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E-Tolls and Your Rights - Carte Blanche

News11 November 2018
Various organisations fighting against e-tolls have noted a sharp uptick in summonses being issued to non-payers in recent months and motorists are beginning to feel the squeeze.
e-tolls

It’s been almost 4 years since Gauteng’s highly controversial e-toll system went live. And, despite it having been around this long, it seems the majority of motorists are still kicking hard against the idea of having to pay their e-toll bills. However, various organisations fighting against the system have noted a sharp uptick in summonses being issued to non-payers in recent months and motorists are beginning to feel the squeeze.

So, when can legal action be taken against you, and what processes need to be followed? We look at the various steps and your rights regarding e-tolls.

Various organisations, including the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), have made it clear that it’s your choice to pay or not, but you need to also accept that you might face legal action somewhere down the line if you don’t pay.

 

WHAT IF I DON’T PAY?

 

  • Every month, you should receive an invoice from the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) or the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC). ETC was appointed by SANRAL to handle collections. If you continue to ignore the invoices and thus not pay the bills, your account will be handed over to debt collectors.
  • Non-payers also receive SMSs and phone calls from SANRAL, ETC and debt collectors to urge them to settle their outstanding account. However, by law, no money can be collected from you simply based on an SMS or phone call. You must be provided with a detailed invoice and enough opportunity to either make the payment or make payment arrangements.
  • At this point, you cannot be blacklisted for not paying. Blacklisting can only happen once a decision has been made by the court.

 

WHAT NEXT?

 

Should you still ignore the various SMSs, phone calls and invoices, you will eventually be sent a letter of demand. This letter must be sent via registered post and is usually sent by SANRAL or ETC. The letter will warn you that, should you not pay or make further arrangements within 10 to 14 days, legal action will be taken against you.

 

IF I STILL IGNORE ALL OF THIS?

 

  • Following all the above final notices, you will then receive an official summons to appear in court. This is the start of the formal legal process against you. DO NOT IGNORE THE SUMMONS!
  • The summons will give you 10 working days to respond. If you don’t respond within this time, a default judgment will be made against you and you’ll be blacklisted. And while you could have this judgment overturned, it could take many months and lots of money to make that happen.
  • A summons can be served to you in person or, if you’re not available, it can be left on your gate or given to an adult who stays at your physical address as listed on the eNATIS system.
  • Once you’ve received the summons, you need to contact a lawyer immediately to discuss the way forward. You have two options:
  • Concede and pay the outstanding amount once-off or in instalments.
  • Defend and take the matter to court.

REMEMBER

  • if you are pulled over by the police, they have no legal right to ask you about outstanding e-toll fees. Should they ask, you should simply say you don’t know. If the officer refuses to let the matter go, you can request to speak to the commanding officer.
  • Motorists are also not legally required to have an e-tag in their car.
  • Your licence disk cannot be withheld for not paying e-tolls. By law, there are only two reasons why your licence disk can be withheld:
  1. You have outstanding LICENCE fees and/or penalties.
  2. There’s a warrant for your arrest.

Source: OUTA