Tolls!

[keela]

I agree with Blue, come the season the 125 will be nothing more than a car park. I remember years ago before the motorway, going from Albufeira to Portimao, you used to get stopped at the garden centre next door to Izi. You could be stopped for anything up to 20 mins, not moving an inch. I can see it will be this all over again. Nightmare and the powers that be won't do a thing to alter it.

[EMM]

What will happen is that drivers will get fed up with the jams and go back to the A22.

We already know people in business who have fitted transponders and gone back to the motorway.

[andara]

Don't worry. It really isn't much of a hassle at all. The tolls are clearly marked as you go under a gantry camera. There are 3 or 4 of these between Faro and Carvoeiro, depending upon which exit you take. The cumulative cost is 4.05 Euros max (one way to exit 6), plus 0.31 admin fee. Yes you pay this at least 2 days after incurring the toll, at the post office, Intermarche and I dare say other retail outlets. You just have to state the car registration, and maybe queue for a few minutes. (This will become a problem only in the holiday season, but by then it is anticipated that the authorities will have introduced a better system)

If you incur toll charges within the last 2 days of your trip, they won't be in the system when you depart. I asked my car hire company how I would pay these and they said that I could give the cash to them, and presumably they would give me receipt - possibly a slight risk, but we're not talking great amounts of money here.

Just enjoy your holiday. It really isn't something to lose sleep about.

[laserblazer]

I asked my car hire company how I would pay these and they said that I could give the cash to them

So that's option number 56!!! Are you saying the hire company will go and check each day to see what is owed on every car? I don't want to sound negative but I find that hard to swallow.

[andara]

I' ve really no idea what the hire company will do and care even less, but I am willing to test it out.

[joeysoap]

I' ve really no idea what the hire company will do and care even less, but I am willing to test it out.

well before you do: I was one of the first to hire a car after the tolls were introduced - around mid Dec. I was informed by the car rental company that they would 'keep' my credit card impress and would put the toll onto the card when they knew the amount. Also informed me that I could not pay the return anyway as it would not register for 48 hours. my thoughts were, if they are going to charge the tolls to the card why bother to queue up and pay in a post office (December, queues in post office doing normal Christmas business) When I left the car back the young lady checked the petrol, restated what I had been informed 3 days earlier and wished me a safe journey home. I fully expected to be billed for 5.90 + a reasonable amount for the car hire company for the service) I did check the number of the car with that link and the little car had plenty of motorway trips in December. (maybe somebody else paid the bill but i doubt it)

back home now just over a month and zilch, da nada, omerta both from the hire company and via verde. So next time I too am going to avoid the A22 and stick with the 125 (a month away so should be realtively quiet)

[andara]

Very interesting JS. Did you actually see your unpaid tolls on the link? Maybe they are just not geared up to chasing unpaid tolls. I'm here for another week and will do some more ferreting around.

[joeysoap]

Very interesting JS. Did you actually see your unpaid tolls on the link? Maybe they are just not geared up to chasing unpaid tolls. I'm here for another week and will do some more ferreting around.

in retrospect I should probably have paid the tolls over to cvo in the post office and waited to see what would happen the return toll, however I took the car rental information as accurate and didn't even attempt to pay.

from a posting I made on 20/12

Toll rates in debt * Registration * Final Payment Date * Value of the Debt * Date of Request 78-LZ-14 * 2011-12-20 * 10.05 € * 2011-12-20 2:05:35 PM Attention: THE information provided is equivalent to the total of the values of toll rates in debt up to this date the payment the CTT, and does not include the values which the time limit for payment is already expired; The values in debt plus administrative costs to ascertain at the time of payment.

which basically means that by 20/12 there was €10.05 owing on tolls on this car, and that would not have included initial journey as it would have disappeared after 5 days, realistically no tolls had been paid up to then (and why would they as the next customer would have been given the exact same information as I was)

forward one day and the tolls owing on this car are now €1.95 so likely the €10.05 had gone out of date (very unlikely to have been paid)

Toll rates in debt * Registration * Final Payment Date * Value of the Debt * Date of Request 78-LZ-14 * 2011-12-21 * 1.95 € * 2011-12-21 12:37:25 AM Attention: THE information provided is equivalent to the total of the values of toll rates in debt up to this date the payment the CTT, and does not include the values which the time limit for payment is already expired; The values in debt plus administrative costs to ascertain at the time of payment.

It's a mess (I know I said that earlier too)

[andara]

If I understaned correctly, you didn't pay any tolls, nothing has been charged to your credit card, and all of your toll charges have disappeared from the internet link ( each one 5 days after it was incurred??).

So do you think that they have been written off or escalated to the next phase and you now await some sort of fine?

Have you contacted the hire car company to ask them whether they have taken any action? Sorry if I'm asking questions that you have already answered elsewhere on this site.

I did pay my initial toll charge (from the airport to Carvoeiro), and have checked on the link, which quite correctly shows that no charges are outstanding.

Out of pure interest, I will take the A22 from Lagoa to the Morgado exit on Monday when I go to play golf, check that the charge is showing as outstanding, pay it and then check again to see how quickly the records are updated.

I'll post on this site afterwards.

[joeysoap]

If I understaned correctly, you didn't pay any tolls, nothing has been charged to your credit card, and all of your toll charges have disappeared from the internet link ( each one 5 days after it was incurred??).

So do you think that they have been written off or escalated to the next phase and you now await some sort of fine?

Have you contacted the hire car company to ask them whether they have taken any action? Sorry if I'm asking questions that you have already answered elsewhere on this site.

Correct nothing on credit card YET! Charges 'disappear' after 5 days, my return journey to the airport will have been included in that 20th Dec 'reading' If the hire company gave the next renter the same story I got then there is no reason to think that they made any attempt to pay. ( I was even informed that the time of re-entry to P4 at the airport was the cut off point for liability for tolls and that they would debit accordingly )


yes I contacted the hire company and as stated - Da nada, no reply, no interest and no information, except to say that Pointersister is using the same company next month and she has been advised to stick to the 125 by this company, so obviously they gave incorrect information to me and others in December. I would have paid the first journey but of course could not have paid the return so would have probably used the 125 but hindsight.....

Whether the toll company will pursue the matter is anybody's guess. wait and see. did I say it's a mess?

[pointersister]

Went to pay 3.26 toll charge at cvo p.o at 2pm yesterday the computer showed that the rental car which we were driving owed 10.50 in total but we only used 3.26 worth We couldn't just pay for what we had used so girl suggested we pay the lot and claim it back from rental company. I don't think so! We left p.o. and went to Cafefino to discuss tactics. We telephoned the rental company and they suggested that we try to pay elsewhere. We headed to Intermarche to pay at the newspaper kiosk. When the guy there consulted the computer the price had shot up to 22 euros. He said we had to pay all or nothing. So we opted for nothing. We were on a roll so we headed for Lagoa P.O. Queued for ages finally got to very nice girl who looked bemused when we told her what had happened thus far and she felt she could sort it out. How wrong was she... She needed more docs which were in the car so off we trotted. When we came back with said docs they didn't match info on computer. She and her manager tried to clarify with authorities but despite their efforts nothing was resolved. We left the P.O at 4.20 no further on. We do have a photocopy of the charges with our 3.26 on it which we were told to show to the hire company. Moral of this story travel on 125 and forget about A22 Just too much like hard work.

[EMM]

Nothing on our CC and we came back 6 weeks ago !!!

[tricky]

I went to pay my toll after the requisite 48 hours and was asked if I had made two journeys, mine and one the day before.
I only paid for one which was 6euros, although I came off at alcantrilla. Seems a bit steep to me. God knows what will happen with the return journey

[joeysoap]

if you paid €6 Tricky then you paid for the previous journey as well.

how's about this scenario (slightly worrying)

you rent the car at airport. you avoid the motorway at all times, you return home happy that you have incurred no charges - months later the hire company get a bill for this car for a specified period - which included your first few days rental - but which had a carryover from the previous renter - but the hire company can only see a bill for a 5 day period and you are the last renter during these 5 days - and they give your name to the toll company as the defaulter.

maybe not explained too well but in this scenario it would not matter if you used the motorway or not you are down as the renter who didn't pay.

point to remember is - that nobody but nobody is able to pay the return journey to the airport at present - so if the previous renter used the motorway for the return journey then..................

[e-richard]

If you have ever made an appointment for a Portuguese tradesman to come and do some repairs, you will know for a fact that the time he specifies is an approximation of the time (and day) he will actually arrive. That's the way of life in Portugal, and those of us who own a property may not like it, but soon get used to it.

point to remember is - that nobody but nobody is able to pay the return journey to the airport at present - so if the previous renter used the motorway for the return journey then..................

So similarly, when you rent a car, you will pay an approximation of tolls. Its just the Portuguese way. We, and all tourists, will just have to get used to it.


Until, or unless, of course, the rental companies reach agreement with the Via Verde to get exclusions and pay a fixed price per day.