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Dart Charge PCN – missed first-time £3.50 concession while away
Posted by sfly on 19 Aug, 2026 12:53 -
Hi all,
I’d appreciate some advice on a Dart Charge PCN I’ve received.
I crossed the Dartford Crossing at 06:04. At the time I genuinely thought it was just before 6am and therefore outside the charging period. Clearly I was mistaken and, to be fair, I should have checked the time more carefully but didn’t.
I was actually on my way to Dover to catch a ferry at the time, and then went abroad for a month. So by the time I returned home and saw the PCN, the 14-day period had long since expired.
The PCN says:
“This is the first time this vehicle has crossed without payment. We will cancel the penalty charge if you pay £3.50 within 14 days from the date of service.”
So I would happily have paid the £3.50 had I actually seen the notice, but I was away for the whole of the period in which that option was available.
I’m not disputing that the crossing took place at 06:04 or that the £3.50 charge was due. I’m really just wondering what my best approach is now.
From what I’ve read here, Dart Charge can sometimes be fairly reasonable in circumstances like this. Is it worth challenging the PCN and explaining that I was literally on my way to the ferry when the crossing occurred and was then abroad for the entire period in which they offered to accept the original £3.50 charge?
Obviously, I've still got my ferry booking details so I can prove I had left the country.
If so, is there any particular wording or grounds you would recommend using?
PCN attached with personal details obscured.
Thanks in advance.
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Just submit reps based on what you have told us, and include your ferry details. Ask that they accept the £3.50 in view of the circumstances which prevented you paying. Submit a draft here for review before submitting.
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Something like this?
I am writing to ask that you exercise discretion in relation to this PCN and allow me to pay the original £3.50 crossing charge.
The crossing was recorded at 06:04. At the time, I genuinely believed it was just before 6am and therefore outside the charging period. My clock was incorrect and I did not realise I had crossed four minutes after charging commenced. I accept that I should have checked the time more carefully and that the £3.50 crossing charge was due.
The reason I was unable to take advantage of the first-time concession offered in the PCN is that I was actually on my way to Dover to catch a ferry when the crossing took place. I left the UK that day and was away for approximately a month. I can provide my ferry booking/details as evidence of this.
Consequently, I did not see the PCN until I returned home, by which time the 14-day period allowing me to pay £3.50 and have the penalty cancelled had already expired.
The PCN itself confirms that this was the first time this vehicle had crossed without payment and that, had I received and seen the notice while I was at home, I would have been able to resolve the matter simply by paying the £3.50 charge. I would certainly have done so.
I am therefore asking you to take into account the circumstances which genuinely prevented me from responding within the 14-day period and to exercise discretion by reinstating the original offer, allowing me to pay the £3.50 crossing charge and cancelling the penalty.
I am not seeking to avoid the crossing charge and am happy to pay the £3.50 immediately.
Thank you for considering my representation.
Or should I just call them and see if they're nicer on the phone? -
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No harm in calling them, they have usually been reasonable in the past.
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I can provide my ferry booking/details as evidence of this.
Hopefully you mean 'pl see my outbound and inbound ferry details attached'. -
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Legal basis to charge appears to be this one
The A282 Trunk Road (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme) Order 2013
The penalty element and appeals are here
The key bit appears to be 9.b.ii
that there are compelling reasons why, in the particular circumstances of the case, the penalty charge notice should be cancelled.
AFAIK they would need to go to court to extract anything other than the £3.50 and that would be a waste of the court's time (the compelling reason)
See what others think -
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think you're wrong, but here is the full clause: -Quote
(9) It is the duty of a charging authority to whom representations are duly made under this regulation—
(a)to consider them and any supporting evidence which the person making them provides; and
(b)within the period of 56 days beginning with the date on which the representations were served on it, to serve on that person notice of its decision as to whether or not it accepts—
(i)that one or more of the grounds in paragraph (3) has been established; or
(ii)that there are compelling reasons why, in the particular circumstances of the case, the penalty charge notice should be cancelled.
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Is this not an Out of Time Appeal (TE7/TE9) on the basis of not receiving the paperwork. Is there something on the Dart Charge paperwork to this effect?
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Just for everybody's information,
I called them and spoke to a helpful operator and mentioned that I hadn't seen the time and I was only four minutes over and explained that I did have proof that I was out of the country for a month.
She didn't even ask for that proof.
She just went away for a couple of minutes and came back and said they had reduced the charge to £3.50 and put me through to the payment line.
So I suspect it was probably because I was within a few minutes of the start time of charges, and paid it over the phone and got a reference number.
but they seemed a lot more helpful than any other parking company you can phone.
So it's resolved now. -
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Dart is by far the most forgiving of any authority currently.
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Very well done !!
As said, DART are the most "human" of all the enforcing authorities that issue PCNs. Of course I suspect that they are used to foreign vehicles not paying as this is the main route from the north to the Channel ports. -
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Even with Out of Time applications, they are more willing to accept applications than almost any other local/charging authority.
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imgpile.com
Traffic Penalty Tribunal 
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