By ROB HULL, MOTORING EDITOR
Motorists have lost over £3.6million in unused Dart Charge payments in the last two years with the Department for Transport pocketing the pre-paid deposits, This is Money exclusively reveals.
A freedom of information request to National Highways - the Government department responsible for managing the crossing's payment system - revealed the astonishing amounts wasted by drivers over a 24-month period.
These are one-off payments made by motorists who planned to use the Dartford Crossing between Essex and Kent before changing their plans or to avoid congestion, meaning they didn't travel via the two northbound tunnels or the southbound Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.
In the fiscal year 2023-24 there were £1,812,379 unused Dart Charge payments. The following financial year, pre-paid deposits of £1,790,559 were made on non-journeys. It takes the grand total of unused payments to £3,602,938.
National Highways said customers who pay in advance are made aware that the payment remains valid for 12 months, however, any crossings not used within that period 'expire'.
And the vast majority of these expired payments are not refunded and are instead absorbed by the DfT, it told us.
On 1 September, the Dart Charge was increased by 40 per cent - upping the toll for crossing the Thames from £2.50 to £3.50 for drivers of cars, motorhomes and small minibuses - to 'manage traffic' and reduce journey times, according to MPs.
Drivers have lost £3.6m in unused Dart Charge payments in the last two years - and the DfT has pocketed almost all of the pre-paid deposits, This is Money exclusively reveals
The DfT said all customers who bought crossing credit and didn't use it can obtain a refund prior to the 12-month expiry.
Drivers can request a refund either by raising an online enquiry via the National Highways website or calling its helpline.
However, if motorists do not have a Dart Charge account and pay a one-off credit and don't use it within a year, the money is retained by the DfT.
'All Dart Charge revenue is paid to the DfT and spent on transport projects which benefit people across Essex and Kent, such as the Lower Thames Crossing,' a spokesperson for the Department for Transport told us.
For drivers with Dart Charge accounts that becomes dormant - for example through disuse or invalid details - the money remaining is refunded back to the account holder using the original payment details, the DfT said.
AA president Edmund King said it is yet another example of drivers 'being taken for a ride' by the Government for a service that ultimately should be free of charge.
'If you are not a frequent user of the Dartford Crossing, it's likely that you pay for a return trip. However, on return and faced with heavy traffic on the M25, many drivers go in the opposite direction to avoid the queues that frequently build up at the crossing.
'But if you don’t do that trip for another year, you lose your money.
'The real irony is the Dartford crossing original agreement was that the tolls would stop once the bridge's construction costs were paid off, a milestone reached in 2003. However, the government reversed its decision, retaining the charges to manage traffic and as a general revenue raiser.
'So yet again drivers using, or not using, the Dartford Crossing are being taken for a ride for a service which should be free.'
In the fiscal year 2023-24 there were £1,812,379 unused Dart Charge payments. The following financial year, pre-paid deposits of £1,790,559 were made on non-journeys. It takes the grand total of unused payments to £3,602,938
If motorists do not have a Dart Charge account and pay a one-off credit and don't use it, the money is collected by the Department for Transport
The Dart Charge was hiked by 40% last September in a move Lilian Greenwood, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the DfT, said was solely to 'manage traffic'
Traffic data shared with This is Money shows that the higher charge has had little to no impact on reducing journey times since the higher charge was introduced
On 1 September 2025, the Government hiked the Dart Charge by a staggering 40 per cent.
The move was dubbed a blatant 'revenue raiser' at the expense of 'easy target' motorists who have already been treated like a cash cow for more than two decades.
The last time the Dart Charge was hiked was in 2014. But ministers claim it needs to increase again to encourage drivers to take alternative routes to reduce congestion levels.
Announcing the increase, Lilian Greenwood, parliamentary under-secretary at the DfT, claimed raising one-off payments from £2.50 to £3.50 for cars, motorhomes and small minibuses is a decision purely aimed to 'manage traffic'.
All other road users have also seen a 40 per cent hike, with coaches and vans levied £4.20 - up from £3 - and lorries facing an increase from £6 to £8.40. Motorcycles, moped and quad bikes are still able to use the route free of charge.
The crossing, which is made up of the Queen Elizabeth II bridge travelling southbound and the two Dartford Tunnels when heading north, connects Thurrock in Essex with Dartford in Kent and is used by more than 150,000 vehicles per day on average.
However, traffic data shared with This is Money shows that the higher charge has had little to no impact on reducing journey times.