A slew of complaints has emerged from motorists who have been double-charged by the new Dartford Crossing payment system.

The AA has revealed that several drivers have contacted them frustrated that they have been charged twice for using Dart Charge, a new automatic payment system put in place in November last year.

Motorists have also claimed the level of customer service provided is poor, when those who have experienced difficulties with the scheme have complained.

An AA spokesman said: “What could have been dismissed as an irritating but not unexpected teething problem, which should have been quickly resolved, has turned into a potential Achilles’ heel for Dart Charge.

“With the London Congestion Charging scheme now well-established, after early meltdowns in customer service, the AA argues that it wasn’t ‘rocket science’ for a similar scheme to be introduced successfully for the Dartford Crossing.”

The motoring organisation cited one customer who had two separate charges for £1.67 on his account statement recorded at the exact same time and date.

"What could have been dismissed as an irritating but not unexpected teething problem has turned into a potential Achilles’ heel for Dart Charge..." - AA spokesman

One customer wrote a letter to Dart Charge customer services venting their frustration. It read: “Please can you investigate the fact that when I checked my bank last night you have taken two payments for this transaction.

“I tried to phone your customer services number as quoted on the website and the chap I spoke to had a very poor attitude to my complaint saying ‘yea [sic] a lot of people have been getting this ... you need to email customer services and tell them’.

“I appreciate that sometimes things go wrong but I am very annoyed at the attitude of your staff and their unwillingness to help me.”

A Highways England spokesman said: “As the AA has stated, the vast majority of the 100,000 chargeable crossings at Dartford made each day are processed accurately and smoothly.

“Given the scale of transactions from time to time, errors will be made for which we apologise unreservedly.

“We appreciate the AA recognising that when we are made aware of issues we work with customers to resolve them as quickly as possible. We continue to work hard to ensure that errors are kept to an absolute minimum.”

Stories you might have missed

Fire crews tackle blaze at Dreamland

'My seasickness hell - three years on'

Man killed by van identified by police

Amy film 'misleading' claim family