SANRAL’s ridiculously high fees of E-tolling

While many Gauteng residents struggled to accept the idea of e-tolling, which has not been accepted as lawful or ethical by many South Africans, some of the residents have been receiving messages informing them that they need to make payments of very high fees – considered ridiculous by the residents.

The residents consider these fees to be ridiculous because they are very high although they have only driven passed the gantries a few times. Although they may not have registered for e-tolling, they feel that these fees are high and do not make any sense.

One woman, who asked for her identity not to be revealed, was billed different amounts between different gantries. She received a SMS-message that read: “You have overdue e-toll fees in the amount of R308.34 which have been handed over for collection to VPC (Violation Processing Centre). “However, she believes the fees are too high although she could have driven past the gantries on a few occasions.

Another woman, who also asked for her identity not to be revealed, was unhappy with SANRAL due to the high fees SANRAL claims she is liable for. “What hurts the most is that we as citizens pay taxes, this is not money (e-toll fees) we budget for,” she said, expressing her disappointment.

She received SMS-messages informing her to make payments that are more than R600. She also received a posted letter informing her that she needs to make another payment, more than R800, before the end of January or else she will not get a discount.

Her husband also received messages that he needed to make a payment for more than R500. She feels that her right to privacy was violated because she has never registered for e-tolling but SANRAL has her contact details and physical address, which they have used to send her a mail and SMS-messages.

Meanwhile, Nadeem Amir, who manages a small shop at Alberton Centre, feels victimised by the e-tolls because transporting purchased goods to the buyers costs him more money now that he has to pay the recently risen price of petrol and e-tolling. “I would rather they deduct their e-tolling costs on the money we pay when we buy petrol,” Amir said.

Rynette from the South, who asked for her last name not to be revealed, said she will not get an e-tag nor pay for e-tolling. “Why should I pay money to another country just to drive here in South Africa? The only time I will pay is if they find me and prove to me that it was my car (on the road),” she said.

Moreover, on Wednesday January 15, DA Media posted a speech by DA Gauteng Premier Candidate, Mmusi Maimane, during a campaign stop in Shoshanguve:

“Today I am in the north of Gauteng to launch a campaign to assist residents of this province with their e-toll complaints. “The DA appeals to the people of Gauteng to send us their complaints, which we will then lodge with the National Consumer Commission. It has become very clear over the past couple of weeks that the e-toll billing system is not working. In fact, residents of this province are being unfairly bullied into paying their bills.

“Mounting evidence suggests that many of these bills are incorrect or are sent without due process or prior invoicing. The e-tolling system has already been unfairly forced on Gauteng and now residents are faced with obvious extortion tactics to enforce their compliance.

“This cannot be allowed to continue. I have a plan to fight e-tolling both now and if elected Premier of Gauteng. On 4 and 5 March, the DA’s court case challenging the classification of the bill governing the roll out of e-tolling will be heard. If elected to government I have a plan to interdict further routes and declare an intergovernmental dispute over current routes.

“I will take this message and my vision for Gauteng to every corner of this province over the next few weeks. Residents who would like to lodge their billing complaints with the Consumer Commission should send an email to enocentn@da.org.za or tweet a picture of their sms or bill.”