The Gauteng E-tolling Thread

[Creag]

I thought I would leave this here to lighten the mood on this scourge a wee bit ...

 

[Bundu]

things seem to be going quiet.... from my point of view, I have little to report, seeing I'm doing nothing..... still no accounts to ignore.... GF got two accounts, which will be ignored... so all seems fine

 

[DJ...]

Apparently I'm also off the grid with Sanral. Nothing received. Not even an SMS...

 

[Bundu]

Apparently I'm also off the grid with Sanral. Nothing received. Not even an SMS...

yeah, I've done some travelling on MY highways and am starting to feel a bit ignored.... guess it's their incompetence, as in some speed fines that only reached me after expiry... aaah well... live and let live

 

[OMB]

I was on the N3 today, I did notice more e-tags than prior to the holiday. Funny thing was a lot of them were on company vehicles or luxury cars, mainly Mercs and BMWs

 

[Bundu]

I was on the N3 today, I did notice more e-tags than prior to the holiday. Funny thing was a lot of them were on company vehicles or luxury cars, mainly Mercs and BMWs

to be expected... many "wealthy" folks, tend to take the short cuts and don't care too much about the moral of the story - in years to come, they will probably say they opposed this system...

 

[OrbitalDawn]

http://robesspear.blogspot.com/2014/01/letter-to-kapsch-head-office-send-to.html

From: Eugene Visser
Date: 19 January 2014 13:31
Subject: South Africa etolls
To: [email protected]


Dear Sirs,

This letter serves to inform you that you have contributed, aided, assisted and are benefiting from governmental corruption in South Africa. The etoll system, which you installed, is part of the systematic and dictatorial suppression of the people of South Africa. I am sure you are well aware of the dubious and underhanded manner in which it was implemented and despite massive public outcry, the ANC government has simply steamrolled public opinion.

But then, you know all that. None of this is news to you. You are a free-enterprise co competing in the open market. With €928 million in revenue as of March 2013, you couldn't care less where your money comes from, could you? The fact that the poor in South Africa is suffering, that campaign promises by the ANC failed to materialize, that crime has spiraled out of control, and that the people who paid you for your services are morally and ethically bankrupt; this obviously does not concern you....

No, I think you simply rake in the money with no social conscience at all. This contract was just too easy, too lucrative to pass by. Like Jabba the Hutt, you have us on a chain and we must dance for you while your greed is dribbling down your chin... Which third world country is next on your list of conquests?

Well here, I am dancing. I, and millions of my fellow countrymen, are dancing to your relentless beat. We are dancing despite the blisters of oppression, despite the starvation, the gunshots, the tears. Can you see us dance? Like good little potbellied African children, we are dancing to the beat of our masters. Beat the drum, you there in your glass offices, beat the drum so we can stir up the African dust for your entertainment.

I hope you enjoy the show...

 

[Wyzak]

http://robesspear.blogspot.com/2014/01/letter-to-kapsch-head-office-send-to.html

Nice, mind if I send the same letter to them?

 

[Jola]

Hmmm, I may modify it a bit and send a 100 copies via snail mail to their various offices in Europe.

 

[MagicDude4Eva]

http://robesspear.blogspot.com/2014/01/letter-to-kapsch-head-office-send-to.html

If one sends a letter to an European company, just remind yourself that they would have no regard for the "african context" like in this letter. I think Kapsch will just laugh it off. I would go more topical

I would rather tweet to them directly (https://twitter.com/kapschnet) and would tweet it to major German/Austrian newspapers:
- http://diepresse.com/ & https://twitter.com/diepressecom
- http://derstandard.at/ & https://twitter.com/derStandardat
- http://www.spiegel.de/ & https://twitter.com/SPIEGELONLINE

I tend to fire the occasional tweet over to the Austrians such as "@kapschnet @itrafficgp Sanral toll spokesperson slammed over insult - http://news.iafrica.com/sa/894015.html " or "@itrafficgp @kapschnet #tollsystem plagued by online security issues - http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70197:Sanral-s-online-security-examined&catid=359"

 

[OrbitalDawn]

Nice, mind if I send the same letter to them?

Go right ahead. I have no idea who this 'Eugene Visser' chap is, but figured I'd pass the link along.

If one sends a letter to an European company, just remind yourself that they would have no regard for the "african context" like in this letter. I think Kapsch will just laugh it off. I would go more topical

I would rather tweet to them directly (https://twitter.com/kapschnet) and would tweet it to major German/Austrian newspapers:
- http://diepresse.com/ & https://twitter.com/diepressecom
- http://derstandard.at/ & https://twitter.com/derStandardat
- http://www.spiegel.de/ & https://twitter.com/SPIEGELONLINE

I tend to fire the occasional tweet over to the Austrians such as "@kapschnet @itrafficgp Sanral toll spokesperson slammed over insult - http://news.iafrica.com/sa/894015.html " or "@itrafficgp @kapschnet #tollsystem plagued by online security issues - http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70197:Sanral-s-online-security-examined&catid=359"

Great stuff!

Yeah, I don't think Kapsch actually gives a damn. They paid bribes in the arms deal anyway, so criminality doesn't bother them.

 

[AlphaBravo]

Hmmm, I may modify it a bit and send a 100 copies via snail mail to their various offices in Europe.

You'll get more sympathy by sending it to various European newspapers.

 

[Durandal]

to be expected... many "wealthy" folks, tend to take the short cuts and don't care too much about the moral of the story - in years to come, they will probably say they opposed this system...

Unfortunately, I think you have hit the nail on the head. It's the rapidly disappearing 'middle class' that is yet again in the firing line.

 

[biometrics]

Go right ahead. I have no idea who this 'Eugene Visser' chap is, but figured I'd pass the link along.

Definitely not a Rian.

 

[Wyzak]

http://www.fin24.com/Economy/Sanral-operating-normally-after-powder-scare-20140122

Johannesburg - Sanral was operating at full capacity on Wednesday following an evacuation of the building, the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) said.

"Employees are back at work today, and everything is running normally," said ETC CEO Jamie Surkont.

The Tshwane hazardous material unit was called to the SA National Roads Agency Limited's nerve centre on Tuesday afternoon after a "suspicious envelope containing a white substance" was found on the premises.

The building was evacuated and its electricity shut down.

Thirty-seven people were decontaminated and hospitalised as a precautionary measure.

All of them had been discharged by Wednesday morning, said Surkont.

On Tuesday, Sanral said the evacuation had disrupted the Gauteng highway tolling system, but Surkont said it remained operational. Biological testing revealed that the powder was not anthrax.

Bwahahaha, so they spent the night in hospital.

I've heard reports that e-tags didn't beep this morning, can anybody confirm this? Warning: You will be letting us know that you have an e-tag as well, so expect some rightful abuse

 

[Wyzak]

http://businesstech.co.za/news/general/52013/bizarre-e-toll-billing-complaints/

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it has received over 300 e-toll billing complaints from the public since a call last week to submit queries to the political party.

The South African National Roads Agency Limited implemented its e-toll system on Gauteng’s freeways on 3 December 2013.

The DA says it aims to submit a list of complaints to the National Consumer Commission.

Some of the more bizarre complaints we have received include:

A resident in the Western Cape who has not traveled on Gauteng’s roads since the implementation of e-tolling. She has received two invoices to date, one of which was for a motorcycle, when in fact her only vehicle is a Corsa Lite car;
A resident who received an SMS from Sanral to say that he owes R00.00 and has been handed over to the VPC;
People who do not even own a vehicle or have a drivers licence receiving SMSes from Sanral with outstanding debt. One of these SMSes was for an amount of R1362,63;
Many people have received a final SMS warning without having received an official invoice;
Gauteng residents who do not travel on tolled roads are receiving SMSes for final pay notices from Sanral.
The DA says that most common complaints are people not receiving invoices, incorrect amounts for actual travel and bills going to people who have not travelled recently. “It is clear that the billing system is not working,” said Mmusi Maimane, DA Gauteng Premier Candidate.

“Not only is the e-tolling system unjust in its implementation but residents are now faced with mounting billing challenges,” Maimane said.

The DA recently noted that its legal case against the implementation of e-tolls on Gauteng’s freeways has been set down for 4-5 March 2014.

The DA submitted papers to the High Court in November 2013, arguing that the legislation governing e-tolling was incorrectly tagged and should be declared unconstitutional.

4-5 March, good...

 

[DJ...]

Perhaps this was the rumoured announcement I heard was coming. Court set to hear the DA case in early March...

 

[Wyzak]

http://businesstech.co.za/news/general/51910/ncc-to-hear-e-toll-grievances/

NCC to hear e-toll grievances
Complaints about e-tolling will be taken up by the National Consumer Commission (NCC), but should not be the first line of complaint.

Complaints about e-tolling will be taken up by the National Consumer Commission (NCC), but should not be the first line of complaint, Commissioner Ebrahim Mohamed said on Monday.

“The NCC always encourages consumers to lodge complaints at the point of sale, and attempts to have their complaints dealt with there,” he said.

If consumers were met with indifference or felt their complaints were not adequately addressed by the company or entity, they could then take the matter up with the NCC.
“This does not preclude consumers from approaching the NCC [with their complaints,” Mohamed said.

The Democratic Alliance and the Freedom Front Plus recently announced that they would facilitate motorists’ e-toll accounts complaints by submitting them to the NCC.

Mohamed said the commission would investigate the complaints, but had to do so within its constrained resources.

“It is our mandate to assist consumers, and we will.

“What we would do is set up a team to look at these complaints, and categorise them.”

The NCC would then discuss the categories of problems identified with the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) and look at ways of resolving the problems.

Mohamed said the NCC was not an adjudication body, and did not have the power to declare an account invalid.

However, it could refer the matter to the Consumer Tribunal, which had greater powers in this regard.

On Monday, the FFPlus said it would lodge a complaint with the NCC about problems with e-toll accounts based on a number of problems Gauteng motorists had experienced with the e-tolling system.

“These complaints form part of the party’s continued opposition to toll roads… in its struggle against the abuse of the system by Sanral,” FFPlus transport spokesman Anton Alberts said in a statement.

So far, complaints included the incorrect breakdown of costs on e-toll accounts, accounts wrongfully issued to people who had not used the tolled roads, and the higher toll prices for motorists who chose not to get e-tags.

The FFPlus said it would launch a website later in the week to help people with e-toll complaints to submit them to the NCC.

The Democratic Alliance launched a similar initiative last week.

Sanral could not immediately be reached for comment.

On January 10, Sanral spokesman Vusi Mona reportedly conceded there had been some glitches in the e-toll collection system.

However, he said there were not a large number of “genuine” complaints, and that those complaints lodged with the consumer satisfaction website, Hellopeter.com, were being handled by Sanral’s public relations department.

“We are not breaking any laws or violating people’s privacy,” he said.

Sanral has repeatedly urged Gauteng drivers to become registered for the system, as e-tag holders qualify for reduced e-toll fees.

Contact info for the NCC:
http://www.thedti.gov.za/agencies/ncc.jsp

[email protected]

 

[LetsDance]

The colonials do not riot sir, they write. Egad, we might be shot.

 

[HAL 9000]

The SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) must fix its billing mess before demanding payment for the use of e-tolled roads in Gauteng.

Consumer watchdog the National Consumer Commission said that, though Sanral had the right to demand payment from motorists for using e-tolled roads, its billing should be accurate and conform to good business practice.

The commission's head, Ebrahim Mohamed, yesterday said Sanral demanding payment without giving users the chance to query bills was "not proper practice''.

The onus was on Sanral to prove that a motorist had travelled on a specific road at a specific time, he said.

"The demand for payment, however it is communicated, has to be correct and accurate. It is incumbent on Sanral to prove to any consumer who raises a query that the road was used on a specific date, by a specific vehicle, and that the charge is based on set tariffs."

Sanral has come under fire for using "unlawful and extortionist tactics" to try to force frustrated motorists to pay "exorbitant" e-tolling bills.

With outrage mounting over "threatening" SMSes and e-mails, and incorrect billing, several bodies have urged motorists to complain to the National Consumer Commission.

Motorists have been receiving text messages from Sanral demanding payment. But they lack detail and proof of authenticity.

Motorists without e-tags have been shocked to learn that, if they did not pay Sanral within seven days of passing under a gantry, a triple toll is levied.

Mohamed disapproved of Sanral's response to queries from the public.

"The commission is of the view that it is not proper practice for consumers to be told to pay now and query later. If this is the case, it is a matter that consumers need to take up with Sanral's management."

Mohamed urged motorists to try to resolve their problems with Sanral first and if that had failed to approach the commission.

Some motorists have turned to public protector Thuli Madonsela for help.

Yesterday DA national spokesman and Gauteng premiership candidate Mmusi Maimane said the party had received over 300 complaints about Sanral's billing system.

"The most common complaints are about people not receiving invoices, incorrect amounts for travel and bills going to people who have not travelled recently. It is clear that Sanral's billing system is not working," said Maimane.

Maimane said his party would fight e-tolling "at every turn".

http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2014/01/23/sanral-must-fix-billing