More than £1 million could be owed to users of the Dartford Crossing whose accounts have been automatically closed due to inactivity, it has been revealed.

The river crossing which connects Kent with Essex demands a £2.50 payment within 24-hours of use with costly fines for non-compliance.

MoneySavingExpert editor Steve Nowottny discusses their findings

Regular users can set up an online Dart Charge account - to ensure they are not stung by the toll - and pay a discounted £2 per crossing.

But new figures obtained through a freedom of information request by MoneySavingExpert.com has revealed that as of last November there were almost 78,000 accounts closed automatically with a total of £1,014,414 still inside.

They had been inactive for 15 months before being shut down.

Steve Nowottny, news and investigations editor at MoneySavingExpert.com said: "We were surprised to find there so much money stuck inside these closed accounts.

"The users who contacted us about it were really taken aback. I think there is kind of an assumption that your account will stay open and there is an assumption if your account is closed you'll at least get your money back.

'It's clearly not working very well as a system....'

"That's obviously not what the process is so I think people are very surprised to find this money is being held and its gone under the radar."

He added: "It's clearly not working very well as a system."

Highways England says users are clearly warned when they sign up and the details are fully set out in its terms and conditions.

It explained it was unable to reopen automatically closed accounts or automatically refund account-holders because it has to delete personal data to comply with data protection rules.

There are concerns irregular motorists and users of the Crossing are most likely to be stung due to a lack of awareness.

And with less travel movements owing to the pandemic many other occasional drivers could also fall foul of the automatic process.

But the government-owned company says it gives fair warning to customers by email giving them the opportunity to keep accounts active.

If you don't then make a crossing in the next 90 days, it'll be closed - unless you call customer services and request your account remain open.

However, all is not lost when accounts are closed and people can still request their money back.

You can check if your accounts still active by logging in or phoning customer services on 0300 3000120.

If your account has been closed, or you want to close it yourself, you can request a refund by phoning the above number.

Mr Nowottny added: "Ideally, those with money stuck in closed accounts would be automatically refunded.

"But with that not happening, the message to motorists is clear - if you've a pre-pay Dart Charge account you've not used in a while, check if it's closed and if so whether you're due money back."

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