How to NOT get a fine at the Dartford crossing !!

[Superphil]

You're right to be concerned. That £10 held on a Dart card could have been invested and after a year would have earned you 10 pence.

Well, for a start, it's not possible to hold just £10 in your account for long, as soon as you use the crossing and it drops below £10 they take another £10. So at the moment my account stands at £16 odd. Say 100,000 people have signed up they have well over £1m in their bank account of our money, if a million people have signed up....

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Am I missing something here?
Not use the Dartford crossing for about 10 years but regularly use the M6 toll road.
They have unmanned pay booths where you throw your cash in a bucket or push your card in for each transaction - does the Dartford crossing no longer provide this service?

 

[Superphil]

Am I missing something here?
Not use the Dartford crossing for about 10 years but regularly use the M6 toll road.
They have unmanned pay booths where you throw your cash in a bucket or push your card in for each transaction - does the Dartford crossing no longer provide this service?

Nope, completely cashless using ANR system. Bit like London congestion charge, once you go through you either have to have paid in advance, or you have to pay within x hours.

 

[Uncle C]

Well, for a start, it's not possible to hold just £10 in your account for long, as soon as you use the crossing and it drops below £10 they take another £10. So at the moment my account stands at £16 odd. Say 100,000 people have signed up they have well over £1m in their bank account of our money, if a million people have signed up....

OK make that 20p a year that you could get from alternative investments. You have saved that after one trip - do stop moaning.

 

[Superphil]

OK make that 20p a year that you could get from alternative investments. You have saved that after one trip - do stop moaning.

No problem, could you lend me £20 please? I'll not be able to pay you back till I stop driving, cheers.

 

[Uncle C]

No problem, could you lend me £20 please? I'll not be able to pay you back till I stop driving, cheers.

Tight arse.

 

[Perry's Tracksuit Bottoms]

Well, for a start, it's not possible to hold just £10 in your account for long, as soon as you use the crossing and it drops below £10 they take another £10. So at the moment my account stands at £16 odd.

You can set your account to manual top-up and only pay in your £10 when you need to (i.e. when you've got less than £1.67 in your account). That's what I've done - also prevents them being able to mis-charge you any more than £10.

 

[Superphil]

You can set your account to manual top-up and only pay in your £10 when you need to (i.e. when you've got less than £1.67 in your account). That's what I've done - also prevents them being able to mis-charge you any more than £10.

And if you forget, then you get hit with a £70 'fine'. It's just messy, and you know full well they with have 'targets' for revenue generated by fines, as well as targets for how many people they can get to sign up to "auto top up". Money making exercise whichever way you look at it, the fact it's been 'tendered' out to a private French firm proves it is a lucrative earner, what next?

 

[Perry's Tracksuit Bottoms]

If you don't forget, you don't get fined - simple. I'm not convinced that checking your account is any more difficult than checking you've got a couple of quid handy before you set off.

I do agree that there should be an option for getting a reminder / being able to top up once your account drops below the amount a single journey would cost.

 

[marshy68]

Their website is a little unprofessional looking, IMHO. I trust this isn't some sort of scam to fleece dopey motorists (like one of those passport-checking services who used to pop up on Google and mug off people wanting to ensure their passport application form had been completed correctly).

What's with the obsession about the FRENCH company running the Crossing these days? Did I mention they're FRENCH? Unbelievable. The Government has the FRENCH involved.

Don't the French own most of our utility companies too? It's great my partner who is French can easily translate all my bills for me....

 

[nordicgod]

Is it still free after a certain time?

 

[The Oldman]

Is it still free after a certain time?

10pm to 6am I believe

 

[El Sid]

Signed up yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find out our ex Motability Toyota Verso is exempt from crossing charges.
Need to do about 7200 crossings to get a free car.