Dartford Crossing

[Lewis McColl]

Well this is what I call a real con job.
Last week on my jolly back to the UK I had occasion to use the Dartford Crossing. I am sure as those who use the crossing will know it is now not possible to pay for the crossing at a toll booth now as they have all been removed.
The idea was to speed up crossing times, it has helped a bit!!!! so they made 137 staff redundant, saved a fortune on wages and yo may save a few minutes on your crossing.
So you now have to pay online!!!! great if you happen to have a computer with you or one of those super smartphones, I have one but the idiot that uses it is the weak link. Oh you can also go to a shop that does payzone.
As you approach the crossing it tells you for a car it is £2.50 per crossing. Okay so I go online and pay my crossing £4.00 it cost me , I thought it was because I was late in paying as I think you have to pay by midnight on the day of your crossing?
Anyway I did not intend to use the crossing on my way back but I did in the end. I usually overnight in Dover at a Premier Inn. So as they have WIFI I decided to pay the toll straight away, so like 2 hours after my crossing. Get online and pay the toll!!! now I am really pissed as they charge me £4.00 again so it is not a late payment penalty. I googled Dartford crossing charges, yes it £2.50 for a family sized car. But get this, and this is the rip off bit.
They have Registration Number recognition Cameras (obviously)they now time how long it takes to get over the crossing and they add on what they call a congestion charge, there are also variable speed cameras on the crossings so if you speed you get an SP30 £60 fine and 3 points.
https://www.gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge

My times of crossing both ways ,heading north was 10.30 am so you would think that is post rush hour and heading south was 14.30 hours so pre rush hour. The only time I have ever been through the Dartford crossing were I was not stuck in traffic was on my motorcycle as you can legally filter in traffic.

Now to add insult to injury the crossing is under contract to this company, so not only passports it would seem.

French firm Sanef awarded Dartford Crossing free-flow charging system contract

[Jim Brady]

Lew this Mersey Gateway crossing is causing all kinds of trouble people are paying and still receiving fines people who haven't been anywhere near it are getting fines through the post also.They do not have toll booths and you pay on line or at shops that have Payzone.There are thousands of people who have fines which they are going to contest and there is talk that the way in which it is operating is illegal,if you don't pay,or they say you haven't paid you don't get a letter through the post asking for the £2.00 charge you get a £20.00 fine.A woman was on our local radio the other day she had used a toll road in Ireland that she didn't know about she got a letter for the £2.00 fee or whatever it was but not a fine,she was happy to send it off.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[John Albert Evans]

Lewis, Jim. Its like every thing else nowadays, all they was is your money. Last year my Blue Badge need renewing so I duly sent the documents off only to receive a reply back saying that all renewals had been suspended until after the budget and to re apply then but to carry on using the expired one. The inevitable happened Id left my car in a blue badge bay on a municipal care park and was duly left a £30. fixed penalty ticket to be paid within two weeks or the fine was increased to £100.00. I telephone the Fixed Penalty people and told them I was awaiting a new one and the person could not be more unhelpful if he tried all he could say was I could take the matter to an appeal at Crown Court and let them decide
but it would be extremely expensive if I lost the case. I paid the £30.fine.

John Albert Evans.

[Ron B Manderson]

Lew this Mersey Gateway crossing is causing all kinds of trouble.A woman was on our local radio the other day she had used a toll road in Ireland that she didn't know about she got a letter for the £2.00 fee or whatever it was but not a fine,she was happy to send it off.
Regards.
Jim.B.

I got caught with the mersey flow.
Just aswell the brother in law lives in great Sutton.
I was expecting to pay at a booth
But No! as you come over your are passed all the signs.
I phoned and the dame told me that it was charged as it's new.
Darling!!!!! it's not a new as ours across the river Forth as Our's are bloody free..
I hear that the old Runcorn bridge will be a toll when it opens.as well

The last one up here was the skye Bridge. People refused to pay because they had no other way to get to mainland.
When the bridge opened they withdrew the ferries.
The locals refused and were willing to go to Jail.
And the price was way above the Mersey way tolls.
It's a con.
That's four ways to cross and everyone is toll.
Tell them to stick it where the sun no shine .
Ron the batcave

[Lewis McColl]

If you are unlucky enough to get a ticket , read it to see who has issued it. If it is issued by the local council it is called a (PCN) penalty charge notice.
If it is issued by a private firm it is also called a (PCN) but is called a Parking Charge Notice. This are not backed up by Law. What these are is a charge for breach of contract. If the company want to try and enforce payment they have to take you to a civil court. If you ignore it they will send you threatening letters of applying for a County Court Judgement order, they will also try and tell you it will effect your credit rating etc!! It is all bull & bluster. I was issued one for allegedly parking illegally on so called private land, along with 10 other bikers. There were no clearly visible signs stating that parking was not allowed were we had parked. One of our group was a solicitor and he told us just as long as we ignore them and never answer any correspondence from them they will just let it drop. After being contacted twice I never heard another thing.

Oh and just incase anyone is intending to motor through France this summer be aware the traffic laws here are being rigidly enforced.
On my return home I had a speeding fine in the post box. It was not unexpected as I knew I had been flashed. I was doing 74 kph in a 70kph zone. These things are purely to generate income. This one was placed at the bottom of a steep hill on a bend. €68.00 if I do not pay within 30 days I think it is or €45.00. It is not the fine that annoys me it is +1 point on your licence.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Those from the police or Councils pay up quick, other do not in my opinion ever answer, any communication is taken as a sign of guilt.

I have had them from supermarket car parks etc and binned them, a few nasty letters and all over.

They work on the many that just pay up, they are about collections not prosecutions.

The Police and Councils totally different kettle of fish.

Keith.

[Jim Brady]

My wife received a letter through the post from some outfit telling her that she had overstayed her time in Aldi supermarket car park and they were demanding some money in a certain time.She took it into the supermarket and gave it to the manager,you will hear no more about it he said,and she didn't.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Lewis.
Next time you are going to the UK make some cardboard false plates stick them on before the tolls; take them off after, the crims do it out here all the time, otherwise the other crims take your money. I have never paid a toll in my life, but not from doing that; I would sooner go the long way around than pay those Gov't assisted thieves.
cheers Des

[robpage]

The problem with doing that here is if you drive in and out of Portsmouth you pass several ANPR cameras and if you haven't got a correct registration it flags you up . At the moment there is an unmarked BMW drifting up and down that road all day so putting false plates on could be a disaster in this area

[happy daze john in oz]

I am a bit surprised you do not have an E ticket system as we have here.

If you are a regular, or even casual user as I am, you have a reader on your screen and every time you pass a toll point it educts the amount due from your account.
You can also buy a day ticket if you are a visitor.

The system was invented in THE BLOODY UK so why do you not have it?

All states here have similar systems here and it is a user pay way to go.

Oh b the way Lewis, welcome back