A UK toll road has been accused of "orchestrated opportunistic theft" after taking more than £5million from accounts. The Government that, before 2021, the excess balance from motorists' Dart Charge pots - which are topped up with cash for automatic payments to use the Dartford Crossing in - was not returned if holders did not take action. Drivers were warned of the impending deadline, and were invited to prevent the loss of funds. But the Express has learned that £5.3million was grabbed by officials, despite these warnings.
Motoring campaigner and founder of FairFuelUK, Howard Cox, said: "This is orchestrated opportunistic theft and the police should consider criminal charges. Monies in these accounts were originally paid by debit card on bank transfer. So they have drivers' accounts info to refund residual funds easily and immediately. There is no excuse not to give the money back at the click of a button. The £5.3million must be frozen whilst legal investigation takes place."
National Highways has refunded more than £4million over the last 10 years when accounts have been closed. This is a general figure, though, and does not exclusively relate to the £5.3million that was left in accounts after the deadline.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at The AA, said: "Having money taken from your account for a service you haven't used feels incredibly harsh.
"Drivers pre-loading their Dart Charge account were doing the right thing, but to then have the cash banked by National Highways is unfair.
"Closure emails have often ended up in spam folders, so drivers may have missed their warning."
The Express also asked for the amount that has been returned to drivers from their account that wasn't used for the toll after 2021 after the policy changed. National Highways said it does not hold this refund data, but figures below represent all account closure refunds and are not limited to the inactive account closure specifically.
- 2016/17 - £22,946.34
- 2017/18 - £50,324.46
- 2018/19 - £84,464.39
- 2019/20 - £285,019.65
- 2020/21 - £608,212.70
- 2021/22 - £422,812.90
- 2022/23 - £1,568,422.19
- 2023/24 - £695,730.41
- 2024/25 - £357,222.49
A National Highways spokesperson said: "A number of things can cause a Dart Charge account to close, including inactivity or invalid payment details.
"In these instances, several notifications are sent to advise the account holder and detail the actions needed. We will always refund the money on an account when it is closed."
All account holders, particularly infrequent users, have been encouraged to ensure that their account details are up to date and there is a valid payment method on their account.
