Drivers furious as Dart Charge website crashes after ‘update’ leaving users stuck in virtual queues for hours

DRIVERS have been left furious as the Dart Charge website crashed after an "update".

The system failure left users stuck for hours in virtual queues battling to pay the £2 charge before risking fines.

Beleaguered motorists have taken to social media to complain they can't pay the Dart Charge after crossing the River Thames using the tunnels or Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.

Those who did try to get through were placed in a queue amid "high demand".

Officials have claimed the system is currently "at capacity".

One frustrated driver Tweeted: "It is total carnage. The new system is a mess. Instructions to customers is non-existent."

He claimed he couldn't replace a direct debit, only remove it, and said debit or credit cards could only be registered "if you can get on".

Another said: "Can someone have the decency to reply to people? I've validated card details but there's no option to pay through my account so logged off and put in the vehicle reg but says the payments are for future payments, not past ones. I've got 23 vehicles to pay for."

One added: "Communicate, communicate, communicate. It is not exceptionally high usage as you asked everyone with an account to revalidate their card for payment after July 28. 

"Therefore the amount of users logging on was to be expected. You have had two years to get ready for this changeover."

National Highways has now extended the payment deadline.

Account holders have until August 31 to update their card details online.

Non-account holders who crossed between July 27 and August 14 now have until August 15 to pay.

The charge is £2 for account holders and £2.50 for non-account holders.

National Highways claims "service improvements" have now been made.

It came as US services provider Conduent took over responsibility for vehicle identification, payment processing and account management.

Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) are still being issued and handled by Barcelona-based global company Emovis, which has offices in Leeds that handle the Dart Charge.

National Highways said in June customers would "see improvements on the website, making it an easier and more accessible service".

But it meant account holders needed to re-validate their payment cards from last Friday.

National Highways also warned at the time PCNs could be issued to anyone whose card details were invalid.

A National Highways spokesman 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 five minutes.

"We have further extended payment deadlines to ensure everyone has sufficient time to pay the charge. Dart Charge account holders have until August 31 to update their card details on the website."