Penalty Charge Notice for Paying Dart Charge too late - is the fee fair?

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

I have had some great support from this forum over the years and would like to extend my latest issue to see if anyone has any experience with the same problem.

When driving on the Dartford Crossing, cars are asked to pay £2.50 by midnight the following day. The signs indicating the crossing are not clear at all, only showing a C sign but providing very little other information.

The driver of the vehicle went over the Dartford crossing without being aware of the dart charge. When the driver mentioned they went over this bridge over the weekend, I asked if they had paid their charge and they said no. This conversation was two days after the crossing, and hence outside of the bounds set.

As such, the payment was made in full around 20 hours later than requested. Whilst I understand the need to send out these requests to non-payers, surely being 20 hours late on a £2.50 payment does not deserve a £35 fine? Does anyone have any thoughts on the chance of requesting dismissal on the grounds it was paid before this notice went out as soon as the person was aware of the charge?

I've attached a picture of the letter here in case it proves useful.

As always any help is appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

[ploddertom]

Unfortunately the charge is valid. I would urge you to pay because if ignored it could end up with a Bailiff visiting and looking for in excess of £400.

[charitynjw]

Unfortunately the charge is valid. I would urge you to pay because if ignored it could end up with a Bailiff visiting and looking for in excess of £400.

Hi PT

Do they still send out the warning notice? (Pay the crossing charge..... again, even if already paid, but late....& they cancel the PCN.)

[Guest]

Hi PT

Do they still send out the warning notice? (Pay the crossing charge..... again, even if already paid, but late....& they cancel the PCN.)

I was hoping this would be an option to take, but the issue here is that a driver in this car (but not this particular driver) have had their warning before. I am planning to call the issuers and advise them as such but don't see them taking kindly to it.

[charitynjw]

I was hoping this would be an option to take, but the issue here is that a driver in this car (but not this particular driver) have had their warning before. I am planning to call the issuers and advise them as such but don't see them taking kindly to it.

Lol!
If you don't ask, you don't get!

[ploddertom]

From what I understand they work on the prinple of all the signs that are visible to the driver before crossing. The only real exception I see is for a "first time offender" who may get away with the normal £2-50 charge - but only the once. I don't see any reason why you can't ask for a reduction but be prepared to be turned down.

Don't forget similar schemes are in operation for the London Congestion Charge & Mersey Flow in Liverpool.

[Dee Jay]

James --- Wanted to check if you made an appeal ? and if yes, what was the answer ? I totally agree with your point of view ; currently they do not differentiate between a person who's late in paying Dart Charge (but well before the penalty notice is generated) and the person who completely forgets to pay and gets reminded by the notice sent to the house. In both cases, the penalty is same but it's tad unfair. Keen to know what was the resolution at your end

[charitynjw]

I'll tag james9 for you.

[Guest]

Hi Dee Jay,

I did. I initially phoned and they said they were not in a position to do anything, after my initial appeal was rejected I requested an appeal with the traffic penalty tribunal.

I will try to find the wording I used although you may need to adapt it to your situation but this sounds similar.

After a few weeks I was notified that Dart Charge no longer wanted to contest the charge and the amount that 'held for future payment' was debited against the original journey.

So as long as you're willing to fit it and in reasonable circumstances (I.e. Not trying to circumvent paying for your actual usage) then you should win an appeal.

Hope this helps

[Guest]

Motorists who use the crossing have a legal obligation to pay the road user charge, and Dart Charge likewise have a duty to accept it. Where Dart Charge accepted payment, and the result was an unpaid crossing for which it was intended, they are not entitled to hold that on account of a future crossing. This is for two reasons. First of all the future crossing may never occur, and secondly they may only do so where there is an Advance Payment Agreement in place (see Regulation 6 of the A282 Trunk Road (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme) Order 2013).
I am not aware there is any such Advance Payment Agreement in place between Dart Charge and …… in the form of a properly opened account. As I have said, there is a very strong presumption that ,,,,,,,, intended the payment to be for his recent crossing, because he surely cannot have intended to receive a penalty by making the payment against a future crossing instead.
I therefore deem the payment to have been accepted by Dart Charge in relation to the unpaid crossing which is the subject of this PCN.
Can Dart Charge issue a penalty charge notice despite having been deemed to have accepted the slightly late payment of the road user charge? Theoretically, yes, although the penalty charge notice would have to be for the penalty amount of £70, and could not include the crossing fee. The amount they have demanded in this case therefore exceeds what they are entitled to demand.
There is a further difficulty. The purpose of the penalty scheme is to encourage compliance with the payment system. Where a motorist has paid slightly late, but, importantly, before Dart Charge have even issued a penalty, they can be no good reason for enforcing penalty. The window for payment contained in the Regulations is very short, and motorists can often have perfectly understandable reasons for paying late – often, as in this case, by using the crossing in order to embark on a longer journey, during which payment may be understandably difficult.
The power to issue a penalty charge notice is a discretionary one – the regulations state that the authority ‘may issue a penalty charge notice’ (my emphasis). In order for such a decision not be procedurally improper, there must be evidence that it has been taken in a discretionary way, not simply as the result of an effectively automated process. Where someone has paid a day or two late, and before Dart Charge have even begun to take action on the unpaid crossing by issuing a penalty charge notice, they can be few, if any, reasonable grounds for issuing a PCN, given that the purpose of the penalty system is to encourage compliance with the payment system.
I do recognise that ……… has a recent history of making another slightly late payment, but there is no evidence that Dart Charge took that into account when actually issuing this PCN. Furthermore it still does not counter the basic fact that he paid only slightly late, and before Dart Charge even realised that there had been an unpaid crossing, and therefore there is no reasonable justification for the PCN being issued.
I therefore find that the decision to issue PCN was not a properly exercised discretionary power as allowed for by the Regulations, and therefore procedural impropriety has occurred.