MrGrey wrote:I was hoping I could ask for your input Mr Shine,
yesterday I received in the post a $40 fine for "refusing or failing to pay a toll" on the northern gateway highway on the 7th of jan 2014.
I am normally pretty on to it with paying my dues but was wondering where I stand with this as I received no prior warning that there was outstanding money owing and if I had been aware I would have paid it.
I will try calling them on monday but it sounds like I have to protest this in writing which seems rather antiquated and the amount is due on the 10th of next month.
Where do I stand with this and am I being unrealistic in expecting them to have at least tell me that they wanted some money instead of waiting and then slapping me with a fine after a certain time period? can I ask for a list of all instances of trips logged for my car and payments for trips linked to my car to see if I goobered and paid after the initial 7 day due date? I am not disputing the trip but I feel it is a bit unfair to slap me with a fine out of the blue without previously giving me the opportunity to pay the outstanding amount.
thanks in advance
I've never dealt with one of these before, but my understanding is that if the toll is unpaid within five days a "toll payment notice" is sent to the vehicle's registered owner. That tacks an administrative cost on top of like $4.90. If that's unpaid within 28 days that's when an infringement notice is issued with the $40.
I would expect that you'd have some grounds on the basis of not having received the toll payment notice. It sounds like you're basically in the same situation as Donovan was in the original post, where you need to show that you didn't receive it, i.e. the burden is on you to prove you didn't receive it.
This sounds stupid, I know, but the courts consider the notice as being legally served as long as it was sent to the correct address. So get back to them and confirm where it was sent to. If it was sent to an incorrect address all you need to show is some proof of address dated from before and after the date the toll payment notice was sent, to show that you lived their
across that time.
If the court records state it was sent to the correct address then you may need to come up with some evidence that you've been having mail stolen, or that you've had mail not being properly delivered.
I get that this reverse onus is a pain in the ass (I dealt with it face to face with some very, very angry people in the past) but you do have to understand from the court's side of things if they accepted at face value when people claimed they didn't receive things then EVERYONE would just waste the court's time.