The Dartford Crossing is a toll bridge that crosses the River Thames between Dartford in Kent and Thurrock in Essex. It is one of the busiest crossings in the UK, with over 40 million vehicles crossing it each year.
Since 2003, drivers have been required to pay a charge to use the Dartford Crossing. The charge is currently £2.50 for a car, van, or motorcycle. There are a number of ways to pay the Dart Charge. Find out how to pay the dart charge, how much it costs and what to do if you forget.
How much does the Dartford Crossing cost?
Along with the new dart charge payment system, the price of using the crossing has also increased. Here are the new prices and the discount received for those who have a pre-pay account.
| Vehicle class | Vehicle type | Non-account | Dart Charge account |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | Bicycle | Free | N/A |
| A | Motorbike | Free | N/A |
| B | Cars | £2.50 | £2.00 |
| C | Two-Axle Goods | £3.00 | £2.63 |
| D | Multi-Axle Goods | £6.00 | £5.19 |
Crossing is free to use 10.00pm – 6.00am
CALL: 0300 300 0120 or go to: www.gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge
How to pay the Dart Charge – your questions answered…
Here we answer all your questions on how to pay the dart charge. Read on to find out how the system works, how much it costs, and how you can avoid being fined….
Please use the sections below to find the CORRECT dart charge number to call for phone payments.
How do I pay: There are several ways to pay, with a pre-pay account being the cheapest option. These are the payment methods on offer:
This will need to be done in advance and will require you to pay in at least £10.00 when you register. You can manually top up the account or set it to add funds automatically if you know you’ll be travelling regularly. This is the cheapest way to pay, with registered cars costing £2.00 per crossing compared with the price of £2.50 for those who pay in other ways.
Set up a new pre-pay account here
Change an existing Dart Tag account
Pay for an individual crossing online by heading here before midnight the following day.
Pay here.
What is it: This is an ideal service for drivers who don’t want to tie up cash in a pre-pay account, but still want the charge to be paid automatically whenever they use the crossing.
How it works: This system lets you register a vehicle without the need to make any initial payment and will automatically charge your crossing payments to a registered debit or credit card. However, this service will not offer discounted payments as the pre-pay Dart Charge account does.
What you’ll need: Anyone can sign-up for this account, including foreign-registered vehicle owners. This was confirmed by Dart Charge on June 19, 2017.
Best for: Occasional users who want to ensure they never get hit by fines.
Set up your account: Setting up an account is easy. Simply click here to join up
But how long do you have to pay the dart charge online? As long as you pay before midnight the following day, you will not incur any additional charges.
What is it: Pingit is an app that allows you to link a bank account and make instant payments directly from your mobile. These can be to other mobiles or businesses – such as the Dartford Crossing. It’s operated by Barclays, but you won’t need to bank with them.
How it works:Simply download the app – available for both Android and iOS users – then link it to a bank account. You can then use the business directory to find the Dartford Crossing and complete your dart charge payment with the flick of a button.
Best for: Tech-savvy drivers who want to make payments with the minimum of fuss.
Set up your account: Simply download the app for your phone here https://www.barclays.mobi/BarclaysPingit/MP1242629610109
If you only use the crossing occasionally for trips to the airport for example, then paying a minimum of £10.00 into an account is not a good use of your money. This option lets you pay for individual crossings up to 12 months in advance. Simply book your parking with APH, then book your crossing at the same time (and don’t forget to book pay for your return trip, too). Leaving this until you get to the airport could result in it getting forgotten as you battle your way through a busy terminal and queue-clogged check-in procedure.
Pay in advance here
Those without internet access will be pleased that you can also make your dart charge payment by phone. You will need to do this by midnight the following day.
However, don’t leave this until the last moment, because the dart charge contact number can get pretty busy.
Pay by phone (if it’s not too busy): 0300 300 0120
This is where you can pop into a local store and pay for the charge by cash or other means. Simply use the store locator below to find the outlet that’s closest to you. Use the top drop-down option to select ‘Transport and ticketing’ then ‘Dart Charge’ in the next options list. Then input your postcode to find the nearest payment centre.
Find your nearest Payzone retailer here
If you’re not a fan of technology, then you can opt for a pay-by-post option. You can only pay in advance and must send your cheques to:
Dart Charge Customer Services
PO Box 842
Leeds LS1 9QF
Are some vehicles exempt from paying the charge: Yes. If you are currently exempt from paying the charge, that will still be the case. This includes vehicles exempt from paying road tax because they are used for disabled persons. Please contact the DVLA to confirm if your vehicle is exempt.
Is it still free to use the crossing at night: Yes, the crossing is free between 10pm and 6am every day of the week.
Why were the toll booths removed: The Government claims the new ‘free-flowing’ system will remove a bottleneck on the M25 and help ease congestion. The new system is also likely to raise a considerable amount in dart charge penalties when people forget to pay on time.
What it I ‘forget’ to pay: So, you’re racing to the airport to catch your flight and have to pass through the Dartford Crossing to get there. Throw in the stress and excitement of heading away, and you’ll most likely be lying on a sun lounger before you remember you haven’t paid. Anyone evading the charge will be hunted down using automatic number plate recognition systems and debt recovery firms. This will apply to vehicles from Europe, too.
How much will I be fined if I forget to pay the dart charge: The penalty charges are as follows:
Non-payment after one day: £70.00
Reduced to £35.00 if paid in 14 days
Increased to £105.00 if not paid within 28 days
Penalty charge is payable for each use of the crossing, so a return trip could cost up to £210.00.
How to avoid paying the Dart Charge penalty fine
Drivers must pay the Dartford Crossing toll before midnight on the day after using it. Failure to do so could result in a fine of up to £105 for each crossing. Here’s how to avoid the dart charge penalty in the first place and what to do if you’ve already received one.
It might sound simple, but many occasional users don’t realise it’s free to cross during these periods. Knowing this could help prevent a lot of unnecessary anxiety.
You will need to pay for each crossing you make – be it through the tunnels or over the QE2 Bridge.
You’ll need to do this in advance because it won’t cover earlier payments. The pre-pay account offers a discount of £2.00 per crossing – as opposed to £2.50. However, you’ll need to top it up with at least £10 and remember to manually add credit – or you could be fined. Create a Pre-pay account here.
The Pay-as-you-go account won’t give you the discount on crossings available with the Pre-pay account above, but you also won’t need to tie-up cash with an initial payment. This is the best option for those who use the crossing fairly regularly. Create a Pay-as-you-go account here
If you’re planning to use the Dartford Crossing for a one-off event – such as a trip to the airport – paying in advance is a sensible solution. You can pay up to 12 months in advance and won’t need to tie-up large amounts of cash, as with the Pre-pay account. Don’t forget to pay for your return trip too though. Pay for your parking in advance here.
Problems with technology have resulted in payments not being received and fines being issued. Luckily, there’s an option allowing you to check your payment has been received. After making a one-off payment, make a note of your payment reference number then head to the link below. This will then tell you if your transaction was recognised and for what crossing it was charged against Check your payment here
In the past, the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system that triggers a charge against cars has had trouble reading certain letters – such as C and G – causing incorrect fines to be issued. Here’s how to appeal if you’ve been issued an incorrect or unfair penalty charge.
First-time ‘offenders’ will be given a 14-day grace period when the charge notice is sent out. This allows them to pay the original charge rather than the full fine.
You might not be happy about it, but if you have got a fine that’s ‘correct’, paying it early will save cash. The fine of £70 will jump to £105 if not paid within 28 days, but will be halved to £35 if paid within 14 days. However, wait until you get the demand before paying as you might be a ‘first-time offender’ and will only have to pay £2.50 per crossing missed. See above.
Travelling from abroad or have family or friends visiting the UK? Find out how to pay the dart charge and avoid fines with this multi-lingual leaflet covering French, Spanish, German and many other languages. Find the leaflet here.
Check your road tax, MoT, licence and car insurance is valid
Are there dart charges for cyclists? All you need to know:
You can’t physically cycle through the Dartford Tunnels or over the QE2 Bridge, but you can ask for a special pick-up vehicle to take you and your bike across in safety. Here are the details you need:
Do I need to book the service to get my bike over the Dartford Crossing: No. Providing your bike will fit on a car’s bike rack, you can simply turn up and use the service.
How much is it to transport bikes through the Dartford Crossing: It’s free.
How do I request the service to take my bicycle over the Dartford Crossing: Getting your bike over or under the Dartford Crossing is simple. Just follow these instructions…
1) Go to Kent Point or Essex Point. The addresses for these are as follows:
| Kent Point is located at this address: Crossing Offices Roundabout South Orbital Road Dartford, Kent , DA1 5PR | Essex Point is located at this address: 859 London Road Grays, Essex, RM20 3AT |
Essex Point can also be found via the cycleway next to the entry slip road for junction 31 of the M25 (A282) clockwise.
2) Follow signs directing you to a yellow telephone.
3) Use the phone to ask for a pick-up vehicle. It’s a direct line, so no need to remember a number.
4) Wait in the clearly signed designated area.
5) A vehicle will arrive to convey you and your bike through the crossing.
When does the cycle crossing service open: Cyclists can use the service 7 days a week between the following hours:
3am – 9am
10:30am – 2pm
3pm – 9pm
10:30pm – 2am
How long will you have to wait: Typically, it will take around 15 minutes for the special pick-up vehicle to arrive. However, this could be longer during peak hours or periods of congestion.
Can large groups of cyclists use the Dartford Crossing service: Contact Connect Plus in advance for groups of more than three cyclists. You should also call ahead if your bike won’t fit on a standard bike rack, for example: tandems or bikes with trailers.
New service: Confirm your crossing payment was accepted
It’s the service that drivers have been demanding… read on to find out how you can dodge dart charge penalties by confirming whether or not you’ve paid for your crossing.
New service could help prevent fines
Dart charge not working? A big complaint from drivers using the Dartford Crossing is that they’ve made payments only to receive a penalty charge weeks later. This new service promises to help motorists beat these unfair penalties.
How it works: After making a one-off payment, make sure you keep hold of your crossing payment reference number then head to the link below. This will then tell you if the payment was recognised and for what crossing it was charged against.
Download a multi-lingual crossing leaflet here
Not from the UK? Not a problem – French, Spanish, German and many other languages are covered in this Dartford Crossing multi-lingual payment information leaflet.
How to appeal your dart charge penalty
Appeal and win… 8 out of 10 drivers do
Often incorrect fines are issued at the Dartford Crossing as a result of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system.
With a freedom of information request confirming that more than 80% of appeals were accepted by Highways England in the first six months of the new system, it’s clear that problems go far beyond mis-reading number plates. Here’s how to appeal if you feel you’ve been issued an incorrect or unfair penalty charge.
How to appeal: Challenge the penalty by contacting the issuing authority within 28 days of the notice being served. Quote your charge notice number and explain why you believe the penalty to be wrong.
Appeal to the independent adjudicator: If your appeal is rejected, you can take it to an independent adjudicator. Information on how to do this will be included in the original rejection. You must appeal to the adjudicator within 28 days of the original Notice of Rejection being received. Delivery is usually deemed to be 2 working days after the date on the notice.
Reasons for appeal to the independent adjudicator must fall into the following:
- You were not the registered keeper of the vehicle when the contravention occurred
- The vehicle was taken without the owner’s consent
- The owner is a vehicle hire firm
- The road user charge was paid on time and as required
- No user charge or penalty is payable
- The penalty exceeded the amount that applied in the circumstances
- There has been a procedural impropriety by the charging authority
- Other compelling reasons
Start your appeal here
Click here for further information on starting your appeal to the independent adjudicator
Make a complaint
Anyone who simply wishes to make a complaint about a Dartford Crossing-related subject can use this complaints form. This is not for appeals, but general issues and concerns such as poor signage etc.
Rental car companies hit drivers in Dartford chaos
Hire car charges revealed for Dartford Crossing
HIRE CAR FIRMS CHARGING £35+ ‘ADMIN’ FEE FOR PAYING £2.50 CROSSING
Are you travelling in a hire car? Drivers of hires are being hit by unexpected charges from rental firms amid confusion around the Crossing’s new cash-free payment system.
Reports from drivers contacting APH claim rental companies are taking the £2.50 from their credit cards before adding big ‘admin’ fees on top. While it’s understandable that rental firms require compensation for time spent paying the toll, making these charges clearer would help reduce confusion around the admin charge and £2.50 14-day grace period.
The best advice is to pay the charge, but users of hire cars could be visitors to the area or even foreign tourists, so many won’t be aware of changes. When booking your hire car, we’d recommend asking for email confirmation of relevant admin ‘charges’. Picking a company, such as Hertz or Sixt, that has a responsive customer service team could also save lots of wasted time and frustration should you have any difficulties.
Drivers paying London Congestion Charge by mistake
Don’t get caught out
Confusing signage at the Dartford Crossing is resulting in drivers paying the London Congestion Charge by mistake. How? The signage approaching the Dartford Crossing tells drivers to pay by searching for Dart Charge online, however the signage has no web address and uses the same red and white ‘C’ symbol as the London Congestion Charge.
This can leave them paying five times more than the Dart Charge for a single crossing and receiving a penalty of up to £125 for each crossing.
So when making your dart charge payment, make sure that you’re sending your money to the right place to avoid receiving a penalty!
Dart charge not working? Online payments being charged twice?
Anyone paying online to use the Dartford Crossing should check their bank accounts to make sure they’ve not been charged twice for a single crossing.
The AA has backed up comments from users on this feature that new systems installed in place of tolls have been duplicating some payments.
Drivers who think they’re due a refund should contact Highways England on 0300 300 0120
Online payments being charged twice
Anyone paying online to use the Dartford Crossing should check their bank accounts to make sure they’ve not been charged twice for a single crossing.
The AA has backed up comments from users on this feature that new systems installed in place of tolls have been duplicating some payments.
Highways England (which oversees the system) said most payments were processed accurately. However, many drivers have contacted us complaining that extra payments had been taken from their account.
A spokesperson for Highways England said: “Given the scale of transactions from time to time errors will be made for which we apologise unreservedly.”
Drivers who think they’re due a refund should contact Highways England on 0300 300 0120
WARNING: Avoid using unofficial websites to make your crossing payment
Drivers are being charged up to 60% more to use the Dartford Crossing by unofficial websites taking advantage of confusion surrounding the new payment system since toll booths were axed in 2014. So when making your crossing payment, be sure to use the official site.
How it works
There is no suggestion this website is operating illegally, but it fails to clearly state on the homepage that it is nothing to do with the official site – or that you’ll be charged an extra 60% for something you can easily do yourself.
In addition to the cost hike, sites like Dartfordcrossingcharges site have no way of effectively checking your details – it even fails to ask what vehicle you are paying for, making it impossible to highlight mistakes when entering the registration mark. The official Dart Charge site will confirm the make and registration before allowing motorists to pay.
Unofficial sites will simply take your money, pocket the admin charge and pay the outstanding toll on the public Dart Charge site – regardless of vehicle details.
It’s also clear that Dartfordcrossingcharges is targeting millions of foreign drivers who use the crossing each year, with the website offering versions of the payment system in 18 languages.
How to pay dart charge via the official site:
If paying online, make sure you save cash and get an official receipt by heading here – otherwise you could be left with no proof of payment or means of appeal if something goes wrong.
www.gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge
Comment: The new remote payment system and poor signage has resulted in almost 3.5million fines being issued since the Crossing’s toll booths were axed in 2014.
This is not due to more motorists attempting to avoid payment, but an abject failure of the system to ensure occasional users and foreign visitors know how to pay.
Signage on the M25 urges drivers to ‘search online’ without giving a website URL. It’s this confusion that is costing motorists cash and helping unofficial websites profit from desperate motorists attempting to beat the payment deadline – without the correct information readily available.
We will continue to press for a change to the information and signage informing motorists how to pay.
Travel safety tips: How to save more money when travelling
Heading off on a family holiday or business trip via the Dartford Crossing? Save yourself a little extra cash by booking an airport hotel and parking package with APH. Wind down in an airport hotel room before your flight and give yourself the time to pay your crossing payment before you travel and avoid receiving a dart charge penalty. And you can travel with the comfort in knowing that your vehicle is being kept safe in a secure car park.
SEND TO A FRIEND AND SAVE A FINE
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