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Cape Town - A number of Fin24 users are telling about their anger and frustration with the controversial new e-toll system in Gauteng.
The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) has identified harassment of motorists, SMS messages calling for registration for e-tags and the inconvenience of payment by non-registered users as some points of concern and irritation for motorists.
A Fin24 user, who did not register for e-toll payment, writes about her experience in trying to pay and what she thinks of the e-tolls invoice she obtained:
My experience of trying to pay for my e-tolls has been frustrating.
The call centre informed me that, as I am not registered, I can only pay by going into one of the Sanral offices.
When I did so, I had to wait in a queue for 20 minutes to pay R28.
I wanted to see an invoice explaining what I owed and why, so I could see if the amount was correct.
I also wanted proof of what I was paying for in order to include this as an expense in my tax calculations.
The clerk was very polite and helpful, but the system allows for very little information.
One can view the charges on the clerk’s screen, but not get a printout. After payment is made a so called invoice is printed.
The font is very small and can only be read with a magnifying glass.
When I did manage to read it at home, I found it only stated the total amount without any detailed breakdown.
In terms of the requirements of the Consumer Protection Act I suspect that it is not legal to ask for money without giving adequate proof of the charges and then similar proof of payment.
My husband chose not to pay his e-toll charges within the seven day window. After a lot of fiddling around on the Sanral site he was able to register his name, car registration number and email address with Sanral’s VPC (all overdue e-toll charges go to the VPC).
This then enabled him to pay online by credit card. However, he couldn’t access a breakdown of the amount owed and after paying he received no acknowledgement of payment nor an invoice/statement.
In Sanrals’office I picked up a pamphlet addressed to those of us who have used the roads without being registered and whish to pay.
The pamphlet says we can pay at a Sanral office, via the call centre and online.
Sanral’s website is very difficult to navigate if you are unregistered.
Buried somewhere is a link to an option to pay current etolls online. However, when clicked it says “under construction”.
Having previously been unsuccessful paying via the call centre I am going to try again today.
- Fin24
Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyFin24 have been independently written by members of the Fin24 community. The views of users published on Fin24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent those of Fin24.
The Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance (Outa) has identified harassment of motorists, SMS messages calling for registration for e-tags and the inconvenience of payment by non-registered users as some points of concern and irritation for motorists.
A Fin24 user, who did not register for e-toll payment, writes about her experience in trying to pay and what she thinks of the e-tolls invoice she obtained:
My experience of trying to pay for my e-tolls has been frustrating.
The call centre informed me that, as I am not registered, I can only pay by going into one of the Sanral offices.
When I did so, I had to wait in a queue for 20 minutes to pay R28.
I wanted to see an invoice explaining what I owed and why, so I could see if the amount was correct.
I also wanted proof of what I was paying for in order to include this as an expense in my tax calculations.
The clerk was very polite and helpful, but the system allows for very little information.
One can view the charges on the clerk’s screen, but not get a printout. After payment is made a so called invoice is printed.
The font is very small and can only be read with a magnifying glass.
When I did manage to read it at home, I found it only stated the total amount without any detailed breakdown.
In terms of the requirements of the Consumer Protection Act I suspect that it is not legal to ask for money without giving adequate proof of the charges and then similar proof of payment.
My husband chose not to pay his e-toll charges within the seven day window. After a lot of fiddling around on the Sanral site he was able to register his name, car registration number and email address with Sanral’s VPC (all overdue e-toll charges go to the VPC).
This then enabled him to pay online by credit card. However, he couldn’t access a breakdown of the amount owed and after paying he received no acknowledgement of payment nor an invoice/statement.
In Sanrals’office I picked up a pamphlet addressed to those of us who have used the roads without being registered and whish to pay.
The pamphlet says we can pay at a Sanral office, via the call centre and online.
Sanral’s website is very difficult to navigate if you are unregistered.
Buried somewhere is a link to an option to pay current etolls online. However, when clicked it says “under construction”.
Having previously been unsuccessful paying via the call centre I am going to try again today.
- Fin24
Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyFin24 have been independently written by members of the Fin24 community. The views of users published on Fin24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent those of Fin24.
