Dartford crossing problems anyone? (1 Viewer)

[Brains]

As an FYI:

Once the Silvertown Tunnel is completed next year the Dart Charge will be extended to the Blackwall and Silvertown crossings as well.
And also to the Tideway crossing when that is completed in 2030.

Therefore it will be impossible to pass London to the East without paying a toll.
So unless you live south of the Thames valley/M4 to get to Kent/the Channel Ports & Tunnel you will need an account.

The family account, with every possible number plate on it, is the way to go.

 

[Wendo55]

UPDATE:
Finally got through on the phone. 42 callers in front of me but I stayed on and they must have plenty of handlers as it only took about 15 minutes to speak to someone but then he put me on hold for another 15 minutes while he investigated.
The outcome was a "System error" had charged me £3 instead of the (correct) £2.50 I'd paid.
I'm no wiser!
Anyway, the penalty is cancelled and my vehicle has been marked accordingly, whatever that means!

 

[JockandRita]

Anyway, the penalty is cancelled and my vehicle has been marked accordingly, whatever that means!

But did you ask about reactivating your account Wendy? It is so much easier.

On the contract changeover, we just had to re validate the payment method, not the account.

We've got £4.00 left in ours, but will top up after August's outbound crossing.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Wendo55]

Jock it won't even accept my email address so I'll just sign up for a new one nearer the time.

 

[Willieboy]

I'm pleased that some Funsters are ok with Dart charge, but unfortunately it's not been my experience

I've had an account for years but since the new company took over, it's been chaos! When I changed cars about three years ago, I added the new car and at the same time, I deleted my old car

I had no issues until the new company contacted me to say that I needed to re-register and reconfirm payment arrangements. Out of curiosity several months later, I checked my account only to find that my old car (that I know I had already deleted was back on my account! Worse still, the new owners had made many trips back and forth at my expense! I deleted my old car again (for the second time) and then complained

Their response denied that it was deleted saying - "Please note that you are liable for any crossings made by this vehicle while it’s registered to your Dart Charge account"

Surprised only 42 callers in front of Wendy, it must have been a lucky day! Trying to prove these people wrong is worse than smashing your head against a brick wall! In the end you just give up

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[Brains]

But did you ask about reactivating your account Wendy? It is so much easier.

On the contract changeover, we just had to re validate the payment method, not the account.

We've got £4.00 left in ours, but will top up after August's outbound crossing.

Cheers,

Jock.

Now-a-days you can simply elect for the 'pay-as-you-go' option.

Fill in the card details and they simply charge you whatever the toll is whenever any number plate on your personal account crosses.

(That way you do not need to keep your Dart Account topped up)

 

[Brains]

I'm pleased that some Funsters are ok with Dart charge, but unfortunately it's not been my experience

I've had an account for years but since the new company took over, it's been chaos! When I changed cars about three years ago, I added the new car and at the same time, I deleted my old car

I had no issues until the new company contacted me to say that I needed to re-register and reconfirm payment arrangements. Out of curiosity several months later, I checked my account only to find that my old car (that I know I had already deleted was back on my account! Worse still, the new owners had made many trips back and forth at my expense! I deleted my old car again (for the second time) and then complained

Their response denied that it was deleted saying - "Please note that you are liable for any crossings made by this vehicle while it’s registered to your Dart Charge account"

Surprised only 42 callers in front of Wendy, it must have been a lucky day! Trying to prove these people wrong is worse than smashing your head against a brick wall! In the end you just give up

I get an emailed receipt every time I cross.

So if I did sell a vehicle and forget to delete it, I'd know the first time it was used.

Likewise, I'm sure a vehicle can't be listed twice.
You would have thought the 'new' listing would remove the 'old' listing.
And then sent an E-Mail to the 'old' account and tell them the vehicle has been re registered.
Given the traffic volume across the thames (hundreds of thousands of vehicles per day) this must be a regular daily occurrence, and you would presume the simple software would alerts both the old and new users.

 

[Red Sonja]

My Son bought a new to him car and we tried to add it to our account. Can't do it as it's already registered. I had to check every day to see if it had been removed from the old account. It was about 3 months later that we were able to register the car. It wasn't for the want of trying.

 

[JockandRita]

Trying to prove these people wrong is worse than smashing your head against a brick wall! In the end you just give up

Isn't that becoming the norm with service providers these days..........unfortunately?
They want you to get frustrated, smashing your head against a brick wall, whereupon you give up. NO CHANCE.

Even if it’s just a matter of principal, rather than about finances, I feel the need to justify and persue the issue, to prove my/our innocence.

Bring it on I say.

Now-a-days you can simply elect for the 'pay-as-you-go' option.

Fill in the card details and they simply charge you whatever the toll is whenever any number plate on your personal account crosses.

(That way you do not need to keep your Dart Account topped up)

Thanks, but I prefer to top up as and when the account needs to, as they will email me when there is insufficient monies to cover a crossing. I did sign up to the "Auto Top Up" once, but then discovered that as soon as I went a penny down on that amount, they automatically took another amount of the same, so shelling out when I didn't need to. Boll & Ocks to that for a game of soldiers.

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Andy MacD]

Just got back from 2 month trip to France, to find penalty charge notice. I had paid online, a week before my credit card was debited. Just went onto the website and instigated an investigation. Say they will reply within 56 days, not bother how long they take as I know I’ve paid but it stops the clock on the penalty period till they respond and I now have an audit trail. Much better for me than phone.

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[TinaLes]

Can I take it that The Bridge is still free between 10PM and 6AM or some early doors time?, Being a Scot I need to know these things, its important!
Why did no one or enough of us take issue with the fact that this bridge would be FREE to cross once it was paid for?, which apparently happened many years back now.
Happy Crossings folks.
LES

 

[starquake]

Can I take it that The Bridge is still free between 10PM and 6AM or some early doors time?, Being a Scot I need to know these things, its important!
Why did no one or enough of us take issue with the fact that this bridge would be FREE to cross once it was paid for?, which apparently happened many year back now.
Happy Crossings folks.
LES

It was last time we done the trip to Gatwick and crossed bridge at 5am, no idea if it is now. We now tend to stay overnight at airports to reduce chance of JSO or similar ruining our holiday. Driving up night before is far less likely to have disruption on morning of travel, and we value our holidays ! Mad thing is it usually doesn't cost more as hotel+parking is usually same as parking (and uses same service) -> Hilton Gatwick uses the exact same service that costs same, or did last time we used it. (they put you in Valet parking last time we used it!).

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Have given the toll booths a fair few quid as use to have 3 of my work vans go through and back every day for months and the funny thing is that a firm that I use to do all there groundwork’s had the contract to take the booths out and install the automation offered me the groundwork job had more local stuff so declined