Dart Charge

Dart Charge is the payment scheme in operation at the Dartford Crossing.

You no longer pay the crossing charge at the barriers when you cross. You must pay by midnight the day after making your crossing, by one of the following methods:

• online at www.gov.uk/dart-charge
• over the phone by calling: 0300 300 0120
• via a Payzone retail outlet
• by post (in advance only): Dart Charge Customer Services PO Box 842 Leeds LS1 9QF

You can also pay up to a year in advance.

If you only use the Dartford Crossing occasionally you can register a credit/debit card to take payment automatically when your vehicle crosses.

For regular users, a pre-pay account is the cheapest and easiest way to pay. It saves you the hassle of making a payment each time and you can set up automatic top-ups. You can add multiple vehicles. Local residents need a pre-pay account to access the local residents’ discount scheme.

Go to Dart Charge to set up a new account, manage your account or pay for a crossing.

It is still free to use the crossing between 10pm and 6am.

Penalty charges

Enforcing the charge is an important part of the Dart Charge scheme. National Highways use penalty charges and recovery processes to tackle those who do not pay.

Automatic number plate recognition cameras and electronic tags are used to record details of all vehicles using the crossing. These are checked against DVLA records to make sure the correct charge is applied. If you have a pre-pay account National Highways will withdraw payment. If not, payments are checked to find a match.

If a crossing charge is unpaid by midnight the day after a crossing, National Highways issue a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for £70. Find out more about charges and fines.

You must pay the correct charge each time you travel across the Dartford Crossing in both directions, so you may have paid for a different journey.

If you believe we have contacted you about a Dart Charge penalty that you have already paid please provide evidence of your payment to us as soon as possible so that we can stop further action.

We will need a copy of the receipt from National Highways, showing the amount paid, payment reference and date of payment. You should also include any supporting information (method of payment, to whom and where payment was made) to help us resolve the matter quickly.

If the crossing was paid via a pre-pay Dart Charge account, you will need to provide us with evidence of the account including account number and name and address, and proof that the particular crossing was taken from the account.

You should send your evidence, including your CDER Group case reference, name and address to

Email: dartchargecc@contactcder.co.uk

or

Post: CDER Group, PO Box 58, Darlington, DL1 9AE

We may need to contact you further if the information provided is insufficient to confirm that the payment relates to this penalty charge. Until we receive all the evidence needed we are required to continue recovery action.

Before issuing the unpaid penalty charge to CDER Group to collect on their behalf, National Highways will have sent several letters and notices to the address they hold for you. This is generally the address you have given the DVLA as the registered keeper of the vehicle.

If they have received no reply to their correspondence by the due dates, they will have applied to the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) to register the penalty as a debt, and sent an Order for Recovery to you.

If you have not received any of this correspondence, and you now wish to appeal against the penalty charge, you need to contact the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC), using an ‘out of time’ form to explain why you’re making a late challenge. Click here for the correct form to use for Dart Charge penalty charges.

You can ask for more time to challenge a court order (‘order for recovery’) if you:

• were contacted about a penalty charge notice (PCN) you didn’t know about
• were contacted about a paid or cancelled PCN
• didn’t get a response to your formal challenge (‘representation’) or appeal

Once you have submitted your completed form to the TEC, you should contact us, providing evidence of the confirmation/acknowledgement email from the TEC, so we can temporarily suspend action on your case until your request has been considered by the TEC and National Highways.

For more information about submitting an ‘out of time’ form, please refer to the GOV.UK website or contact the TEC helpdesk on 0300 123 1059.

If you have made a previous appeal (‘representation’) contesting this penalty charge, but have not received a reply, you need to contact the Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC), using an ‘out of time’ form to explain why you’re making a late challenge. Click here for the correct form to use for Dart Charge penalty charges.

You can ask for more time to challenge a court order (‘order for recovery’) if you:

• were contacted about a penalty charge notice (PCN) you didn’t know about
• were contacted about a paid or cancelled PCN
• didn’t get a response to your formal challenge (‘representation’) or appeal

Once you have submitted your completed form to the TEC, you should contact us, providing evidence of the application, so we can temporarily suspend action on your case until your request has been considered by the TEC and National Highways.

For more information about submitting an ‘out of time’ form, please refer to the GOV.UK website or contact the TEC helpdesk on 0300 123 1059.

Some vehicles are exempt from paying for the crossing.

You do not need to pay if you’re driving a vehicle that’s exempt from vehicle tax because you’re disabled. Your vehicle will be checked automatically when you cross – you do not need to do anything.

The full list of exemptions is described in legislation.

If you have received a letter from us about a penalty notice from National Highways and you believe your vehicle is exempt from the Dart Charge, you can contact us by emailing dartchargecc@contactcder.co.uk.

You will need to provide us with evidence that your vehicle is exempt.

The letter has been sent to your address on the instruction of our client, National Highways. Generally this is because the name and address on the letter are still the current details held by the DVLA for you as the registered keeper of the vehicle.

To stop any further recovery action, you will need to provide us with proof that you are the current resident of the property. This can be either a recent mortgage or council tax statement, tenancy agreement or a utility bill dated within the last 3 months.

Once received we will:

• notify National Highways so they can update their records
• remove your address, so you will receive no further letters or visits from us

Please be aware that if the documentation supplied is not clear we may need to contact you again to confirm the information.

You should send your evidence, including your CDER Group case reference, name and address to

Email: dartchargecc@contactcder.co.uk

or

Post: PO Box 58, Darlington, DL1 9AE

We understand that this is an inconvenience, however until we receive this information we must act on the instructions we have been given. Please provide the information as soon as possible to avoid further inconvenience.

To stop further action in relation to this matter you need to provide evidence of the vehicle sale to

Email: dartchargecc@contactcder.co.uk

or

Post: CDER Group, PO Box 58, Darlington, DL1 9AE

The evidence should include the following three documents:

• DVLA confirmation of the date you ceased to be the Registered Keeper of the vehicle
• Proof of sale (copy of receipt) to purchaser
• Cancellation of insurance

If you are unable to provide one of the above documents please explain why and provide any other further supporting evidence you have.

Please provide us with a copy of the following documents:

• The full V5 DVLA registration document for the vehicle
• Proof of purchase (Policy Document)
• Road Tax
• Proof of insurance (Receipt)
• Audit trail showing transfer of funds
• Copy of sales advertisement for vehicle (if available)

These should be sent by email to thirdpartykeepers@contactcder.co.uk.

We may need to contact you if the information provided is unclear. However in most circumstances we will be able to update the case immediately, stop recovery action in respect of the vehicle and notify our National Highways so they can update their records.

We understand that this is an inconvenience, however until evidence is received to confirm the change and timing of ownership we are required by National Highways to continue recovery action, so please supply the information as soon as possible.

We are acting on the instructions of National Highways, who will have obtained their information from the DVLA. To prevent further action please provide confirmation from DVLA that you have never been the owner of the vehicle to which this debt relates.

DVLA contact details can be found on their website: https://www.gov.uk/contact-the-dvla/

We understand that this is an inconvenience, however until DVLA confirmation is received we are required by National Highways to continue recovery action.

You should pay the amount outstanding as soon as possible to avoid further fees being added.

You will find a ‘payment by’ date on the latest notification you have received from us. This will also tell you the balance outstanding and the various ways payment can be made.

This information, along with all case details, is available when you sign into the customer portal (click here) and you can make an online payment now using either a debit or credit card. You will need your CDER Group and Client references and security code which are shown on all communications received from us.

If you cannot find this information please call us on 0330 460 5297 (local rate) and one of our agents will be able to help you.

Do not ignore the correspondence you have received from us – the problem will not go away and we can help explore your options to resolve this matter.

If you are not able to pay the balance in full, you must contact us immediately on 0330 460 5297 (local rate) to discuss the payment options available to you and prevent further recovery action and additional costs.

Within the guidelines we have been given by National Highways, we will work with you to agree a realistic payment arrangement based on an assessment of your circumstances.

Please be aware that payment arrangements are discretionary and failure to maintain the payment terms will result in further enforcement action.

If you are having difficulty managing your debts, and would like some free, independent advice, you can contact one of the agencies shown below under “Useful Resources”.