are excluded from the lez zone.
Confused as emissions nothing to do with dart charge.
If lez, they used to let you off for first offence.

 

[KeithChesterfield]

I don't know which way you actually took but the quickest route in both time and distance using Google maps takes you nowhere near London and the LEZ.

The Dartford Crossing and the 'new' paying structure have been frequently posted on threads on this and other forums for the past couple of years.

You'll know next time won't you?

 

[Popeye]

I have to say it does look as if you are confusing the Dartford charge with LEZ. These are the penalties for the Dartford crossing.

"The penalty charge is £70 and must be paid within 28 days. It’s reduced to £35 if you pay within 14 days and increased to £105 if you don’t pay."

So the most it should cost is £105 if you hadn't paid in the 28 days..... Tough I know but there tiz!

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[wizza]

andyman is right the m25 is not part of LEZ i live 12 miles from it crossed loads of times going down to Dover in my 20 year old hymer. £2.50 one way pay in advance online simples. I did stray into the LEZ coming back from France but thats another story £200 thank you very much.Now i get from the wife stay on the M25 you know what happened last time

 

[gus-lopez]

.The standard charge for my 17 year old mh would be £100.00 because of the emissions, anyone else had bother like this or is it just me.



As everyone else has said , some how you have entered the london emission zone.

 

[wizza]

My sat nav was set for no toll roads traffic was building up so turned onto A2 by the time i see the warnings it was to late £200 as i was 4100kg

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[stringa]

The first time I went it cost me £2.50 which I didn't know about until I got back (driving in the car ) so the next time I went thinking it was the same route and yes I new I had to pay ( thinking it was the same amount ) and I'll pay when I get home but this time I did enter the LEZ but Unknown to me.....just for the nasties I always pay my way, I just never expected to get a kick in the teeth.

 

[Minxy]

So it wasn't Dartford crossing at all, but the LEZ due to you going into the 'zone'?

 

[chaser]

Still not very clear though, in the op it was stated dart crossing, so did you get fined for both, and how did you stray into lez off m25

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[Chris]

The first time I went it cost me £2.50 which I didn't know about until I got back (driving in the car ) so the next time I went thinking it was the same route and yes I new I had to pay ( thinking it was the same amount ) and I'll pay when I get home but this time I did enter the LEZ but Unknown to me.....just for the nasties I always pay my way, I just never expected to get a kick in the teeth.

Did you leave the M25?

If you didn't the LEZ would not affect you.

 

[sweetie]

Sounds if you need to get a decent sat nav. Can get a good one for less then £250
Obviously you must have left the M25 and strayed into the LEZ zone. There enough signs.
Not the authorities fault.

 

[chaser]

The first time I went it cost me £2.50 which I didn't know about until I got back (driving in the car ) so the next time I went thinking it was the same route and yes I new I had to pay ( thinking it was the same amount ) and I'll pay when I get home but this time I did enter the LEZ but Unknown to me.....just for the nasties I always pay my way, I just never expected to get a kick in the teeth.

Why would you pay when you got home when obviously you knew you wouldn't be there for a month, and having done it before must have known you would get find, sorry for being so negative but it just doesn't make sense.

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[Techno]

anyone else had bother like this or is it just me.

Just you it seems and the topic title is a red herring

 

[Enword]

I for one can sympathize @stringa even if your not getting much we are all human & we all can make mistakes. I made one the same, We came back from Snetterton a few years back & were going to stop over with friends in Romford something we have done times, at time we hadn't realised they had extended the LEZ, it was dark we saw signs but thought the route we use doesn't go near, by the time we sussed I could not turn or go back ( at 44.5 ft long with the trailer ) we had to go on. Funny thing when we got there our friends had no idea they were in the zone,

 

[Irishrover]

Both times I crossed the Dartford Crossing was at night so didn;t pay anything. I thought it was going to be a toll booth set-up anyway so had some Sterling at the ready, think its free after 10pm?...not sure but never got anything in the post....Not surprising as I live in Ireland and Irish plates