what is the Dartford crossing fine ?
zoepaulpenny
Posts: 15,951 Forum Member
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Last November my son came to Kent and we came back in the early hours of the morning.. it was the same night they stopped charging for the crossing at the pay toils.
so we just drove through not at the time knowing that we had 24 hours to pay via on-line
so now he has got a letter from the rental van company in Cheshire stating that they want immediate £25 admin fee for the fine he is going to get, in the post in a couple of days time. so does anyone know what the fine will be.. thanks..
driving through toll road with paying is the fine..
so we just drove through not at the time knowing that we had 24 hours to pay via on-line
so now he has got a letter from the rental van company in Cheshire stating that they want immediate £25 admin fee for the fine he is going to get, in the post in a couple of days time. so does anyone know what the fine will be.. thanks..
driving through toll road with paying is the fine..
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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. You also have to pay the crossing charge.
So you have to hope the rental company haven't held onto it for a while.
This is the first result if you search on Google for 'dartford crossing fine', and it answers your question.
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. You also have to pay the crossing charge.
So, given it is over the 28 days now it will be £105 penalty, plus the cost of the crossing.
It will be 28 days from the date of the fine not the offense so still maybe ok
how can he pay it within 14/28 days if he not had the fine.. this is the first he knows of it via admin fees from rental company.
Maybe but I was speaking to someone, and he got fined...didn't know anything about it until the letter came. He got the letter before Christmas.
Depends on how long the rental company have had it.
I suppose it will depend on whether or not they restart the clock when they get the response back from the hire company identifying the driver.
the date on the rental comp letter is jan 30.. so maybe there is a chance of a £70 fine.
and looking at the link, there could have been up to millions of motorists fined.. so hoping it has only just filtered through, and your friend got his earlier just by chance..
have to wait and see then.
bloody rip off, daylight bloody robbery..
That doesn't surprise me... if you live in the area you probably know all about it, I didn't until he told me he got fined, he was just coming back home after landing at Gatwick....he thought it was a joke at first. Thankfully I have found out now because I am flying from Gatwick later this year.
on the letter from hire company, it stated 0633 was the time.
There are an awful lot of signs telling you you have to pay and what the fee is on the approach https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-signage-at-the-dartford-crossing-unveiled
Thats a shame as its free between 10pm and 6am. Thought it might have been a teething problem with the new system
as my partner had died, in November,and 1 I DONT DRIVE 2 my mind was all over the place, 3 i was giving my house up, to move back 200 miles, i had no idea about the changes.. nor at the time did i give a shit..
so in my defence i knew nothing.. and my son did not know either..
but ignorance nor grief is not an excuse. is it ??
Even more so when the bridge building costs have been paid off years ago. It's just another 'cash cow' for Government to rake in extra dosh.
I haven't used it in years now. Whenever i travel down to Dover for the ferries i use the M40/M25 in preference to the M1 which is an absolute balls ache.
M40 every time for me. It's actually a pleasure to drive that stretch.
thanks for the advice, i see if i can appeal against it when the fine arrives at my son's house. but i will not hold my breath. all the money goes to the treasury.. owned by the bloody French... but thanks..
I agree the M40 is the only bit of motorway ive driven on with no problems (touch wood). I do remember reading a couple of years ago the government saying they were going to try out autobahn esk speed limits on the stretch between oxford and london. That would be amazing if it did happen
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2023169&highlight=
I mean the bridge was paid for 11 years ago. Can't get rid of a cash cow though can they.
my partner who drove from kent to cheshire with me every month, she always went the way she knew. m20 m25 m1 m6 off at jumction 16... she was advised to drive towards heathrow, and come across the m1 missing out m6.. but she never listened..
we were once stranded on the m1 for 2 hours, complete ball ache..
Annual cost of maintenance for bridge + tunnel is around £40m so I don't see them getting rid of the charge. In case you are wondering, toll income is around £75m. These figures are for 2013.
The charge amount and times are well advertised on the approaches. In the past, when they made the switch over from paid to free, you still had to stop at the barrier and let it open but with the new free flow system there are no toll booths so it is up to you to determine if you are within the free period or not. The charge is reduced if you pay it in advance with an account, which I agree would be difficult if you have a hire vehicle.
Looked at a couple of hire company website and they all state that cost of tolls is down to person doing the hiring and there will be an admin charge if there is a fine issued. Couple of forums have said that it has taken month or two for hire companies to track people down and they have had to pay the full £70 + admin fee.
well the admin charge has been paid today, not had fine yet.. i suspect regarding the the admin fee.of £24 was not paid within a time slot, they will write to you again with a double fee..
I was thinking if you want to contest it then do so, it can't get any worse.
well the admin charge is non negotiable was told this morning by the rental comp you can only contest the fine which has not been posted yet.
changing thoughts: when you drive on the toll roads in the continent / US they have drive thru sections for registered cars if you use those with out paying then you're just as screwed - so can't blame the Dartford lot on this one.