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Motorway operator Transurban has apologised for the bungles, which it insists are rare, but it has not explained the exact cause of the problem nor how many cars have been incorrectly charged.
A torrent of Canberrans have come forward with stories and difficulties of their own wrongful charges. Pictures by The Canberra Times
Here’s what you had to say about it, and the difficulties you’ve faced trying to reach resolutions.
Charged for sitting on the couch
“I don’t even have a number twin and got charged. Their argument was it was my plates. Pretty sure I wasn’t driving my car at the M5 interchange on a Wednesday night while I was sitting on my couch …
Transurban gave me a $20 “goodwill” credit but never rescinded the charge.”
We got a debt recovery notice last month
“This has been happening to us. We even received a debt recovery notice last month for 45 trips in Sydney that we never made. After immediately calling Linkt, they admitted a mistake and repaid all tolls taken from our account. They then wrote to us a week later, saying that they were still charging us for 15 of these trips, even though we can provide evidence that neither we, nor our car, were ever in NSW on those dates. We are still being charged for travel in Sydney that we haven’t made right up to today!”
Facing this issue for years
“This has been happening to me for years. Have had to lodge stat decs to verify that I was not on the road at the time, as the money kept automatically coming out. Even when I stopped my automatic top-ups, I was getting bills in the mail. Call centre folks not sympathetic, usually from overseas.”
“This is not a new issue.
Four years ago had my e-toll account drained, assumed I’d made an error, topped it up, drained again. Then the mailed notices started flowing for the ones they couldn’t put through the e-toll account. They were coming through to me and my e-toll account because of number plate recognition.
I drive a Red Mitsubishi Outlander. The NSW duplicate plate was a Silver Mazda sedan.”
Here’s how Canberrans feel about the Linkt number plate nightmare
This paints quite a story
“It’s hardly a trivial issue. I had to argue to get back $180 of tolls charged to me for another car with apparently the same rego. I assumed it was a scam by a driver somehow manipulating his number plate (possibly with masking tape to change the letters / numbers) but the article explains quite a different picture. Needless to say, I’m now checking my Linkt account far more frequently.”
“This very thing happened to me in July. I was charged for six toll road journeys in Sydney which I definitely did not make. They were automatically matched via the number plate matching system on Linkt. I searched registration plates on Service NSW and found that a white Toyota in NSW has the same plate as my ACT-registered grey Subaru. I disputed the trips and they checked the photos then fully reimbursed the trips immediately. I’m lucky I spotted it and it was resolved quickly, but still a concern.”
Recognising good journalism
“It’s astonishing that Linkt has been robbing ACT residents and getting away with it. I say well done to CT for bringing this to life. I had no idea it could happen before reading the stories today.”
“It’s not just NSW cars – Victoria has car rego plates starting with Y. Lots more opportunities to fleece ACT drivers.”
Whose fault is it anyway?
“So the obvious question is … Why are ACT and NSW issuing identical registration numbers??? Seems that is the source of the problem, not Linkt incorrectly attributing owners to the regos.”
A perspective from Sydney
“As a Sydney resident, I point out that this is the fault of the NSW Department for Transport (it should be renamed Department AGAINST Transport) which is the most useless of all state government departments. (Yes, it allowed the unions to have “Drivers” on the driverless metro trains !!!) It has allowed car dealers to issue number plates beginning with Y to vehicles they sell which have the dealer’s name and slogan instead of the normal state slogan.”
My driveway camera could help out …
“It is indeed an odd situation, and given how good image and pattern recognition is these days, it’s hard to understand why Transurban’s system is so poor. My twin NSW plate is on a car that’s a different size and colour to mine … I’ve got a $150 camera running a feed through open source software that can tell which of my cats is sitting on the driveway. Maybe I should offer to help …”
“Linkt should be required to assume the registration is in NSW in the first instance before looking at interstate registrations.”
“Plate numbers alone are not unique across any state, you could have the same plate number existing in every state and it would not be an error. This is why any plate checks requires both plate and state code. The only exception is heavy vehicles which are managed federally.”
Here’s how Canberrans feel about the Linkt number plate nightmare
So long now I have a standard procedure
“Yes – It’s a pain in the backside. I’ve been charged when I know I haven’t been in Sydney and also my mum was also charged when she hadn’t been in Sydney for over two years. I follow the standard procedure – call, complain, ask for the photos, get an apology (and they blame AI) and I get a refund.
You really need to keep a close eye on your toll account.”
Another number plate twin
“I was charged for driving on the M5 when it was another car with the same number plate. I was reimbursed after I asked them to check the photo that they automatically took of the car.”
“Yes, we had this happen for a toll on the M7 a few months ago. I just happened to notice a toll on our bill during a period I know we definitely were not in Sydney. I contacted Linkt and they refunded the amount fairly quickly after presumably checking the photo of the vehicle and confirming it was not ours.”
“I had the same experience several years ago, also on the M7. When I explained the situation to the Linkt person, they checked my model of car and colour to the photo. It didn’t match and I was refunded my money promptly. I don’t travel frequently to Sydney so it was obvious when saw the deduction. Now I check my account frequently. I didn’t think NSW plates started with Y like our Canberra plates.”
Here’s how Canberrans feel about the Linkt number plate nightmare
A lot of effort to get money back
“I have personalised ACT plates, white letters on black plates. Have been charged for trips where I was not in Sydney. Takes a long time on the phone for the trips to be reversed.”
Rectification process not good enough
“And knowing this they need to provide an improved process for notification of error. I was on the phone for 1 hour after this happened to me, and was hung up once also. Frustrating if this is going to occur on a regular basis.”
Stealing money and holding it hostage
“Mine was put on a list to be manually checked, still didn’t stop the error recurring. They also don’t refund – they apply a credit to your account, i.e. they steal your money and hold it hostage for later use. You can’t even remove your credit card details using their online system.”
What’s the purpose of a number plate?
“The obvious flaw is the reuse of “identity” plates. That should never happen.”
Canberra’s number plate nightmare
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