Today (Tuesday) is the deadline for the Dart Charge extension, meaning that customers must ensure that they have paid fees for crossings made over the past month to avoid fines.

For drivers who do not have a Dart Charge account, the extended payment period ends at the end of August 15 for crossings made between July 27 and August 14.

Account holders, on the other hand, have until August 31 to ensure their cards are validated so that the system can take automatic payments.

National Highways has warned that failure to pay on time or not revalidating cards could result in fines.

The payment deadline was temporarily extended due to delays in the service following a period when the Dart Charge website was down.

From Friday, July 28 until Sunday, July 30, customers were unable to access the website, and even after it came back online, issues persisted due to a high volume of people trying to log in.

As a result, long queues were reported both online and via phone, causing further delays in paying the tolls.

Following this maintenance period, customers continue to report a variety of issues with their accounts on Twitter.

Some experienced problems re-validating cards, while others found that their account balances were wiped, journeys were not recorded, and local resident permits were removed.

Nigel Betteridge tweeted: “I have been trying to update my payment method several times over the last couple of weeks @DartCharge. Before this morning, I got a continuously rotating partial circle, this morning this is what I got.

"When is this going to be sorted?”

Aerial Filming by The Drone Man explained how he had been facing long queues, tweeting: “It’s a nightmare. @DartCharge “Are we going to be compensated for the hours we’ve spent over the past weeks trying to verify our account?”

Kim Edwards added her own thoughts after her resident's account expired due to website issues. She tweeted: “A new day and another day of not being able to pay for my now expired residents @DartCharge.

"It hadn't expired when I first started to try and renew it, I just get the blue wheel of death when I try and pay.

“Can't tell you how much time I've wasted trying to do this.”

Dart Charge clarified that crossings made from 6am on July 26, 2023 will be allocated to the respective accounts but they might not appear on accounts until after the payment deadline.

A statement explaining reads: "Crossings that you have made from 6am on July 26, 2023 will be allocated to your account.

"We have extended the time frame to pay for crossings to August 15, so that's your crossings may not be viewable on your account until after that date.

"Your account won't be charged until then."

Highways, the authority responsible for the Dart Charge system, expressed appreciation for the understanding of road users during this maintenance period.

The responsibility for vehicle identification, payment processing, and account management is being transferred to a new service provider called Conduent, while Emovis will continue to handle inquiries for Penalty Charge Notices.

A National Highways spokesperson acknowledged the service issues customers faced over the past few days and assured improvements have been implemented.

National Highways extended its apologies for the inconvenience caused by the necessary system updates and expressed hope that the improvements will enhance the overall Dart Charge system.

A National Highways spokesperson said: "The Dart Charge websites and customer contact centres are all operating.

“We apologise for the service issues users have faced over the last few days and have implemented service improvements.

“While customers may still experience short delays, the average online wait time is now less than 5 minutes. "We have further extended payment deadlines to ensure everyone has sufficient time to pay the charge. Dart Charge account holders have until 31 August to update their card details on the website.

"Non-account holders who use the crossing between 27 July and 14 August have until the 15 August to pay the charge.

"We apologise again for the inconvenience which was due to essential system updates."