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Tens of thousands of motorists pay more than normal in the boom.
The vast majority of motorists in Norway pay tolls, with or without pleasure, with the help of an Autopass agreement with a chip.
If you have such a deal, you get a 20 percent discount at all toll stations in Norway.
All major Norwegian cities also have the so-called hourly rule, which means that you only pay at a toll station if you pass several toll booths in one hour.
Many areas also have monthly ceilings, which means that you only pay for a maximum number of passes in an area in each calendar month. In Osloringen and Indre Ring you do not have to pay more than 120 crosses, while in Nord-Jæren the limit is fixed at 75 crosses.
However, if you don’t pay a bill and your account is locked out due to debt collection claims, you will lose these discounts.. The figures that Nettavisen Økonomi has compiled from the country’s biggest toll companies show that blocked deals are more common than one might think:
Tens of thousands of Norwegian motorists have locked Autopass accounts and have to pay full price for every barrier they cross.
– When your contract becomes inactive due to debt collection, you must pay it all. It goes without saying that this will be expensive, that it will increase the number of bills and that it will be more difficult to pay. Many end up in a negative debt spiral, and this can affect their health, says Frode Myrhol, leader of Folkeaksjonen no to more tolls (FNB).
See the full description further down the article.
Read more: Towards a new toll record also in 2020
Calculate NOK 77 million in debt collection income, in Nord-Jæren alone
Stavanger, Sandnes, Sola and Randaberg, which make up Nord-Jæren, are one of the most important areas for the FNB protest party. Here, the party received more than 11,000 votes in total in last year’s local elections.
Toll General Myrhol received a blow to the chin when he read that up to 4,600 motorists had had their deals blocked due to debt collection as of October 30 in Nord-Jæren.
– This is exactly what we have warned against, that we get into a situation where people simply cannot pay their bills, says Myrhol.
If the authorities were to withdraw the revenue generated by the dormant deals, the Nord-Jæren toll network would only lose just over NOK 6 million a year. Revenue from inactive deals from October 2021 to 2032 is estimated at NOK 77.3 million.
– We receive 77 million crowns in income from people who cannot pay. The steering group seems skeptical about removing the dormant deals, but I think it is morally reprehensible to fund new bus and bike routes due to people’s inability to pay, says Myrhol.
The FNB summit believes, unsurprisingly, that the Norwegian toll system should be phased out and that the new infrastructure should be financed in other ways.
– The only reason we have this solution is bad imagination and that tolls have been tacitly accepted for a long time. You can, for example, finance this through the tax bill. Then you would not have received a collection claim in the mail, as long as you had not received a residual tax, which in any case would not double or triple for every month you do not pay, Myrhol says, adding:
– I, who earn a lot, will be able to pay more tolls, while those who earn less will be able to pay less.
Read more: Peak toll boosted fortune by NOK 14 million
Here, most of the dormant deals are due to debt collection.
The toll companies have an overview and administer the toll agreements of Norwegian motorists, but operate within the framework created by the Norwegian authorities. Autopass, the Norwegian toll collection system, owned by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, writes the following in its terms:
«The right to a discount and any exemptions expire when the deal is locked., that is, in the event that a credit limit is exceeded, when unpaid claims are sent for collection, non-payment of the agreed advance payment, negative balance due to advance payment agreement or in case of defective address …»
Here is the overview that Nettavisen Økonomi has compiled, showing how many motorists have blocked a deal due to debt collection:
Husa also claims that the Ferde deals that were previously blocked were reopened at the end of October because the autopass clients in Nord-Jæren moved to Ferde Brikkeutsteder.
“Assuming these customers now pay the invoices they receive, the agreements will have valid status,” says Husa.
Also read: Turn to FNB: – Wow, this was sadly low
Read more: Toll provider in Rogaland delayed: losing an average of NOK 27 million per month
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