Dart Charge appeals to be given 'impartial' consideration

author: FutureCar Staff    

Roads minister Richard Holden has assured drivers that they will receive a fair hearing from National Highways if they face fines due to issues with the Dart Charge payment system. As of Friday, July 28, Conduent took over the payment system for journeys across the Dartford Crossing, while Emovis continues to handle penalty charge notices (PCNs). However, many drivers have experienced difficulties updating their accounts, making payments, or contacting the call center.

In response to a letter from Dartford MP Gareth Johnson, Holden stated that a fix has been deployed to address these issues. He highlighted the high customer demand, with over 1 million individual customers using the website, 40,000 opening new accounts, and over 404,000 updating their payment card details. While the majority of customers have not encountered any problems, National Highways acknowledges that some have faced technical issues and is working with Conduent to resolve them.

Holden mentioned that the call center has answered 62,000 calls related to the Dart Charge since July 28 and has recruited 44 additional staff members to help manage the situation. However, waiting times currently stand at 45 minutes, which Holden acknowledged is unacceptable. Online, the system is serving over 40,000 customers daily with no waiting time. Holden emphasized that no one should be penalized for being unable to pay the Dart Charge due to technical issues, and anyone receiving a penalty charge notice for unpaid journeys during this period will have two weeks to respond and pay at the original charge rate. National Highways will also fairly consider any appeals against penalties.

National Highways has extended the grace period for drivers who failed to update their Dart Charge payment card details before the original deadline of August 31. These drivers now have an additional 14 days to pay any charges before they will be fined. The extension applies to drivers who made crossings from July 27 when the new payment system was implemented. Many motorists have struggled to access the system, with some spending an entire day on multiple devices trying to pay the Dart Charge. Phone lines have also been jammed.

A National Highways spokesperson explained that initially, customers who fail to update their payment card details will be offered an extra 14 days to pay the Road User Charge (RUC) upon receiving the PCN. After the additional 14 days, failure to pay the RUC will result in an increased amount of £70 plus RUC. The PCN process has been designed to provide a final prompt for registered vehicle keepers to update their payment card details and/or pay the RUC. Customers who haven't made a crossing since July 27 and do not regularly use their accounts can update their payment card details at any time before their next crossing.

Gareth Johnson expressed his concerns about the changeover to the new system, stating that it has been a shambles. He had met with National Highways prior to the change and was assured that their IT systems could handle it, but this has not been the case. Johnson requested that more resources be allocated to the transition, and although the situation is improving, people are still experiencing long wait times for phone calls to be answered or emails to be responded to. He criticized the decision to carry out the changeover during the busiest month of the year for the crossing, especially since National Highways had two years to prepare.

FutureCar Staff