# e-flow Bill - mistake?



## locksmith

I received a bill from e flow yesterday, stating that i owed 3.80 for crossing the westlink at 7am last monday. 

Last monday at 7am, I was in bed.  I phoned to query the bill and was asked for my phone number and registration.  I was told that a supervisor would call me back in an hour.  None did.  2 hours later i again called them.  I was again asked for my details and was again told that someone would call me back.  None did.

My questions
1. has any one else had this problem.
2. By asking me for my details are they reqistering me by default? ( I dont want to be registered as I dont ever intend using the bridge)
3.If I was registered, they would have taken the money from my credit card, so would they refund it?

any help?

thanks


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## helan72

*Re: e-flow Bill ?? mistake?*

locksmith

I currently have 27 of these letters sitting on my desk - all the vehicles mentioned have tags - i have sent so many emails to them as their number is constantly engaged - i finally got a human this afternoon who advised me to ignore all the letters as they were mistakes!!!!! and also that their system had been down for the last two days and all they could do was take names and numbers - fabulous or what?????


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## rmelly

*Re: e-flow Bill ?? mistake?*



locksmith said:


> 3.If I was registered, they would have taken the money from my credit card, so would they refund it?


 
Have you given them your credit card details?


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## Thirsty

I have an e-tag - it 'beeps' when I drive through other tolls, but I've just found out it doesn't work on the M50 bridge.

I came home from a recent trip to a clatter of letters looking for money for the M50 toll bridge.  Each letter for one toll contains 4 sheets of paper and separate letters were sent for each 'pass through'. 

When I rang and gave the details I was told some of the tags weren't registering properly and that I could just 'ignore' the letters.

What a desperate waste of time and resources!


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## C2H5OH

Got a bill on Monday for the 13th September southbound on M50. Car was not within 50 miles of the M50!
Got through Monday evening and lodged a disputed charge.
They said they would ring back... but didn't.
Rang again this morning and selected option 5 "as gaeilge" and got through to someone immediately. He looked up the reg and the number had been misread! charge cancelled.


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## Brownie10

Oh wouldn't it have been so much easier to save the €80M it cost to develop this system and the €25M to run it and just add 5 cent or so to a litre of petrol/diesel?

There are very few things to which the KISS principle cannot be applied.


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## rmelly

Brownie10 said:


> Oh wouldn't it have been so much easier to save the €80M it cost to develop this system and the €25M to run it and just add 5 cent or so to a litre of petrol/diesel?
> 
> There are very few things to which the KISS principle cannot be applied.


 
Not really, what about the people who don't use the toll roads? There are plenty. I could easily survive without them, so KISS says not to build them at all.


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## St. Bernard

I have about 20 of these invoices on my desk and all our cars have tags aswell.

You have to ring a 1890 number about 10 times before you actually get through and not cut off.

Then when you get through the people they have on the other end don't have a clue what their doing. Plus these people are actually based in Newry so they probably dont even know where the M50 is.


What a joke.........


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## folder

Brownie10 said:


> Oh wouldn't it have been so much easier to save the €80M it cost to develop this system and the €25M to run it and just add 5 cent or so to a litre of petrol/diesel?
> 
> There are very few things to which the KISS principle cannot be applied.



Im sorry. Why should I, in Limerick pay extra for my diesel because people want to pass through the M50 for free.

Why should I pay for a road I never intend on using? Why should anybody who never visits Dublin pay for "YOUR" road?

The Limerick tunnel will be open in 15months. Will you consider paying extra on your tank of fuel so I can pass through it for free?


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## folder

In fact I do use the road not often but enough that I have an Eazypass tag also I use the Fermoy, Drogheda and M50 toll. I was just making a point for those whom never visit Dublin.

I said this weeks ago. It is going to cost more money in the end employing all those staff and "franking" all those letters and dealing with all the phone calls.

It will only make the toll more expensive. I also guarantee you when the 80m system is paid off the toll will still exist.


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## carpedeum

A major problem is that other tag suppliers e.g. EazyPass, eTrip, Eirtag, Tolltag, etc do not have up to date records of their tag numbers and associated vehicles for passing to eFlow to allow eFlow add them to the tag lists on their system. These other tag suppliers have also not ensured that their customers position the tags correctly on the windscreen. Also, they have never enforced the tag per dedicated vehicle rule for years now. These are the reasons eFlow are billing these motorists based on licence plate recognition. By all accounts EazyPass and other toll operators are not coping with eFlow's superior technologies.  Heard this from an Eazypassfleet account holder.


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## sailorsam

My aunt received a bill for using the M50 toll. She lives in west Cork and has never driven to Dublin in her life.

I have a friend 'in the know', and he informs me that the high tech system they have fitted was designed for use in continental Europe and doesn't work properly when it's raining! It has difficulty distinguishing 'C' reg from 'G' reg from 'D' reg etc.

Three words.....ONLY IN IRELAND!!


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## ubiquitous

sailorsam said:


> I have a friend 'in the know', and he informs me that the high tech system they have fitted was designed for use in continental Europe and doesn't work properly when it's raining!
> 
> Three words.....ONLY IN IRELAND!!





It rains in continental Europe, sometimes.


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## mik_da_man

Yes but it's desinged to pick up the fonts of German cars AFAIK which are quite different from the font on Irish Plates...


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## Complainer

sailorsam said:


> I have a friend 'in the know', and he informs me that the high tech system they have fitted was designed for use in continental Europe and doesn't work properly when it's raining! It has difficulty distinguishing 'C' reg from 'G' reg from 'D' reg etc.


In my experience of such systems, it is extremely rare that there would be such obvious black/white problems. Most problems are a lot more complex. I would be dubious about such simple explanations.

If you dig around on etenders.gov.ie, you'll probably find whatever spec they went to market with.


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## Towger

Complainer said:


> In my experience of such systems, it is extremely rare that there would be such obvious black/white problems. Most problems are a lot more complex. I would be dubious about such simple explanations.


 
True. But I still believe it is about time the Garda crack down on illegal number plates. There are enought of them around and at €1265 a go it would bring in a few bob


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## shoutinbob

i've been reading through the posts above and have had the same issues, rang them 3 -4 times, got cut off many times more and been put on hold for long times once i got through. Each time i complained they said a supervisor would ring me back. I even e-mailed them. I asked them why i was deducted 2.80 for a car and they wouldn't answer, when i told them today i wasn't ever on the M50 they basically said tough we can't refund the money. I cancelled my account today as their customer service is the worst i have ever experienced


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## csirl

> True. But I still believe it is about time the Garda crack down on illegal number plates. There are enought of them around and at €1265 a go it would bring in a few bob


 
Agree. I'd imagine that all those script number plates and ones with non-standard fonts cause havoc with number plate recognition systems designed to read the standard legal number plate.


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## Yachtie

I have tried to register for a video account last week and gave up after about 4 attempts. When submitting my details their webside would hang and eventually crash. 

I took my trip without being registered and then went online to pay my toll. The system did the same - I'd enter my details, website would hang and then crash. I rang eFlow and chose every option available only to get 'Log onto our website as all operators are busy'. I sent eFlow's customer services an email asking to check if I have paid or should I pay over the phone. Surprise surprise - didn't hear back. 

Now I have two 4 page letters on my desk, good will to pay but web payment will simply not work for me. I am very tempted to be cheeky and ignore it as I've wasted enough time already.


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## doogo

I've been trying to register a newly registered 06D car and their ssytem is not recognising it - and then the customer service phone lines are a joke .. and a really really bad one at that!


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## csirl

> My questions
> 1. has any one else had this problem.


 
My wife received a bill from eFlow saying she used the M50 toll bridge last week and didnt pay the toll by the deadline and its an offence under various road traffic acts etc. She hasnt driven this car on the M50 for at least 3 months and was at home & car in driveway at the time in question (very very early in morning - was in bed) so we are 100% sure that this bill is in error.

Tried ringing customer services, but kept on getting message that operators are busy etc. and call was simply cut off - couldnt even wait in queue. So instead she rang the "pay your bill" number and surprise surprise, the phone was instantly answered. She asked the eFlow employee why she was being billed when she hadnt used the M50. Got the usual denial questions i.e. "are you sure...", ".. did anyone borrow your car...",".....but your car was picked up on camera....have picture...you must be mistaken......" etc. etc. essentially trying to accuse her of being a liar. She got annoyed with them and asked "what make and color is my car?" (testing the picture the employee was claiming to have i.e. if employee said "your car is a red nissan etc. (which it isnt)", then must be misread of plate. When she asked this question, the employee got real defensive saying..."well....I dont have the picture on front of me...". Wife got annoyed demanded to be sent a copy of the picture they claim to have and employee got more defensive...."well....not sure...dont give them out (isnt there a Data Protection Act issue here?) etc...". Call ended with employee saying "I'll record that you are disputing the charge and someone will check and call back". Nobody has called back & dont know how they will as she realised afterwards that they never asked for her phone number & her caller ID was turned off. 

Anyone know what they do from this point forward? Do they check the picture of the car and write back apologising etc.? Anyone managed to get a picture out of them yet? I assume that they must keep them on file as they would need them in the event of a case going to Court, yet their refusal to supply them seems contrary to Data Protection Act. 

Wife is so annoyed with their attitude that, if they dont withdraw the charge and apologise, she'll let it go to court, embarrass them on front of the Judge (as we are 100% sure we are correct).


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## carpedeum

Go to www.eflow.ie which has been updated and dispute the charge. If the photo of the car does not display your wife's car licence plate when reviewed, the violation will be transferred to the correct plate and that owner billed. Because of the technology in ANPR, there is approximately a 1% false positive rate on the 120,000 cars on the M50. If it is her plate when rechecked, and she was not on the M50, then it is possibly a cloned vehicle and she will need to go to the Gardai.


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## threeticks

I did use the m50 toll bridge and paid with in 2 hours and a week later I got a bill informing me that I must pay the 3 euro charge and if I failed to do so blaa blaa blaa.
They correctly recorded my number using the toll bridge and I paid it but still got the letter.
After 6 attempts to get someone on the phone I gave up trying to get through to them.

Nothing to do with the camera in this case.
It seems there is a major systems problem if you ask me.


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## blue

I've also gotten a bill for an M50 journey, but I have an eTrip tag & was billed by them already for the journey.

eFlow were a drama trying to get hold of them (email & phone).  I called eTrip about another matter & mentioned it to the girl I spoke to.  She was able to cancel the eFlow bill for me.  I'll be calling them in future - much easier to deal with!


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## peelaaa

I just received a emailed eflow bill for the month of august for 0 euros?
As far as i am aware  the tags didn't go into operation until september.
Whats going on?


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## Joe1234

peelaaa said:


> I just received a emailed eflow bill for the month of august for 0 euros?
> As far as i am aware  the tags didn't go into operation until september.
> Whats going on?



Did it not start on 30th August?


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## Cheeus

Just got a €40 fine in the post for not paying my toll. My toll was paid and thankfully I kept the online receipt. Total waste of paper and postage.

I resent having to spend my money ringing them when I've already paid the toll.


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## St. Bernard

Then just ignore it. You paid ther bill let them waste their time chasing you then slap them in the face with your receipt.


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## St. Bernard

Joe1234 said:


> Did it not start on 30th August?


 
And still its a mess.


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## TheSphinx

In November my e-flow bill was €19, E-flow took the money from my bank account but it did not show up on their system that I had paid. They added the €19 to my December bill and subsequently took that out of my bank statement. I have now made 7 phone calls to their Customer service, each time I have to relay the whole thing again to them, each time the story changes, One person says I am getting a refund via cheque, one is saying I am getting a refund via Laser - I also then sent an 0nline request, I got a response after 4 days indicating I had to send them evidence that they took the money out of my account, even though the customer service representative seen their on a top up payment made in december of €19, I believe my bank account statements are private and confidential...

What do you do in this situation, asking to speak to a Supervisor or Manager is no good, as you are told they are busy and they will ring back, they never do... I asked cud I speak to someone in Head Office, i was told that they don't have a number, 

Who can I complain to, It's not the amount it's the priciple, why should they take my money on the double...


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## November

carpedeum said:


> Go to www.eflow.ie which has been updated and dispute the charge. If the photo of the car does not display your wife's car licence plate when reviewed, the violation will be transferred to the correct plate and that owner billed. Because of the technology in ANPR, there is approximately a 1% false positive rate on the 120,000 cars on the M50. If it is her plate when rechecked, and she was not on the M50, then it is possibly a cloned vehicle and she will need to go to the Gardai.



I have a similar issue for a northbound toll that I didn't make. I registered the disputed charge on the website. I wonder what happens now, there was no reference to submitting my contact details, just a terse statement to provide documentation (but doesn't give any details on how to do this). Will I get a follow up letter to say that they rechecked the plate and it wasn't me?


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## luain

We have two vans, with Eazypass tags, like a lot of previous posts we had lots of demands for payments in Sept / Oct 08. We called and had them cancelled ( even got an apology letter ), got one a week later and rang up and was told to ignore further letters. Last month we got a solicitors letter from e-flow looking for €300 fine. Our problem seems to be that the Eflow and Eazypass are not working together ( in fact they are competitors) so we have a tag which seems to register some journeys and not others. The problem is eflow can't help once it goes to the solicitor and the solicitor says I should take it up with Eazypass. Does anyone else have a problem / conflict like this, I've spent almost a day on the phone trying to reconcile it, but I have no faith in the people at the end of these telephones.


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## biddy

I got an etoll bill a few weeks ago. Not only had i not been in dublin for about a year but the car in question was scrapped four years ago. When I rang etoll she only took about 10 seconds to tell me it was a mistake and I wouldnt hear from them again. Two days later I received another one!


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## Ash

I'm in dispute about payment for two uses of the M50 toll.  I sent 2 emails to eFlow which weren't acknowledged.  After a few days, I phoned and was told my emails had been forwarded to the disputes department and to wait to hear from them.  Still nothing.
It is now beyond the 14 days to pay the toll & fine.  Even though I dispute the tolls & fines, I'm now thinking it would have been easier to just pay up.  If I get hit with the €40 fine (x2), I'll go spare.
I hardly ever use the M50.  I chose to email because I can't hang on the phone during the day.  Why give the email option if no-one ever replies??


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## bond-007

They won't take anyone to court. The whole thing will be laughed out of court if they were ever foolish enough to try it on.


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## luain

Hi Bond, why do you say this? Are you in the profession? I'm really wound up over the injustice of it all and may consider going all the way to court to contest it. Just dealing with the eflow operators over the phone, you can tell that their system is in disarray, but how can you prove this.


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## November

November said:


> I have a similar issue for a northbound toll that I didn't make. I registered the disputed charge on the website. I wonder what happens now, there was no reference to submitting my contact details, just a terse statement to provide documentation (but doesn't give any details on how to do this). Will I get a follow up letter to say that they rechecked the plate and it wasn't me?



Just to follow up on my earlier post. I logged the error with eflow online on Monday and today (Friday) I received a letter confirming that the toll/penalty notice has been cancelled.


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## spursfan1234

i too have had problems. i passed on dec 15th and 19th. i didnt pay it on time , i admit that. i logged in a few days later and paid 6 euro. i had no idea that i should have paid more. i never got anything in the post asking for more, never got notice of the 41.50 fine and just the other day got a fine for 156 euro. i rang solicitors etc and they say it has to be paid. i am refusing to do so. i will pay 41.50 as thats what i prob owe but i never got notice of it. any advice from anyone?? can i just pay the 41.50 and tell them get lost for the rest. should i have gotten notice of the 41.50 fine??


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## luain

Spursfan, This also happened to me I failed to pay the toll and got a €12 fine after 3 days etc. I rang up and the computer asked me to pay €9 with my card so I did. Last week I was sent a fine for €41 euro because I didn't pay the €3 balance. I rang eflow who said they would look into it, my case is that I couldn't argue with the computer etc. I have to wait until the end of the month for their decision. I'll keep you posted.


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## Kine

I recently passed through the M50 toll, and totally forgot to pay. 

Only about 2 weeks later did I get the "Oh, whooops..." feeling. Hadn't received anything in the post either! Logged on and paid the €6 or whatever, but have heard nothing from eflow since. Kinda weird if u ask me.


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## joanieb

are you sure about that?? I am in dispute with them also only used the M50 twice both times got late notices, both in dec. received a letter today saying sorry late fee incorrect but one is still outstanding, granted  my fault paid a few hours late, but each time i got a  notice i called and the eflow operator assured me saw the payment made and would mark it paid, now i've got a solicitors letter for €146.00 got nowhere with them or eflow? i'm furious was going to pay it, has anyone been brought to court???


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## bond-007

> has anyone been brought to court??


Nope, and it is very unlikely that anyone will be.


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## joanieb

so you're saying ignore the letter? dont want it to get worse and end up with court costs!


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## carpedeum

Some people are not paying tolls. Some people are paying late. Error. Sorry.


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## carpedeum

Some people are not paying tolls. Some people are paying late. The vast majority are compliant. Heard a guy on Joe Duffy admitting he didn't pay and then complaining about the 146 Euro penalty! Serves him right! Let's hope the courts come down heavy on the toll violators. Why do some people feel they are special and should be excluded from paying tolls, taxes, fines etc? Corral them with the minorities among bankers, solicitors, property developers, county councillors, priests and others who give the good majorities within their groups a bad name! Eflow are supposedly prosecuting, naming and shaming them. People are going to be listed in debtors' gazettes and get criminal records. For what? Not paying a two or three Euro toll that the majority of the little people pay as part of their dues to society!


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## spursfan1234

luain - i wrote them a letter and basically told them i wasnt paying due to the fact that i never got anything in the post about a 12 euro fine or a 41 euro fine either (which is true). they wrote a letter of apology and cancelled it.


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## Jenn4

Hi all I got a solicitors letter this morning regardign an unpaid toll. I paid for 2 journeys online and I admit they were 7 days late but the payment was accepted so i thought that was it.  I rang the solicitor this morning and the girl said that they took the €6 payment as a late payment for 1 journey and so the second journey was unpaid. I wonder how they can do this? Also I received no notification for this happening. The girl in the solicitors said E-flow did not have to send me a letter to tell me this. Any ideas of what I should do/


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## bond-007

They have yet to take anyone to court, I would sit tight.


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## Jenn4

Thanks Bond, I wrote a letter to e-flow to see if they can do anything I rang them but the S**thead took great pleasure in saying its out of their hands now that its gone to a solicitor.


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## mealone42

Jenn4 said:


> Thanks Bond, I wrote a letter to e-flow to see if they can do anything I rang them but the S**thead took great pleasure in saying its out of their hands now that its gone to a solicitor.


Forget letters as they do not answer them. They answer emails after a week or two but say nothing. I was charged for 2 trips I did not make as I was in Austria at the time. When I rang the call centre in Newry they were apologetic but said that there was nothing they could do. I told them in temper to stick the account. Next day I calmed down and thought ok, dont cancel and seek a refund on the overcharging. Then they would not allow me to reactivate the account and kept my money. After 6 weeks they now tell me that they will refund my money by cheque but do not know when. In the meantime I used the M50 twice and now I find that they did not deduct the 5Euro from my account even though it is not fully closed yet and are adding penalties on me. They have 40 Euro of my money. I am tempted to take them to the small claims court but they will pay me the day before the court. I said I would refuse the cheque as I am not sure it would be honoured. Am I legally allowed to do that and insist that it be paid back to my Visa account wher they originally took it from?


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## nippyyoke

bond-007 said:


> They have yet to take anyone to court, I would sit tight.


 
im in court over it in july


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## bond-007

Oh?

Civil or criminal? What do they allege?


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## nippyyoke

bond-007 said:


> Oh?
> 
> Civil or criminal? What do they allege?


i owe them 354 euro not gettin it.

got 2 more letters 2day sayin i owe another 354 not gettin that either.

and many more 2 come ha


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## nippyyoke

dont no if its civ or criminal its in Dolphin House court so i say its civil.


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## bond-007

Well If you don't defend it properly the sheriff will be around to sell your car and other stuff.

Also penalties under bye laws (which is a criminal offence) cannot be collected by civil action. That would be your main defence. 
The most you will owe them is €3 per trip.


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## nippyyoke

its ****e alrite dont know what te do about them just goin to have to go and hope for the best there is no way i'm payin that amonut of money plus there will be a lot more coming


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## nippyyoke

Anyone have any ideas what I can say in court? I can,t afford to pay that amount of money to them and the letter says I can be blacklisted.


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## bond-007

Did you pay the original tolls abeit later than allowed?


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## nippyyoke

ive paid some tolls but i didnt pay some either and I was'nt payin them 47 euro per passage so I just let them build up and now I have a lot of letters from there solicitors and a summons for July. Plus there will be more summons to come from the other solicitors letters


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## izzybelle1

Howdy, Just a little FYI as I work for one of the tolling companies - Eflow's solicitors ARE bringing customers to court over unpaid tolls. The reasons you will receive a fines from Eflow is either that your account is in violation (no money on your account for whatever reason) or your vehicle detials have not been updated on their system or your tag is not positioned correctly. The biggest reason is the vehicle reg - when you are going through the M50 - the Eflow beacons read both your tag and your vehicle reg - if the vehicle details on their system are old (it could be the old vehicle reg that you initally set the account up with) then when the beacon reads your vehicle reg - it cannot match it back to your account and thus charge you the toll. So the reason that you receive the fine is because the toll was never paid. You cannot ingore the fines as they will result in solicitors letters and they will bring you to court. You should contact your tag provider to check all the details on your account are correct. (hope this is of a little help as I know there is not alot of communication out there for customers)


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## nippyyoke

thanks for that but I do not have a tag and I did miss payment on some tolls I do try I and pay when I use it but I have forgot about it at other times and I wont pay them that amount of money as penalty its just ridiculas


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## rono1892

can anyone tell me the name of the solicitors in charge of unpaid fines from eflow????


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## dgreene

the name of the solicitors is Pierse & Fitzgibbon Solicitors, in Kerry and their number is 0818 313100... any guesses as to how i know this?? and i dont work for them but we all payin them


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## bond-007

> 0818 313100


Are you made of money? Call their real number 068 50900.


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## eamonb

thanks maybe ill jus ring up an complain for a while maybe twice a day every time i use the bridge and why do they have soliciters based in kerry


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## Complainer

eamonb said:


> why do they have soliciters based in kerry


Why not?


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## WestEndGirly

My nephew received a demand for payment stating he had used the Toll. When my sister rang them to tell them that on the date they were charging for the car had been scrapped and tax office duly notified. 
They didnt want to know and sent her another letter. So she requested evidence that the car had gone through the toll.
She has heard nothing since 

Nu.


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## eamonb

i was thinking about going to a solicitor about being charged by e-flow for trips that i paid for (have the bank statement to prove this),it might even be illegal for them to be charging us like this,im sure id be in trouble if i sent out bills to people for no reason other then my own mistake.any thoughts ?


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## MurrayDub

_Im sure if you call there call centre they will sort this out for ya. If its on your statement then you paid. I have found dem to be really nice and helpful so im sure they can fix this. _


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## redchariot

It has happened to me a couple of times; being charged for journeys I never took; I almost never am on the M50.

I went to the eflow website and disputed it in both cases and I never heard another thing about it. Hopefully that is the end of it and I am not going to receive a hefty fine in the post some day


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## eamonb

but they shouldnt be making these mistakes so often,i heard somewere that keeping improper records is illegal. they want 90 odd euro from me i think they should give me 90 in compensation


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## m50m50

*toll charge*

I was told that I missed 5-6 six M50 toll payment from eflow UK processing party(epcplc). I initially rang epcplc to inform them that I have paid for those journeys, I was told to send them the proof, and then I was given the numbers of eflow solicitors in Ireland to clarify with them. I rang eflow solicitors, surprisingly I was given another bill(unpaid toll charge + penalties) with slightly different journeys(two journeys were different). When I queried about the differences of my unpaid record, my call was transferred to eflows to check my record. I was told my account was cleared with them, all the unpaid journeys were passed on to the solicitors, they could not see anything on their system, I needed to ring their solicitors. I explained that I already spoke to the solicitors and this call was transferred from them. Then eflow gave me the UK epcplc number. I explained that I spoke to epcplc at the very first stage..Then eflow said there was nothing on their record, whatever I owe should be with their solicitors and UK party. Apart from my mobile bill has hit the roof at this point, I was deeply frustrated.

Two penalty letters arrived at my UK address while I was on holiday with family. If I just got one letter with 3+3 penalties, I would have just paid for it to save the arguments. However, the second letter arrived with £219.29, I just could not keep the peace in mind any more.

I faxed my bank statements to eflow solicitors, and also send a copy to UK epcplc. This morning the solicitors rang to say I still owe them journeys as the fund wasn't sufficient, and did not pay on time. I told them that the payment was actually done in advance if they have a look at the date on my transactions. They then asked for the last 4 digits number on the payment card, which is clearly showing on each transaction as well! In the end, they said they are going to do more investigations..... I feel rather speechless.

I find the way of payment to M50 is quite ambiguous and not efficient. I have been on M6 toll road in the UK and other motoways in other countries. They all have got barriers to stop you before you physically pay the charge. I have nothing against the toll charge or Ireland, I am very happy to pay for what I use, but in my opinion this online payment is quite messy, and it seems to trick people into big penalties very easily, especially for those who are traveling abroad or in a hurry to get to airport. The online payment method did not give options to pick which journey to pay for. It is quite difficult when there is dispute case arises, I had to think really hard as when I travelled through M50 toll in the last three months. 

I don't know what is going to happen next, but the solicitors did not sound slightly apologetic, and it seems that they can never make any mistakes!


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## shesells

m50m50 said:


> I find the way of payment to M50 is quite ambiguous and not efficient. I have been on M6 toll road in the UK and other motoways in other countries. They all have got barriers to stop you before you physically pay the charge. I have nothing against the toll charge or Ireland, I am very happy to pay for what I use, but in my opinion this online payment is quite messy, and it seems to trick people into big penalties very easily, especially for those who are traveling abroad or in a hurry to get to airport. The online payment method did not give options to pick which journey to pay for. It is quite difficult when there is dispute case arises, I had to think really hard as when I travelled through M50 toll in the last three months.



The whole thing about the Westlink toll on the M50 is that they *removed the barriers* a number of years ago. This has meant that the M50 actually moves and it has slashed journey times. While it's inconvenient to pay as a casual user, for frequent users with tags, the improvement is massive.


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## Leo

shesells said:


> The whole thing about the Westlink toll on the M50 is that they *removed the barriers* a number of years ago. This has meant that the M50 actually moves and it has slashed journey times. While it's inconvenient to pay as a casual user, for frequent users with tags, the improvement is massive.


 
Agreed, no one wants to go back to the barriers.

For casual users like myself, just set up a video account. No upfront or monthly fees, and €2.50 per passage, and no more worries about forgetting to pay.


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## m50m50

> This has meant that the M50 actually moves and it has slashed journey times. While it's inconvenient to pay as a casual user, for frequent users with tags, the improvement is massive.


 
The traffic in Ireland is the least busy I've seen. I'm originally from China. I've seen far more busier roads than M50, but still with barriers. Even M6 in the UK is many times busier than M50.Those roads with barriers are still in operation. Because of this online payment and the high tech recognition of number plates, it probably has caused even more chaos. If you read all the posts, it is not difficult to realise the tags are not that convenient either. It might be a good move in terms of traffic flow, but I wouldn't call it "massive improvement" at all. Shouldn't "frequent users" be treated same as "casual user"?


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## Leo

m50m50 said:


> The traffic in Ireland is the least busy I've seen. I'm originally from China. I've seen far more busier roads than M50, but still with barriers.


 
So you don't remember how bad it was and how long the tail-backs were with the barriers in place? It just didn't work.


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## m50m50

I don't know how bad it was as I wasn't in Ireland then. My point is this new system is really not good. I feel that they used a worse system to replace a bad system. You haven't experienced what I went through. I can't imagine the tail-backs I could have experienced is worse than time and frustration I'm spending now.


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## RonanC

m50m50 said:


> I don't know how bad it was as I wasn't in Ireland then. My point is this new system is really not good. I feel that they used a worse system to replace a bad system. You haven't experienced what I went through. I can't imagine the tail-backs I could have experienced is worse than time and frustration I'm spending now.


 
You obviously have no experience what so ever of the M50 prior to barrier free tolls. It was an absolute nightmare and caused the majority of the motorway to become a semi-permanent carpark between certain hours. 

The new system, while it has its faults, is so much better than the previous situation. Its fairly simple to use too. If you pass through the "toll" on the M50, you must pay for this crossing before 8pm the following day in selected shops, petrol stations and online. You can also register your car and you will be billed monthly at a reduced rate. You can also purchase a tag and this gives an even better discount.


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## m50m50

RonanC: I am fully aware as how to pay the toll. If you read my story. You should know what is happening. There is no need to waste so many words telling me the rules. My opinion is mine. You don't need to agree with me.


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## RonanC

m50m50 said:


> RonanC: I am fully aware as how to pay the toll. If you read my story. You should know what is happening. There is no need to waste so many words telling me the rules. My opinion is mine. You don't need to agree with me.


 
I'm giving you my opinion, which is more or less the same as everyone else who has replied to you. 

I've been caught out many times by forgetting to pay on time, my own fault, I paid the penalty and got on with it. It seems that you have issues with pre-paying for trips and the system not matching these payments to the trips you took afterwards. They have said that they will be looking into this for you and this sounds pretty reasonable. From experience of using the M50 everyday and having the odd issue with the toll that was beyond my control, the company who look after the payments has always resolved any issues for me.


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## m50m50

RonanC said:


> I'm giving you my opinion, which is more or less the same as everyone else who has replied to you.
> 
> I've been caught out many times by forgetting to pay on time, my own fault, I paid the penalty and got on with it. It seems that you have issues with pre-paying for trips and the system not matching these payments to the trips you took afterwards. They have said that they will be looking into this for you and this sounds pretty reasonable. From experience of using the M50 everyday and having the odd issue with the toll that was beyond my control, the company who look after the payments has always resolved any issues for me.



I can only say you have better luck than me. I put on my own experience only because I see other people here had similar experience. The last comments was based on my own experience. If anyone else feel strongly about my barrier point of view, please don't repeat what everyone already said here. I have said enough and read enough.


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## m50m50

They did say they will look into it, but that is after my many phone calls, and sending my bank statements, and they were still asking for information which clearly written on my bank statements. I really do not think that is reasonable. However, I believe everyone has different standard dealing with life issues. I'm not a moaning type of person. As I mentioned if they only wanted to over charge with double price, I would just pay for it to save time and energy, but this whole process so far has been very unpleasant.


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