Eflow fine

Lorken21 · 14-09-2015 12:41PM #1

Hi, I am in a huge situation here and I am really panicking. Just got off phone with Pierse and Fitzgibbon Solicitors who have asked me about paying a lump sum payment off my fine. I asked how much it was now and she said it was €29200. So I am being taken to court. However, this has been going on since November 2013 and everytime they phone me, I have refused to pay the extortionate sums they ask for and I have said I will of course pay for what I owe which is for 84 journeys. So everytime they say they will take me to court but the fine is just getting out of control now and they don't cap it.

So to explain it all from the start, in November 2013, I rang Eflow as I had traded in my Mazda for a BMW and I wanted to change over the details on my account before I used the toll the next day. So then the lady I am speaking to says she has to transfer me and then I am put on to the solicitors who tell me I owe €5000 but they would settle for €3000. I was very surprised as I didnt receive letters with fines. I have some letters that I did receive and they were always blank with a €0.00 balance on them. I was also receiving emails with the exact same information which I took as that I didnt owe anything!!

The solicitor said that I should have received penalty notices and my account was suspended. But I was still receiving emails from Eflow for months after this and anytime I logged into my account there was nothing there to suggest my account was suspended. I questioned why Eflow didnt ring me or send a text and she said Eflow dont have the time to do this and the letters should have been enough. And did I not notice that no money had come out of my account which I actually didnt notice.

I asked could I not pay for the journeys at the €3 per journey as it was a genuine error and to be honest why would I ring up to change the car details? And they refused so I told them I could not afford the amount they were looking for and they would have to take me to court if there was no other solution. So they said they would.

Last year they ring me again and this time I owe €18000. And then they say they will take €4000 now and I can pay in 2 installments. I still could not afford that and again I said they would have to take me to court. I did offer to pay €1000 just to have it over with but that was rejected.

So this year, this morning is the phone call with the €29200. I am freaked about this because I want it to be over. But they are delaying taking me to court. I didnt even ask how much better they could do this time. So can anyone offer me any advice? I do pay my tolls and I am with Easytrip now who I find great.

I really dont want to have to go to court but it is looking that way. Has anyone any experience with this? I really cannot believe that I am expected to pay €29200. I do not know what to do now. Thanks

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 14-09-2015 12:48PM

Sorry, I'm confused. You phoned to change car and next thing you were asked for '000s? Did you not notice at all that you weren't paying for all these trips? You have to have received something before they said you owe 5000.

the groutch · 14-09-2015 12:54PM

how did the original €5,000 (84 journeys + fines + penalties) come about?
did you have a tag with them?
were you going through the toll without a tag, and paying (or not) within 48 hours?

you don't end up with that kind of debt by accident without knowing, and definitely don't have it still hanging over you nearly two years later if you have receipts/letters/other proof that you don't owe it.

AlekSmart · 14-09-2015 01:24PM

Wow....€29,500...WOW :eek:

By the sound of this,you really need very specific legal advice from a practitioner who has been down this road already.

I'm sure there are a few.

Stuff like this needs to be very well thought out before you stand in front of a Judge and recount it.....

I was very surprised as I didnt receive letters with fines. I have some letters that I did receive and they were always blank with a €0.00 balance on them. I was also receiving emails with the exact same information which I took as that I didnt owe anything!!

If you don't engage there may be a very real chance of a Judgement being recorded against you,which eventually leads to all sorts of Sherriffy stuff......

The only other suggestion I could make is look up the Freemen of Ireland sites and see if anything helpful may lie there ?

I have refused to pay the extortionate sums they ask for and I have said I will of course pay for what I owe which is for 84 journeys.

The 84 journeys bit,may take a little inventive spinning however ?

coylemj · 14-09-2015 01:50PM

Lorken21 wrote: »

.. in November 2013, I rang Eflow as I had traded in my Mazda for a BMW and I wanted to change over the details on my account before I used the toll the next day. So then the lady I am speaking to says she has to transfer me and then I am put on to the solicitors who tell me I owe €5000 but they would settle for €3000.

The Eflow lady did not transfer you to a solicitor, that's just nonsense.

davo10 · 14-09-2015 02:02PM

The bad news is recent legislation makes it easier for businesses to bring you to court for debts like this, I seem to remember that they can apply to have your wages/welfare payments garnished.

I don't think burying your head in the sand is going to work here, it's difficult for readers to accept that you did not notice that your payments for all those trips were not going out of your account, the original 83 trips is over €250 and gods knows how many there have been over the last 2 years. You were given the chance to pay after your 84th time of not paying, you rejected it. You now have to engage with the solicitor to organise a payment plan or take your chances, you can be absolutely certain that they will bring you to court for such a large amount.

Grolschevik · 14-09-2015 02:15PM

AlekSmart wrote: »

The only other suggestion I could make is look up the Freemen of Ireland sites and see if anything helpful may lie there ?

What? You're joking, I assume! They only spout pseudo-legal nonsense!

slimjimmc · 14-09-2015 03:12PM

The Civil Debt (Procedures) Act 2015 has been enacted into legislation in July but afaik no commencement order has been issued so it's not yet enforceable, but it's ready to go when the Minister decides (it may be a factor on the delay in going to court the OP mentions).

OP, this is too serious to be chatting about on anonymous fora.
You should be seeking professional advice. It might be worth speaking to MABS. If it goes legal then you need professional legal advice.

Cabaal · 14-09-2015 04:11PM

OP, you need to seek proper professional advise on this issue, talking the advice of some random person on the internet who might just tell you that the debt is nonsense and you should ignore it could only make things much worse,

clint_silver · 14-09-2015 06:33PM

I got a letter out of the blue one day saying I didnt pay and owed a few hundred in fines, but I was able to prove I had a tag at the time but the camera hadnt picked up the tag, their fault and also they had the wrong address for my car reg, so I just ended up paying just the 2e journey. Im not getting thats the case here though.

Lorken21 wrote: »

So to explain it all from the start, in November 2013, I rang Eflow as I had traded in my Mazda for a BMW and I wanted to change over the details on my account before I used the toll the next day. So then the lady I am speaking to says she has to transfer me and then I am put on to the solicitors who tell me I owe €5000 but they would settle for €3000. I was very surprised as I didnt receive letters with fines.

this is the bit thats vague and the actual start of the story is way before this.
You rang eflow to change cars. They put you to solicitor who says you owe 000s. I read from that its nothing to do with changing cars, you were just driving through the toll without paying for it.
Did you have a toll tag for those journeys or pay as you go through?
If it was pay as you go, why didnt you pay as you made each journey like you were supposed to?
If you did have a tag, did you have auto deduct and have sufficient funds for it?

PeadarCo · 14-09-2015 06:38PM

AlekSmart wrote: »

W
The only other suggestion I could make is look up the Freemen of Ireland sites and see if anything helpful may lie there ?

Op what ever you do don't go near Freemen. They are just conmen in fancy dress. Have a look at the mega thread on the legal forum for a better understanding. Its one of the most entertaining/disturbing threads on boards.

Get proper legal advice from a reputable solicitor.

Victor · 14-09-2015 09:22PM

You need a solicitor.

Lorken21 wrote: »

I was very surprised as I didnt receive letters with fines.

Did they have all your contact details? Did Driver and Vehicle Computer Services Division in Shannon have all your contact details?

I was also receiving emails with the exact same information which I took as that I didnt owe anything!!

Was this reasonable?

jimmycrackcorm · 14-09-2015 09:33PM

Whatever you do, at least pay the 84 tolls you do owe. How would it look if you had to go to court and you hadnt even bother paying anything at all while everyone else pay their tolls. Otherwise I wouldn't worry about the extortionate penalties because there would be a media storm about it and no judge could justify applying inappropriate penalties.

savagethegoat · 14-09-2015 10:24PM

I doubt they'd accept payment for the fines without the other costs

Losty Dublin · 14-09-2015 10:31PM

Lorken21 wrote: »

ut on to the solicitors who tell me I owe €5000 but they would settle for €3000. I was very surprised as I didnt receive letters with fines. I have some letters that I did receive and they were always blank with a €0.00 balance on them. I was also receiving emails with the exact same information which I took as that I didnt owe anything!!

How were you set up to pay your M50 tolls in the first instance?

Fred Swanson · 15-09-2015 01:55AM

This post has been deleted.

AlekSmart · 15-09-2015 02:00AM

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Whatever you do, at least pay the 84 tolls you do owe. How would it look if you had to go to court and you hadnt even bother paying anything at all while everyone else pay their tolls. Otherwise I wouldn't worry about the extortionate penalties because there would be a media storm about it and no judge could justify applying inappropriate penalties.

The big problem with this approach,is the fact of it being a "Civil Matter"....the Judge would not be imposing any penalty at all.

The only function of the Judge in most of these cases,is to ensure that the Debt is legally held,and issue the relevant order for enforcement.

You are dealing with Professionals...both Legal,and more worryingly,Debt Collection Agents....The combination of the two presents you with a BIG problem

dudara · 15-09-2015 08:06AM

Moving this thread to Commuting & Transport so that it can be merged into your duplicate thread.

In future, please create just one thread per topic. Duplicate threads are not allowed.

dudara

Victor · 15-09-2015 11:12AM

AlekSmart wrote: »

The big problem with this approach,is the fact of it being a "Civil Matter"....the Judge would not be imposing any penalty at all.

Criminal matter. It is an offence to not pay your tolls.

Fred Swanson · 15-09-2015 11:28AM

This post has been deleted.

Carawaystick · 15-09-2015 12:58PM

AlekSmart wrote: »

You are dealing with Professionals...both Legal,and more worryingly,Debt Collection Agents....The combination of the two presents you with a BIG problem

If you ever had to deal with that Kerry shower, you would know they are far from 'Professional'

Eflow fine

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