M50 toll evaders recently hit the headlines for owing an average of €28,600 with many having their car’s seized but how does a €2.10 toll end up costing so much writes Geraldine Herbert
In 2105 eFlow seized a total of 59 cars as a result of court judgements against M50 Toll evaders. The average bill owed to the State by these motorists was €28,627 and the average number of tolls unpaid each year by these repeat offenders is 189. But these evaders represent a tiny proportion of the motorists who pass through the toll on a daily basis. Over all there is a 97% compliance on payment from daily usage and of the remaining 3% two thirds of those unpaid tolls are resolved quickly after the first few notices are issued.
What part of the M50 is tolled?
Drivers passing through the M50 toll, which is located between Junction 6 and Junction 7, are required to pay before 8pm the following day.
How much is the toll
The toll is €2:10 for a car with an eflow tag and €3:10 for an unregistered car
What happens if you don’t pay?
Failure to pay will result in the issue of a Standard Toll Request letter and a €3 late payment penalty which must be paid within 14 days. Should road users not comply, an Unpaid Toll Notice letter will be issued and incremented fines will be applied as well as an extended time frame to pay these notices. If an Unpaid Toll Notice remains unresolved for 56 days of its issue date, transactions are passed to eFlow’s enforcement service provider, Pierse Fitzgibbon Solicitors, a Toll Violation Notice letter and an additional penalty fee of €103 will be issued.
So if you don’t pay this what happens next?
Road users are notified for each penalty increase by letter with the option to appeal at any time. When a Toll Violation Notice remains unsettled, civil proceedings are initiated.
What can the driver do at this stage?
If the Toll Violation Notice is not paid within 7 days of the date of the Toll Violation Notice a Claim Notice is issued to commence proceedings against the suspected toll evader in the District Court. As soon as the Claim Notice is served and the driver has two options
- Defend the claim i.e. appear in Court and prove your case.
- Ignore and let the matter proceed to the next stage which may result in a Judgment being issued against you. You might note that you being the Defendant will be liable to pay the Judgment costs once it has issued
If it goes to court and a judgement goes against you cases can be sent to the sheriff for collections or requests can be placed for the sheriff to seize the customer’s vehicle.
59 vehicles seized in 2015*
Jan 15
09 Volkswagen Golf, blue seized in the Lusk area. Decree value was €2,640.00.
06 Chevrolet Kalos, grey seized in the Lucan area. Decree value is €2,640.00.
06 Renault, white seized in Tallaght area. Decree value is €1,449.00.
08 Audi A4, red seized in Clondalkin area. Decree value was €1,592.80.
Feb 15
04 BMW, grey seized in Clonsilla area. Decree value is €3,238.40.
06 Ford Transit, white seized in Clondalkin area. Decree value is €4,015.90.
06 RangeRover, red seized in Mulhuddart area. Decree value is €4,146.30.
08 Fiat Ducato, white seized in Tallaght area. Decree value is €9,934.60.
Mar 15
08 Toyota Avensis, silver seized in St Margaret’s Road area. The Decree value is €1,144.00.
07 Vauxhall Astra, silver seized in Tallaght area. The Decree value is €2,789.60.
07 Volkswagen Passat, black seized in Santry area. The Decree value is €4,146.30.
Apr 15
07 BMW, black seized in Blackrock area. The Decree value is €10,706.20.
09 Volkswagen Transporter, blue seized in Luks area. The Decree value is €1,299.20.
07 Toyota Corolla, silver seized in Clonee area. The Decree value is €5,193.50.
05 Ford Focus, seized in Lucan area.
11 Dodge, silver seized in Coolock area. The Decree value is €5,219.10.
May 15
08 Fiat Ducato, seized in Finglas area. Decree value is €6,122.84.
08 Ford Transit , seized in Ballyfermot area. Decree value is €5,156.91.
Jun 15
08 Volvo C30, grey, seized in Coolock area. Decree value is €5,288.80.
08 Mercedes, silver, seized in Swords area. Decree value €1,003.12.
Jul 15
07 Chevrolet Aveo, black, seized in Clondalkin area. Decree value €2,191.20.
08 Nissan Primastar, white, seized in Clonee area. Decree value €2,953.60.
Aug 15
06 Renault Trafic, green, seized in Clondalkin area. Decree value is €685.50.
05 BMW 320, grey, seized in Shankill area. Decree value was €9,648.70.
06 BMW X3, silver, seized in Clondalkin area. Decree value is €13,328.00.
Sep 15
06 Toyota Avensis, grey seized in Clondalkin area. Decree value is €15,724.80.
07 Volkswagen Passat, silver seized in Clonee area. Decree value is €15,278.00.
10 Volkswagen Passat, red seized in Ongar area. Decree value €1,742.40.
09 Ford Transit, white seized in Baldoyle area. Decree value €15,053.70.
08 Kia Rio, blue seized in Clonsilla area. Decree value €7,703.90.
08 Volkswagen Golf, black seized in Clondalkin area. Decree value €3,226.00. The defendant paid the Sheriff’s office in full & PF received a cheque for €3,293.06.
07 Opel Corsa, silver seized in Finglas area. Decree value €2,789.60.
08 Opel Corsa, black seized in Ballymun area. Decree value €10,092.30.
07 Toyota Corolla, silver seized in Santry area. Decree value €15,277.00.
Oct 15
12 Renault Fluence, Silver seized in Lucan area. Decree value was €15,284.00.
08 Toyota Auris, Silver seized in Lucan area. Decree value was €8,459.40.
09 Mercedes Benz, Silver seized in Clong area. Decree value was €8,712.80.
05 Ford Focus, Black seized in Fettercairn area. Decree value is €2,340.80.
07 Skoda Octavia, Beige seized in Clondalkin area. Decree value is €1,892.50.
C20-0004-2497, 07 Volkswagen Caddy, White seized in Terenure area. Decree value is €15,354.50. – C20-0004-2188, 05 Volkswagen Passat, Silver seized in Dublin 8 area. Decree value is €2,191.20.
Nov 15
05 Honda Accord, silver, seized in Blanchardstown area. Decree value is €7,724.90.
06 Kia Magentis, silver, seized in Tallaght area. Decree value is €2,041.60.
06 Ford Transit, white, seized in Tallaght area. Decree value is €1,299.20.
05 Chevrolet Rexton, red, seized in Blanchardstown area. Decree value is €2,490.40. C20-0004-
142 Dacia Duster, grey, seized in Clondalkin area. Decree value is €1,747.40.
06 Hyndai Sonata, black, seized in Tallaght area. Decree value is €7,560.80.
12 Volkswagen Touran, silver, seized in Santry area. Decree value is €4,744.70.
02 Mercedes Benz, blue, seized in Tallaght area. Decree value is €10,107.80. vehicle seized was an 11 BMW Sport. Decree was for a 10D vehicle but it was not at the address. Defendant made a settlement payment to the Sheriff which closed 4 outstanding Decrees for this defendant. PF received €6,118.00.
Dec 15
07 Toyota Rav4 Black, seized in Clondalkin area. Decree value €15,426.60.
05 Toyota Van Blue, seized in Clondalkin area. Decree value €13,057.70.
10 Nissan Primastar White, seized in Castaheany area. Decree value €1600.50 (however, defendant is a high offender and had several other passages outstanding for another vehicle, plus criminal proceedings). An overall settlement was agreed between RAP and defendant of €5k.
07 Mercedes Benz C-Series beige, seized in Tallaght area. Decree value €10,275.90.
05 Toyota Landcruiser black, seized in Finglas area. Decree value €1,144.00.
05 BMW 520 Grey, seized in Finglas area. Decree value €15,276.00.
(*Source – Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII)
You can listen back here to Geraldine Herbert speaking to Cormac O hEadhra on RTE Radio One’s Drivetime about M50 Toll Fines
Geraldine Herbert
12th July, 2016
