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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Dart-Charge


Guigsy

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I dont post much any more, but what is this ****? Iv never heard of it.

 

Just got home from a nice holiday to find i have a PCN from Dart Charge from when i went over the Dartford crossing down to dragonball v1... in may! Thats 5 months ago!

Now, considering i go over the dartford crossing once a year (for dragonball) i went down. Went over the bridge expecting to pay... nothing. A load of roadworks, no booths. no barriers apart from the other side. So i assume, ok, they are doing them up or something, giving people a free ride while the roadworks are there. And on i go with my journey.

 

So now i get this PCN.

 

And it seems the ways you can pay, are by phone after, or in advance. (i assume after you have finished your journey, and not forgotten all about it). Walking into a shop and paying at a payzone thing. Or online.

Im all for the future of the internet, moving forward with technology and all that. i work in IT for gods sake. and i love being able to pay for things with paypal. in the states, you can order a pizza from domino's just by sending them a pizza emoji in a text and they ship your favorite to you.

 

But taking away the ability to pay then and there with cash? Thats ridiculous. And there seems (at least as a guy living in the midlands an hour from london) to be sod all info about it. I never saw any on my journey. How was i supposed to know how and where to pay. God its rediculous.

 

 

 

p.s - I have had a very long day. im jetlagged and had no sleep on a 7 hour overnight flight. Then on the drive home my new evo 9 wagon i got from jurgen got hit by a fist sized rock on the bonnet. Lucky it didnt come through the windscreen.

Then when i get home i find iv lost the back door key so i cant let the dog out for a piss.

The neighbours have been throwing CD's, wine bottles and 6 volt batterys (yes those big massive ones) into my garden.

and to top it off... some **** has knicked my bin!

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There are countless signs, and it dramatically cuts congestion in one of the worst spots in the country. Sorry, but I think it's a good thing too :)

 

One of the best things that the SNP government introduced up here was the abolition of road tolls on all Scottish roads and bridges, using a Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) on ferry journeys has cut some of the fares quite considerably. Motorists are already heavily taxed through fuel duty and road tax, road tolls are just a form of extortion in my book.

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There is a lot of signs warning you of the change and before them there were lots telling you it was going to happen.

 

However I do feel your pain as I made two return trips in April/May time and forgot to pay for the first one. But, I had a nice letter saying that if I paid right away (in the next 7 days I think) the fine would be waived, but it was worded in a way that first glance appeared as though they were fining me the full amount. When you have had a little rest and cleared the dog wee up, murdered your neighbours and filled the bonnet of your new car, have a good look at the letter you may be OK. It was just after Easter I went made the first trip and forgot to pay. Hope so.

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One of the best things that the SNP government introduced up here was the abolition of road tolls on all Scottish roads and bridges, using a Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) on ferry journeys has cut some of the fares quite considerably. Motorists are already heavily taxed through fuel duty and road tax, road tolls are just a form of extortion in my book.

 

I agree and in the case of Dartford Crossing, until it was available on-line and the cash booths done away with, you couldn't even get a receipt for it! Which being a VAT registered business I never really understood how that worked. At least now its online you can do a print out from the website.

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One of the best things that the SNP government introduced up here was the abolition of road tolls on all Scottish roads and bridges, using a Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) on ferry journeys has cut some of the fares quite considerably. Motorists are already heavily taxed through fuel duty and road tax, road tolls are just a form of extortion in my book.

 

Agree, government loves it's extortion

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I came from the Midlands also but still knew about it, and couldn't miss the signs. Pete and I both actually forget to pay it on the Friday night by phone, as we got on the wine and beers as soon as we arrived in Ashford.

 

Pete paid it on the Sunday by phone when we were travelling home, easy peasy :)

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I came from the Midlands also but still knew about it, and couldn't miss the signs. Pete and I both actually forget to pay it on the Friday night by phone, as we got on the wine and beers as soon as we arrived in Ashford.

 

Pete paid it on the Sunday by phone when we were travelling home, easy peasy :)

:stupid:

 

There were a whole bunch of signs - I've done it a couple of times since too. Worst thing is remembering to pay the damn thing.

Thing is - with all those road works going on there were also lots of other signs, cones and a very confusing road layout. With all those things to try and not drive into I'd say you'd be forgiven for not realising.

 

It does annoy me when these southern b'tards change the rules without telling the rest of the country. It's like this congestion charge. It seems to get wider and wider. It applies to some people, but not others, at different times. Better just to avoid the whole place in my opinion.

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