Drivers overpay at least £250k in unnecessary fines for Dartford Crossing

Payment company Dart Save, who obtained the figures through an FoI request, said the figures were "damning evidence of the true cost of the new toll to motorists".

The company found 7,424 penalty charge notices were mistakenly settled by diligent drivers, who were unaware they could have paid the flat charge of £2.50.

Dart Save director Chris Billing said: "This is another example of Dart Charge profiting from Dartford Crossing users being confused about their system and how it works.

"It's another in a long line of issues we've encountered with Dart Charge.

"Questions should be raised about them issuing 601,256 PCNs in the first five months of going live as that's a huge amount.

"If the system worked perfectly, it would be more understandable but in our opinion it is deeply flawed."

Dart Save calculated that if everyone settled at a discounted rate of £35, the total for wrongly paid fines would be £259,840 - but with a full fine of £70 it could be double that amount.

The fines are being paid by motorists who do not realise Dart Charge offer motorists being fined for the first time two weeks to pay their toll, in case they have just forgotten.

Highways England told Dartsave: "Road users who have paid a penalty charge during their discretionary period can contact us for a refund of the difference."

Mr Billing added: "We've launched a Dart Rage petition to call for the Government to demand a refund from Sanef Operations Ltd, who will be paid £367 million to run the Dart Charge system over a ten year period.

"We believe the systemic issues mean it will never operate properly and should therefore be scrapped and replaced as soon as possible."

Dart Save offer motorists an alternative way to pay the toll.

Drivers sign up for free and are charged per crossing, with 21 days to pay and a guarantee they will never incur the Dart Charge fine.

TODAY'S TOP STORIES: