Dart Charge
Dart Charge
In 2014 the very popular Dartford Crossing removed it’s payment booths. Now, instead of stopping at the barriers to make payment, motorists either have to pay the charge in advance or alternatively; make payment by midnight the following day. The payment system is called the Dart Charge. It is very similar to the Transport for London (TfL) Congestion Charge scheme. In fact, it even has the same red C logo. In 2017, over 350,000 warrants were issued and passed to bailiff to enforce in relation to unpaid Dart Charges !!
What happens if I fail to pay the Dart Charge by midnight the following day?
If you do not pay by midnight the day after the crossing, you will be sent a Dart Charge Penalty Charge Notice .The amount will increase to £70. The amount is discounted to £35 provided payment is made within a strict period of 14 days from service of the PCN. The crossing fee will be added to the Penalty Charge Notice.
A charge certificate will be issued if payment is not made within 28 days. The penalty charge of £70 will increase by 50% to £105.
Failure to make payment within 14 days of service of the notice may result in the debt being registered at the Traffic Enforcement Centre. Please note that this will NOT affect your credit rating. If full payment is not received within 21 days, a warrant of control will be issued.
I paid the Dart Charge but my payment was late.
We receive a lot of enquiries on this subject. Payment for using the Dartford Crossing is due by midnight the day after the crossing. If you make a late payment, it will not be credited towards a previous crossing. Instead, it will remain as a credit on the Dart Charge system and will be used to pay a future crossing for the same vehicle.
Dart Charge and bailiff enforcement.
If a warrant of control is issued, it will be enforced by either Marston Group, Equita Ltd or JBW Judicial Services. You will be sent a Notice of Enforcement and the amount will increase to £190.50. This will include the Compliance Fee of £75. If payment is not made, an enforcement agent will make a personal visit to your property. At this stage, the debt will spiral to £425 to include an enforcement fee of £235. From press reports in January 2018, it was confirmed that bailiffs made over 200,000 visits to motorists last year in relation to an unpaid Dart Charge.
Dart Charge correspondence had gone to my previous address.
If you have received a letter, or a visit from Marston Holdings, Equita Ltd or JBW Judicial Services in relation to a Dart Charge that you knew nothing about, (most commonly, because all notices had been sent to a previous address), then all bailiff enforcement can be halted by submitting an Out of Time Witness Statement (TE7 and TE9) and sending it to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC). APPEAL HERE
I didn’t know about the unpaid Dart Charge until a bailiff contacted me.
If you have received a telephone call, a text message, a letter, or a visit from Marston, Equita Ltd or JBW in relation to a Dart Charge that you hadn’t known about, (most commonly, because all notices had been sent to a previous address) then all bailiff enforcement will be halted by submitting an Out of Time Witness Statement (TE7 and TE9) and sending it to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC).
I have multiple Dart Charges
We receive many enquiries from motorists who have multiple unpaid Dart Charges. Many times, the amount owing can run into thousands of pounds. There can be many reasons why a motorist had been unaware that Dart Charge penalties had been incurred. For example;
You may have moved address and failed to update DVLA with your new address. Accordingly, all notices would have been sent to your previous address.
Your Dart Charge account may have been closed because there had been insufficient funds available in the account when a crossing had been made.
The Dart Charge account may have been closed because the registered bank card had expired.
The V5C (Log Book) may have been retained by a finance/leasing company. If so, all notices from Highways England would have gone to this company. If you move address, you must inform the finance company.
How much will I have to pay if a bailiff is instructed?
A warrant is relation to an unpaid Dart Charge will be enforced by one of three enforcement companies. Either Marston, Equita Ltd or JBW. Legislation only provides for the enforcement company to send one letter entitled Notice of Enforcement. The notice will request payment of £190.50. This will include the enforcement companies ‘compliance fee’ of £75. If you had used the Dartford Crossing for a return journey you should receive two separate Notice of Enforcements. The total amount payable would be £380. If you fail to make payment within the time specified in the Notice of Enforcement, a bailiff will make a personal visit.
At the time of the visit, the amount payable increases significantly to £425.50 to include the enforcement fee of £235. If your vehicle is outside of your property, it is likely to be clamped or worse still, removed. A removal fee of £110 plus additional storage costs will also become payable.
Dart Charge complaints
emovis operates the Dart Charge service on behalf of Highways England and the Secretary of State for Transport. This includes charging and enforcement management.
If you're unhappy with your experience of using Dart Charge, we want to hear from you. This will help us put things right and improve our future service.
If you want to dispute a penalty charge notice (PCN) you must use the statutory process. This is explained on the PCN notice sent to you.
Make a complaint
You can make your complaint online . Set out your complaint clearly, providing the following details:
- date(s) of crossing(s)
- your vehicle registration number (also known as Vehicle Registration Mark or VRM)
- dates and times of any previous dealings with our customer contact centre if related to your complaint
- any other information you think may be helpful or relevant to us in considering your complaint
- whether you prefer to be contacted by email, phone or post
Other ways to complain
By phone - make sure you have the details above to hand before calling:
- call 0300 300 0120 (local rate call) from the UK
- from outside the UK call +44 300 300 0120
By post to:
Customer Services Manager
Dart Charge Customer Services
PO Box 842
Leeds
LS1 9QF
What happens next?
We’ll aim to respond to your complaint within 10 working days of receiving it. If we need to take longer, we will let you know why and when you can expect to hear from us.
If you’re not happy with our response or you wish to take your complaint further, you can do so by using the Highways England complaints process.
Highways England has a dedicated in-house team who oversee the Dart Charge service and will deal with your complaint.
Before you start
Online representations can only be made against penalty charge notices issued within the UK.
You can only make a representation against one PCN at a time.
To make a representation, you will need:
- The penalty charge notice letter
- The penalty charge number, which will start with the letters 'IA' or 'IB'
- The registration number of the vehicle that is referred to in the penalty charge notice
Supporting evidence
You will be able to upload legible scans as PDF, JPG or PNG as supporting evidence, for example:
- a receipt or unique transaction number for your payment
- the name and address of the person you sold the vehicle to and a proof of sale document
- a crime reference or unique reference number for a stolen vehicle
- a copy of the hire agreement and statement of liability
- your V5C form for an exempt vehicle (with letter from appropriate officer if an emergency service or military vehicle)
- a death certificate if the registered keeper is deceased
- evidence that the vehicle was in a different location at the contravention time
- any other evidence to assist us understanding your case
Before you make a TE7 declaration, read the Court Officers notes on Accepting/Refusing Applications:
Get ALL the information on why you did not receive the PCN before completing these forms. If you have to appeal, it is based on what statement you made on your TE7 and any supporting evidence you provided.
A TE7 does not cost, but appealing a decision does.
Tolls on the Dartford river crossing were introduced when the Queen Elizabeth II bridge opened in October 1991. Her Majesty was the first passenger to use the structure .
The original contract to build the bridge was granted on the condition that tolls be abolished in 2003.
However, the law was changed so that the 'toll' was renamed as a 'charge' and permission was given for the private crossing operator to continue charging.
A consultation on the most recent charge changes by the Department of Transport concluded: 'Road user charging will be maintained at the Crossing as a key part of implementing its strategy of delivering improvements to the performance of the Crossing, in the short, medium and long term'.
