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NI Drivers and Southern Tolls

  • 16-07-2011 11:31AM
    #1
    Abraham
    Closed Accounts Posts: 254 ✭✭


    Can anyone give some enlightenment as to the position regarding our unmanned Toll Roads (eg the M50) and our NI brethren. If they do not pay the tolls within the stipulated period, what follow-up takes place ?
    Are they pursued for payment and with what success ?
    Is the system robust enough to deal with defaulters ?


«1

Comments

  • #2
    Dun
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,967 ✭✭✭Dun


    http://www.eflow.ie/faq/BEF.MGCO.REC.117/#Foreign_Vehicle

    A housemate of mine from Dublin who owns a Northern Reg car has been getting letters here in Derry from eflow, so they must be following up. He's back down Dublin for the summer, so I presume he's flying around the M50 :D


  • #3
    getz
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,255 ✭✭✭getz


    its a very expensive business to chase up civil fines in other countries,in other words it is not cost effective.i still owe a parking fine in killkenny from three years ago.but as it said ;do nothing we will contact you; i dident.


  • #4
    Terrontress
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,967 ✭✭✭Terrontress


    There are quite a few Northerners with Eazypass, my father in law has it.

    I presume all the unpaids mount up against you and if you are later caught, they'll be after you for the full amount.

    I did hear that the UK DVLA are going to be forced to tighten up the rules on whom they sell numberplate data to.


  • #5
    ardmacha
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,476 ✭✭✭ardmacha


    If someone passes a toll twice a year it is not worth following up. If they do it every week then it is worth following up and they will.
    I did hear that the UK DVLA are going to be forced to tighten up the rules on whom they sell numberplate data to.

    They might. But tolls and parking fines are legitimate charges and they want people who come to NI/GB to pay these too, so they are willing to help. They need a standard EU approach to such things.


  • #6
    Abraham
    Closed Accounts Posts: 254 ✭✭Abraham


    In Australia. I am assured that if you incur penalties in RTA situations and exit the country without paying the fines, that the authorities there will get your passport details from the hire-car company and list your transgressions with your passport details on the national emigration computer index where it will greet you on your next visit.

    Just as soon as you revisit Oz, the mere scan on your passport at the airport when being screened for entry will trigger a bleep : "Traffic Offender....Non-Payer" and your past will have overtaken you.
    Oh and the Aussies don't do excuses. A knowledgeable one of my acquaintance says that only the Israelis are tougher when nailing a miscreant.


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  • #7
    Richard
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,441 ✭✭✭Richard


    Dun wrote: »
    http://www.eflow.ie/faq/BEF.MGCO.REC.117/#Foreign_Vehicle

    A housemate of mine from Dublin who owns a Northern Reg car has been getting letters here in Derry from eflow, so they must be following up. He's back down Dublin for the summer, so I presume he's flying around the M50 :D

    How do they know where he lives?


  • #8
    L1011
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 75,480 ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Richard wrote: »
    How do they know where he lives?

    The DVLA/DVA in NI are very willing to sell their registration database...


  • #9
    eFlow: Una
    Closed Accounts Posts: 97 ✭✭eFlow: Una


    Good morning all,

    We have noticed your discussion and just want to advise that Northern Ireland vehicles are treated the same as Republic of Ireland vehicles - it is required that you pay the M50 toll before 8pm the next evening, otherwise, penalties are incurred.

    You can find further information on our website FAQ.

    We have several payment options available to you, to make paying your toll as convenient as possible. You can pay on our website, call us on 0845 30 15 405 (from Northern Ireland) or on 1890 50 10 50 (Republic of Ireland) or pay at a Payzone outlet. You can also register with us and pay monthly through your account. Further details of our payment options are available here.

    If you would like us to assist you further, please call us on either of the numbers above.

    Hope this helps :)


  • #10
    Abraham
    Closed Accounts Posts: 254 ✭✭Abraham


    eflow Dublin wrote: »
    Good morning all,

    We have noticed your discussion and just want to advise that Northern Ireland vehicles are treated the same as Republic of Ireland vehicles - it is required that you pay the M50 toll before 8pm the next evening, otherwise, penalties are incurred.

    You can find further information on our website FAQ.

    We have several payment options available to you, to make paying your toll as convenient as possible. You can pay on our website, call us on 0845 30 15 405 (from Northern Ireland) or on 1890 50 10 50 (Republic of Ireland) or pay at a Payzone outlet. You can also register with us and pay monthly through your account. Further details of our payment options are available here.


    If you would like us to assist you further, please call us on either of the numbers above.

    Hope this helps :)


    Thank you for sharing that piece of useful information with us.
    Just wondering if you might be disposed to enlighten us a little further and to say whether defaulters from NI are actively pursued (i.e. more than just a note in the post) for payment which was the main thrust of the OP.
    Many thanks in advance.


  • #11
    ardmacha
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,476 ✭✭✭ardmacha


    Just wondering if you might be disposed to enlighten us a little further and to say whether defaulters from NI are actively pursued (i.e. more than just a note in the post) for payment which was the main thrust of the OP.

    There is no doubt that people with big bills in NI are pursued. The only question is the extent to which they bother for people that pass the toll a few times only. I doubt if any rep of E-flow is going to come on here and say "we don't bother until you owe us x", nor should they.


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  • #12
    mfceiling
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,205 ✭✭✭✭mfceiling


    I'm working on a job and all the chippy's are south armagh.
    One of them told me he used the m50 every day for 5 months and never paid it.
    Before xmas he received over 100 letters of fines from the toll operaters for unpaid fines........he filed them under bin and has heard nothing since.


  • #13
    Abraham
    Closed Accounts Posts: 254 ✭✭Abraham


    What about number recognition technology, were we not told in the recent past that the Gardai had been issued with such ? Why can't it be used in tracking these cheaters ? What about impounding a few of their cars some fine Friday evening as they scurry back to their homebase.

    The Ashbourne road, I'm told, is 'Dodgers Highway'.

    I have very good reason for raising this post. Just recently, with others I was regaled by a resident from NI who told us just how inefficient our system for toll collection was and how he and his pals had been playing ducks and drakes with it for a couple of years now and never a kick-back.


  • #14
    ardmacha
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,476 ✭✭✭ardmacha


    The Gardai are not involved in this, as it is a civil issue of unpaid debt. Anyone, anywhere, who doesn't care about their credit record can evade payment for things. But if you subsequently want car loans, mortgages and the like, then having a load of debts that you refuse to pay will not favour your position. Somebody might not hear much for a while, but eventually EPC will be after them for thousands and they'll either have to have a somewhat insubstantial existence (awkward) or settle somehow. Probably better to settle before this point, if you register your reg then they will often just charge you the €2 or €2.50 and cancel the fines.

    The problem is not people in NI who have cars at regular addresses, it is people whose car is not registered to anywhere accurate.


  • #15
    D'Peoples Voice
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭D'Peoples Voice


    http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/motors/2011/0720/1224301004027.html
    IRELAND HAS opted out of a new road safety plan agreed by the European parliament that will see motorists who have committed serious traffic offences in Europe tracked down and punished.

    Several other EU states have agreed to exchange car registration details to allow the prosecution of motorists who commit a serious driving offence in an EU country participating in the plan.

    Ireland is one of three countries not covered by the new rules. The dissolution of the Dáil before the general election meant the country was not represented at a final meeting on the proposals in early March.

    :rolleyes:


  • #16
    The Swordsman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 363 ✭✭The Swordsman


    Going off on a tangent, the toll bridge at Drogheda only accepts Euro.

    Surely, there have been Northerners who have been caught at this bridge without any Euro in their pockets.

    What happens in these cases?

    Given that it is on the main road between Belfast and Dublin, surely it would not be unreasonable to have a facility to accept sterling.


  • #17
    getz
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,255 ✭✭✭getz


    D'Peoples Voice wrote: »
    http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/motors/2011/0720/1224301004027.html


    :rolleyes:
    great so just when is not paying toll,is a serious traffic offence,if i passed through a toll ,and did not pay it,do you think e/flow could afford to take me to a civil court in england with no chance of winning,because the civil offence was not committed in the UK,its just the same for irish driving in the UK, only police involvement changes the rule.


  • #18
    Stark
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 21,353 ✭✭✭✭Stark


    The Swordsman wrote: »
    Going off on a tangent, the toll bridge at Drogheda only accepts Euro.

    Surely, there have been Northerners who have been caught at this bridge without any Euro in their pockets.

    What happens in these cases?

    Given that it is on the main road between Belfast and Dublin, surely it would not be unreasonable to have a facility to accept sterling.

    You have the option to pay with debit or credit card and if that fails, you have to leave your name and address so they can chase up the debt with you.


  • #19
    ardmacha
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,476 ✭✭✭ardmacha


    Given that it is on the main road between Belfast and Dublin, surely it would not be unreasonable to have a facility to accept sterling

    Absolutely. The operators should have been required to accept sterling at a regulated (generous) commission.
    You have the option to pay with debit or credit card

    Do you? I don't recall the M1 toll taking credit cards as some of the other tolls do, but I am open to correction on this point.


  • #20
    D'Peoples Voice
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,698 ✭✭✭D'Peoples Voice


    getz wrote: »
    great so just when is not paying toll,is a serious traffic offence.
    well if not it should be
    parking at a toll booth and refusing to pay,
    causes serious traffic,
    so it should be an offence!
    <<on that point, i do think that motorcyclists should go free as they hold things up too much>>


  • #21
    Abraham
    Closed Accounts Posts: 254 ✭✭Abraham


    I get the impression that there is loadsa confusion out there as to what's permissible and what you can get away with regarding tolls. Wouldn't it be reassuring for those of us who try to play within the rules to hear from some authoritative source the number of toll payment defaulters pursued to compulsory payment stage by the toll keepers ? Some of us are beginning to think that there's actually a renegade rump of defaulters of very significant proportions out there who are playing ducks & drakes with the whole shebang and not a lot is being done about them. True or false ? Are they at least being stored up to await the 'day of reckoning' just like our "Nine Lives" Social Welfare fraudster of recent renown ?

    If I'm right in what I suspect to be the case then here's a solution. Offer the will-o-wisp defaulters an amnesty, say 50% off everything you owe and wipe the slate clean etc etc or all outstanding tolls to be doubled if you have to be tracked down and brought to book otherwise.
    That's what the tax people did, wasn't it ?


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  • #22
    L1011
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 75,480 ✭✭✭✭L1011


    You can pay on at least one of the toll plaza's here in sterling, but I can't for the life of me remember which one.


  • #23
    ardmacha
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,476 ✭✭✭ardmacha


    Some of us are beginning to think that there's actually a renegade rump of defaulters of very significant proportions out there who are playing ducks & drakes with the whole shebang and not a lot is being done about them. True or false ?

    People evade all sorts of payments, but as I said this is not compatible with a convenient existence. But as for the tolls and NI drivers people boast about getting away with it, but are probably less vocal when things catch up on them

    See posts #6 and #42 by stealthyspeeder in this thread in Motors
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055661382


  • #24
    ardmacha
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,476 ✭✭✭ardmacha


    You can pay on at least one of the toll plaza's here in sterling, but I can't for the life of me remember which one.

    I don't see why you should not be able to pay everywhere, as you can drive from the border to any toll gate in 3 hours or so.

    When I was in the US, I could pay in Canadian $ on I-90 in Massachusetts (albeit at a crap exchange rate). Massachusetts doesn't adjoin Canada directly.


  • #25
    Terrontress
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,967 ✭✭✭Terrontress


    When the currency differential used to be larger, M1 toll staff would bring in their own cash and swop it for sterling, e.g. driver pays with £10 note. Told that it will be accepted on 1 for 1 basis, toll is €1.80, gets €8.20 back, staff member's €10 goes in to the till and £10 in to ther pocket, staff member later changes £10 for €16 at the bank.

    They were making good money at it on the side, I'm not sure if it is worth their while now..


  • #26
    hairy sailor
    Closed Accounts Posts: 193 ✭✭hairy sailor


    ardmacha wrote: »
    Absolutely. The operators should have been required to accept sterling at a regulated (generous) commission.



    Do you? I don't recall the M1 toll taking credit cards as some of the other tolls do, but I am open to correction on this point.


    My scottish mate & his wife got the ferry to belfast & drove to dublin,they only had sterling so had to drive off the M1 & change some money in a retail park.He never mentioned he had the option of paying with a card.


  • #27
    getz
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,255 ✭✭✭getz


    Abraham wrote: »
    I get the impression that there is loadsa confusion out there as to what's permissible and what you can get away with regarding tolls. Wouldn't it be reassuring for those of us who try to play within the rules to hear from some authoritative source the number of toll payment defaulters pursued to compulsory payment stage by the toll keepers ? Some of us are beginning to think that there's actually a renegade rump of defaulters of very significant proportions out there who are playing ducks & drakes with the whole shebang and not a lot is being done about them. True or false ? Are they at least being stored up to await the 'day of reckoning' just like our "Nine Lives" Social Welfare fraudster of recent renown ?

    If I'm right in what I suspect to be the case then here's a solution. Offer the will-o-wisp defaulters an amnesty, say 50% off everything you owe and wipe the slate clean etc etc or all outstanding tolls to be doubled if you have to be tracked down and brought to book otherwise.
    That's what the tax people did, wasn't it ?
    there is a rumour going around that some people are not happy that toll roads in ireland have been paid from EU grants ,and the goverment is making money out of it.


  • #28
    Riprod
    Closed Accounts Posts: 15 ✭Riprod


    hairy sailor wrote: »
    My scottish mate & his wife got the ferry to belfast & drove to dublin,they only had sterling so had to drive off the M1 & change some money in a retail park.He never mentioned he had the option of paying with a card.

    This will probably come across as smartass but why visit a foreign country without the currency???? So I do apologise.

    But it would be useful for NI peeps to pay in their currency at the tolls. Some tolls are very close to the border. It is true that in border towns that both currenncies are quoted in shops and restaurants. I appreciate fluctuations in exchange rates etc. but we should in our current dire state bend over every which-way for tourists from NI, Scotland and everywhere. (I can imagine some of the responses formulating regarding the Thai Bhat being accecpted or Chinese Yuan)


  • #29
    ardmacha
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,476 ✭✭✭ardmacha


    So I do apologise.

    Make a pointless comment, and apologise, so that's OK?

    Thai Baht has nothing to do with it. It takes 20 hours to come from Thailand and costs €800 and you pass through several airports en route. All of this requires pre-planning and makes it possible for you to pick up Euro. Set off from Jonesborough and you arrive at the toll on 25 minutes, without passing an atm. Why should the toll not facilitate you? Why should they not be required to?

    The broader point here is the NRA had the opportunity to require toll road operators to reach certain service standards and they chose not to.


  • #30
    L1011
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 75,480 ✭✭✭✭L1011


    ardmacha wrote: »
    Set off from Jonesborough and you arrive at the toll on 25 minutes, without passing an atm

    There are ATMs at Castlebellingham Services. BOI operated although branded as if Applegreen were a bank...

    Still rather an irritation to have to use them; and I myself have had to take the old M6 in the UK rather than the M6T due to arriving off the ferry with a full tank of fuel and no need/desire to stop until I realised it was too late... they don't take euro either.


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  • #31
    ardmacha
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,476 ✭✭✭ardmacha


    There are ATMs at Castlebellingham Services.

    True. But the toll was there for most of a decade before these appeared.
    BOI operated although branded as if Applegreen were a bank...

    You probably be safer with shares in Applegreen than a bank!


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