Dart Charge paid on time but not matched to your car
You must pay the Dart Charge by midnight on the day after you cross. If you paid on time but the system failed to link your payment to your vehicle — for example because of a digit wrong on the plate, a timing issue with a top-up, or a database error — your penalty charge notice must be cancelled. The company that runs Dart Charge has admitted that this kind of matching failure has happened to many drivers.
Legal basis
Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme Order 2013 (SI 2013/2249, as amended); A282 Trunk Road (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme) Order 2008; Transport Act 2000 ss.163-177; appeals to Traffic Penalty Tribunal under Road User Charging Schemes (Penalty Charges, Adjudication and Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1783)
How to identify this in your case
Bank or card statement showing payment by midnight day after crossing. Cross-reference Dart Charge transaction reference.
Sample appeal wording
Dear Sir/Madam (Dart Charge Enforcement), Re: PCN [NUMBER] — Crossing on [DATE] — Vehicle [REG] I challenge this PCN. Payment was made within the deadline. - Crossing: [DATE/TIME], Northbound/Southbound - Payment: £[AMOUNT] paid on [DATE/TIME] via [method] - Reference: [Dart Charge txn ref / card statement attached] - Account: [account number if applicable] Payment evidence attached. The PCN appears to have been issued because the system failed to match my payment to the crossing, possibly due to [partial plate / spacing / account top-up timing]. Under the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme Order and SI 2013/1783, the alleged contravention did not occur because the charge was paid in time. If rejected, I will appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal and request the Adjudicator to inspect the underlying transaction logs. Please cancel the PCN immediately. Yours faithfully, [NAME]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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