no longer updated - Tolls on the A22

[Steen Jakobsen]

Sadly it does look as if the intent is to exploit foreign visitors by fines and additional charges.

[EMM]

Then it is up to the car hire companies to get their act together and look after their customers.

If not we and I expect others like us will decide at long last to buy a car albeit a basic rust bucket to use when we are over and take away from the companies their much needed revenue in the quiet seasons.

[Steen Jakobsen]

Then it is up to the car hire companies to get their act together and look after their customers.

If not we and I expect others like us will decide at long last to buy a car albeit a basic rust bucket to use when we are over and take away from the companies their much needed revenue in the quiet seasons.

Fortunately it is not the car hire companies writing the laws. Believe me they are trying.

[EMM]

Please correct me if I am wrong but as I understand the law it is the owner ( the hire car company ) who is responsible for payment of the tolls NOT the hirer.
The hire companies have to agree procedures with the hirers not just pass the hassle on to us.

If I was the owner of a hire company I would increase my rentals by a nominal 10-15 euros/week and make a big thing about TOLLS included in the price, NO hassle for the Hirer. With us you can get to your holiday home easily and quickly , no sitting in queues on the 125 etc etc.
I would expect that I would break even on the Tolls and get more business in these difficult times

What is to stop villa owners buying cars including the " free car use " in their rental, the car equipped with the necessary toll chip.
No hassle for renters. obviously insurance has to be adequate, owners would take a security deposit against damage etc.
I know that this is already done with home swaps .

The losers the hire car companies.

[Michael Crane]

Roll on 11 December . . . . NOT!

[Steen Jakobsen]

Please correct me if I am wrong but as I understand the law it is the owner ( the hire car company ) who is responsible for payment of the tolls NOT the hirer.

Not quite, the hirer is responsible for toll payment, traffic fines etc. further the car rental companies are not allowed to collect tax. There are complicated legal issues which is why things are taking so long.

[EMM]

My current provider receives the charges when renters use the existing tolls in the north as it relates to the reg number of the vehicle.
They obviously have no idea who is driving he then pays and collects the charges if it is worth it from the renter.

The problem in the Algarve is the huge number of rental cars in use which is why the only solution is for the rental companies to take the initiatve,
All the government is interested in is collecting their revenue.

[Farol]

the car rental companies are not allowed to collect tax.

So does this mean that if you drive on the motorway without a tag etc that the car rental firm cannot subsequently deduct any charge from your credit card?

Is it solely down to the Government dept to pursue the charges and fine based on the driver info provided to them by the rental firms?

[EMM]

It is not a tax it is a charge for use of the motorway ,

[Steen Jakobsen]

the car rental companies are not allowed to collect tax.

So does this mean that if you drive on the motorway without a tag etc that the car rental firm cannot subsequently deduct any charge from your credit card?

Is it solely down to the Government dept to pursue the charges and fine based on the driver info provided to them by the rental firms?

Yes; The car rental company must supply a copy of the rental contract to the authorities and it is up to them to collect. The car rental company could try to charge your credit card with a handling fee for this administrative burden, but if the client refuse the charge I am not sure it would go through.

The system has been in use for a while in the North and the car rental companies been allowed to charge the toll. As a result you can read this example:



Posted 14 November 2011 04:17 PM Hide Post
I have been a frequent flier to Oporto as we often visit Galicia. After having rented a car at Porto airport in January this year, I was surprised to find a charge of £22.00 on my credit card bill in November 2011. No explanation given to me, just a charge on the card. I had to dispute it with the credit card company which looked into for me. It was for unpaid tolls of €0.90. Actually it included a €0.20 portion for period on the same morning for which I was not the hirer of the vehicle. I will of course be taking this up with SIXT Car Rental - the rental office at the airport gave me the same response as you get when you rent the car - "sorry we can’t help you. We agree the system is bad, but there is nothing we can do!" I was told to ring SIXT head office, which I will be doing.

I think this automatic toll system must be illegal. The reason I say this is that for people such as me it is impossible to pay the toll as it does not appear in the system for 48 hours, by which time I am usually back in the UK. The car hire company will not take the payment for you. They suggest you ask a family member or a friend who is resident in Portugal to pay the toll on your behalf when it shows in the system 2 days later. (I of course do not have any family or friends in Portugal).

I had travelled to Oporto on Friday January 14th 2011. I picked up a rental car from SIXT at 14:30. I went under a toll gantry at 15:08 and was charged €0.05. On Sunday 16th 2011, less than 48 hours later, I returned to the airport, going under the toll gantry at 12:41, and was charged €0.85. My flight left Oporto for the UK at about 14:00. As both toll charges were made less than 48 hours earlier, I was not able to pay them although I would of course quite glady paid the tolls. I was consequently fined for not paying the tolls when it was absolutely impossible for me to do so. I was therefore forced to break the law through no fault of my own, and then punished for this. Forcing people into this situation I suspect is not lawful.

We will of course not be returning to Oporto and will fly on Ryanair to Santiago de Compostela, even via Madrid if needed, or Veuling to Vigo or La Coruna. Hopefully EasyJet will also start flying to Galicia. Please be warned – if you travel to Porto you will likely suffer the same fate! Once bitten twice shy!

http://slowtalk.com/groupee/forums/a/tp ... 9006232001

[Steen Jakobsen]

it is unlikely the authorities would succeed in collecting the tolls from foreign visitors when they have left the country, but returning visitors should be aware that the authorities could check passports upon entry in Portugal and collect any due along with a hefty fine before allowing entry...

[e-richard]

Yuck, as if the immigration queues at Faro weren't bad enough, we can now expect more delays while the passport officers try to collect past Tolls, fines and penalties as well

[Steen Jakobsen]

Yuck, as if the immigration queues at Faro weren't bad enough, we can now expect more delays while the passport officers try to collect past Tolls, fines and penalties as well

I am not saying it will happen. Just that if anyone having ignored the tolls intend to return to Portugal, it is something to be aware of.

[Sinkie]

Hi,

Placed this on the other post about tolls. Not the full picture but ECH will advise me when they have the final details. Hope this helps.

"Charges will be implemented from the 8th December. A partnership has been created between Via Verde and Unicre, who deal with all credit card transactions in Portugal. There will be a specific contract between clients and car rental suppliers so clients details can be passed over to Via Verde using a secure database/website and charged directly for use of the toll roads by Via Verde.

This does mean that it will be essential for customers to have a credit card when renting a vehicle in Portugal in the future.

This partnership will take a little bit of time to set up, so in the meantime, car hire suppliers have their own rules to deal with this. One of the car hire suppliers we use has detailed the following:

Clients will be informed that a road toll is payable.
The customer will have to sign a contract informing them of their responsibility of this road toll or any other traffic fines during their hire.
A small administration fee will be charged to the customer to pay for the expenses incurred for identifying the driver details for Via Verde.

[Michael Crane]

Slightly off topic: I see this as the 'official' topic, mainly because of Steen's contributions. So please, all members that have something to add to the subject, post it here where it seems the more 'official' and relevant information can be found. It's a pain having to access three separate topics to get information relating to one subject.

Back on topic: Do you know what car hire company ECH were referring to? We pick up our ECH hire car 11 December and as yet do not know what to expect.