Dartford Crossing drivers lament 'ridiculous' fines

Drivers have told BBC Essex how they have been fined after their Dartford Crossing accounts were closed without their knowledge

Motorists crossing the Thames between Essex and Kent have claimed they incurred fines after their accounts were closed without their knowledge.

Sarah Day, from Colchester, said she racked up £200 in fines after she presumed the Dartford Crossing had taken automatic payments.

She was just one of many drivers who told BBC Essex they had been using the route without knowing their accounts had been shut.

National Highways said it had changed its service provider for the Dart Charge in July 2023 which meant users needed to "revalidate" their bank cards and a challenge process was available to any customers who wanted to appeal against a fine.

The standard one-off cost for car drivers using either the QE2 bridge or the tunnel below is £2.50.

Ms Day said she had used the route in autumn 2023 and received "a whole bunch of fines" at the start of this year.

"They were dating back to the autumn which took me by surprise, a bit of an unpleasant thing to get in the post," she said.

"I realised 'hang on, this is ridiculous, I’ve got auto pay set up - this shouldn’t be happening'."

'Absolutely appalling'

Tom Kirkby said he used the crossing as he travelled from Sussex to visit his family in Colchester.

He said that when he challenged a fine, he was told "this is happening a lot" by a complaints handler.

"They are attempting to deal with it but it’s absolutely appalling that it happened in the first place," Mr Kirkby added.

The QE2 bridge was built at a cost of £120m and officially opened in October 1991

National Highways asked account holders to log in and revalidate their payment cards due to banking regulations when it changed providers for the Dart Charge Service at the end of July 2023.

It said 770,000 of 1.7m accounts had been updated.

National Highways said it had taken steps to reduce fines when issues occurred during the transition period.

A spokesperson said: “All customers that receive a penalty charge notice (PCN) can submit a challenge.

"All challenges are reviewed on an individual basis and decisions are made based on the circumstances and evidence provided.

"National Highways have taken steps to stop PCN’s being issued to customers due to issues faced during the transition to the new service and have been reducing or cancelling penalties where appropriate when an appeal is received from affected customers.”