Same Car Charged Twice on two separate account for Tolls: apparently this is legal

Dr Prepper on 25/09/2019 - 12:16

I have a NSW RMS e-toll account which formerly had two toll passes attached it.

Since 2017 the second toll pass which was driven by my ex partner has had its own account and she organized her own toll pass and I revoked authority to be charged for her tolls.

I thought everything was sweet. For the next toll account did not have any reference to the other toll pass.

I stopped checking the account as I have been paying the account via direct debit but in June I received a huge bill I then looked into all the codes on the toll account statement.

In amongst all the codes and gibberish it appeared that I was being charged again for my expartner's toll use again. It did not mention the old toll pass but it referred to my ex's unusual rego number , I never noticed this before in all those codes. I was never the registered owner of this car - it was always in her sole name.

I did not understand all the codes being added to the bill until I looked this up. I was also being charged for video fees and other administrative fees when her new toll pass was not charging her account.

I then looked back and realized that only after a few monthly statements e-toll recommenced charging me for my ex's toll use after she opened her new e-toll account in 2017.

I spoke to my ex who gave me a statement showing she was being charged as well for tolls.

When I provided a copy of ex's statement to e-toll to show they charged twice, they wrote back and said that they did not have to reimburse me as they do not keep or have access to a data base of who a car belongs to and as far as they were concerned I signed an authority for them to charge me. Therefore they are saying they can charge toll two accounts for the same vehicle.

Any advice? I've exhausted phone calls , emails, letters is the next step an ombudsman or tribunal?

Automotive

Comments

  • ThithLord on 25/09/2019 - 12:29
    +1

    Wow. That's a horrible position, OP. Is there some kind of Fair Trading agency that could assist? This seems blatantly bullshmit.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 25/09/2019 - 12:34

    I revoked authority to be charged for her tolls.

    How exactly did you do this?

    When I provided a copy of ex's statement

    Forget your ex's statement. When you stated to them that the other car being charged is not yours, what was the response?

    • Dr Prepper on 25/09/2019 - 13:38

      Hi Zeggie,

      Regading revocation of their authority, I went in to a local Services-NSW branch. Unfortunately I did not keep a record from 2017.

      Regarding my ex's account statement it notes both her toll pass number and in come cases were the toll pass does not transmit her rego number.

      • brad1-8tsi on 25/09/2019 - 14:05
        +3

        I would guess that what happened is that link between the tag and the account was cancelled but the link between her registration number and the account was not cancelled.

        I know when I split with my ex I cancelled the registration/account link online and physically took the tag back to the RMS for a deposit refund.

        The question is, how legal is it for 2 companies to charge you for the same service?

        If you think the money is worth pursuing then you'll need to escalate to (at least) a team leader or manager but be prepared to engage in the RMS dispute resolution process. You should ask for a copy of the policy at the earliest opportunity as this will motivate the CSO to resolve the issue as they really don't want to be involved in that process.

        NB: I had a similar issue where my deceased Dad's toll account had a $29 balance and I wanted it returned to his estate. The RMS CSO said this couldn't be done. I'm a persistent person. I escalated the issue and made it known I had time on my hands, knew how the public service worked and was willing to take it to the minister. I got the money… eventually.

        You will need:
        An itemised list of all the trips you are seeking a refund for.
        A witnessed statutory declaration from your ex stating that she had already been charged for the trips with company X, account X. They may even ask for the account statements.

        Good luck.

  • knobbs on 25/09/2019 - 12:58
    +1

    It always seems to be Toll companies that do not give a **** about their customers. Seems to always come up with them overcharging people and then making no effort/hard for you to get your money back.

    • [Deactivated] on 25/09/2019 - 19:27
      +1

      No incentive to hand money back, many disincentives to.

      At the end of the day, you're still going to use the road.

  • whooah1979 on 25/09/2019 - 20:35

    This is like a passenger tapping on two opal for one trip.

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