Toll on M4 and M50

LPC786

I am new to Ireland. Today i was going to Dublin thru M4 on my car bought few days back. Before i could drop in any coins, i heard a beep sound and the barrier opened. I went through it. Then again i heard the same beep sound at a point on M50.

Does this mean that the car has some credit left in its etag from the previous owner? Do i have to pay the etoll on the website as i read on one of the sign boards. How can i find out if the toll is paid or not. Im confused. Can anyone help Please.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

LPC786

Mr. Fred,
How can i find out the amount left on the tag?

Nate--IRL--

Also consider it may be direct Debit from their Bank account - not credit.

Nate

Irish Steve

If you heard a beep on the M50, there's most likely a toll tag on the windscreen behind the rear view mirror, which is still active, though that may well change as it's registered to the vehicle keeper rather than to the vehicle as such, so the ownership of the tag doesn't transfer when the vehicle is sold.

coylemj

Irish Steve wrote: »

If you heard a beep on the M50, there's most likely a toll tag on the windscreen behind the rear view mirror, which is still active.....

+1 the previous owner will eventually cop that he forgot to remove the tag. If he doesn't contact you with a view to getting it back, he will get a new one and the one he left in the car will be disabled. Technically you owe him for the tolls that are being billed to his account since you bought the car. I'd remove the tag, wait and see if he contacts you and in the meantime get a tag in your own name, they are very useful.

LPC786

Thank you. That was very helpful Colyemj. I have done exactly that. Removed the tag and called the owner. Will be returning his money and tag soon.

Can you please guide me a little. On eflow website i saw many options of accounts. Which type of account to open. What do u recommend

coylemj wrote: »

+1 the previous owner will eventually cop that he forgot to remove the tag. If he doesn't contact you with a view to getting it back, he will get a new one and the one he left in the car will be disabled. Technically you owe him for the tolls that are being billed to his account since you bought the car. I'd remove the tag, wait and see if he contacts you and in the meantime get a tag in your own name, they are very useful.

Isambard

LPC786 wrote: »

Thank you. That was very helpful Colyemj. I have done exactly that. Removed the tag and called the owner. Will be returning his money and tag soon.

Can you please guide me a little. On eflow website i saw many options of accounts. Which type of account to open. What do u recommend

take a bow, Gentleman.

coylemj

LPC786 wrote: »

Can you please guide me a little. On eflow website i saw many options of accounts. Which type of account to open. What do u recommend

All I can tell you is that I have an Easytrip tag which works on all the toll roads/bridges, there is an admin. charge of about €1 per month plus the toll charges. I can't say if that's currently the best option for you as I haven't looked at the other options, I am a relatively light user of toll roads.

https://www.easytrip.ie/what-we-do/tag-for-all-toll/

It works the same as the parking tag for Dublin parking, you are always in credit as they deduct money from your credit card account when the balance on the account goes below a certain threshold. The admin charge includes maintenance on the tag so as soon as the battery wears out (they last several years), I usually call by the booth at the Eastlink in Dublin and they swap it for a new one.

Carawaystick

LPC786 wrote: »

Thank you. That was very helpful Colyemj. I have done exactly that. Removed the tag and called the owner. Will be returning his money and tag soon.

Can you please guide me a little. On eflow website i saw many options of accounts. Which type of account to open. What do u recommend

eflow/nra/tii (differnt names for the same organisation) do a postpaid account, sending you a bill and taking payment by dd in the middle of next month. This seems the best value if you use the m50 12 times or more a year, as you pay after instead of before with some of the other tags.
If you rarely use the m50, you can still use the convenienc of a tag by paying a1.23 a month
or getting a video account and paying 50cents more crossing the m50 westlink.

cormie

coylemj wrote: »

All I can tell you is that I have an Easytrip tag which works on all the toll roads/bridges, there is an admin. charge of about €1 per month plus the toll charges. I can't say if that's currently the best option for you as I haven't looked at the other options, I am a relatively light user of toll roads.

https://www.easytrip.ie/what-we-do/tag-for-all-toll/

It works the same as the parking tag for Dublin parking, you are always in credit as they deduct money from your credit card account when the balance on the account goes below a certain threshold. The admin charge includes maintenance on the tag so as soon as the battery wears out (they last several years), I usually call by the booth at the Eastlink in Dublin and they swap it for a new one.

Hey, I'm with easytrip too and was just searching to see if it's possible to DIY replace the batteries and came across your post. Sounds like you got your replacement free of charge?

I emailed them about a tag not working well and I got this back:

Your tag is now over 10 years old and the battery life is going to be quite low. Most likely the tag will stop working on the toll roads in the coming months.



As you have purchase account, there is a charge of €25 for a new tag as you avail of the cheaper monthly admin fee of €0.62 per vehicle, but as a goodwill gesture and because you have been with us for so long, I can get a replacement tag sent out to you for just €10 and also cover your car with a puncture protect service for free.

ELM327

I wouldnt pay for a new tag.
To be honest that email would make me move provider - and I would tell them the same.

L1011

They will add the puncture protect and then charge you for it at renewal.

Refused to refund me so I chargebacked and got the entire last top-up back. Shady business practices cost them a high spend customer (the little driving I do involves a disproportionate amount of use of the Port Tunnel and Eastlink) and a net loss of 40 quid. Idiots.

coylemj

L1011 wrote: »

They will add the puncture protect and then charge you for it at renewal.

+1 beware of taking on any new services over and above paying toll charges.

They're continuously sending me e-mails about using the tag for paying for parking so every time another car park signs up with them, it's an excuse to send me a new e-mail. What they conspicuously fail to tell me is that by adding parking to my Easytrip account, I will get charged €1.23 per month for that privilege i.e. the 'admin' charge will double. And that's regardless of whether I ever use the tag to pay for parking.

SeanW

There are a number of different toll transponder options for Ireland. For me, I use ParkMagic, as I find their buy-the-tag option (which I did some years ago) to be the best value for intermittent usage.

https://bookings.parkmagic.net/pmui/?1

Had to pay to buy the tag and there's a 10% transaction fee every time I go through a toll, but there's no monthly admin fee or tag rental fees. But if you were going to be driving through tolls routinely, a service with fixed standing charges and lower/no usage charges may be better value for you.

cormie

I asked them about the tag again:

I've heard from other easytrip customers that they've had their tags replaced for free. To be honest, it seems a bit wasteful to replace the whole tag, is it not possible for me to just buy a replacement battery and then it'll be ok?

I don't fancy paying even €10 if other customers have received free replacements since I've been with you so long and have been paying the admin fees too. Also, I understand that that puncture protect service renews itself at a high cost, but I've no real interest in that service anyway either haha.

Unfortunately as you have a purchased account there is a charge for a replacement tag. Alternatively, you can switch to a hire account and we can send you out a tag that requires no upfront payment. You also have a lifetime warranty with the rented tags opposed the 1-year warranty on the purchase tags.
Be advised if you decide to change to a hire account, your monthly admin fee is charged at €1.23 for tag 1 and €0.92 for each additional tag on your account.



If you want to stay on the purchase account, as a goodwill gesture I can get a replacement tag sent out to you for just €10 and cover your car with a puncture protect service for free. Information on the service can be found here - https://www.easytrip.ie/puncture-protect-2/.



You will receive a renewal email for the puncture protect after the year to opt out of this service.



If you do not want to add the puncture protect service I can replace the tag for €25.00.



Unfortunately we can not replace the battery, we will have to replace the tag.

Can I ask what is the admin charge I pay at the moment for so? I think that was only introduced after I first bought my tags and signed up, or perhaps it was just a single fee regardless of amount of tags before, then it switched to a fee per tag, you would think it would cover replacement of tags? What are the charges per tag I'm paying now?

So is it cheaper to get a replacement tag with the puncture protect because they are hoping that customers won't opt out and then they tie them into a payment for the puncture protect once the year is up?

The monthly admin charges you are paying each month is for the upkeep of your account each month. You can see in our T&C when singing up an account you will only receive a 1-year warranty on the purchase tags. You also receive a cheaper monthly admin fee for a purchased account of €0.62 a month per tag on your account.

The pre hire account are paying a higher monthly charge of €1.23 for 1 tag and €0.92 for each additional tag.

You can pay €25.00 euro for a new tag or I can offer you a new tag for €10.00 and add the puncture protect and after the year is up you can opt out of this service. You will receive a renewal massage before you get charged for the extra year.

I actually have 2 other tags I'm not using anymore so I think I'll just check these on the m50 and if they beep I'll use them instead and save a tenner :pac:

Vic_08

I'd be telling them to piss off with their upselling but if you want to keep the service why don't you prise the thing open and see if you can replace the battery yourself?

shanec1928

just switch to eflow and be done with it?

cormie

I'll try prise it open and see about the battery alright.

I remember comparing costs before and easytrip worked out cheaper than going direct with eflow, I think it's still the case, I mean a €10 charge after what, maybe 10 years, isn't so bad I guess :P