Dart Charge — payment made but allocated to wrong account/plate
Most common Dart Charge dispute. Payment made within deadline (midnight day after crossing) but system fails to match it — wrong digit on plate, ledger error, top-up timing, partial number. Where payment was timely and evidenced, the PCN must be cancelled. National Highways/Conduent has acknowledged systemic matching errors.
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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