nedine8 Posted November 28, 2014 Report Share Posted November 28, 2014 Hi PeopleWe are moving next year April to Aus:) Would you recommend that we pay our E-Toll bills before we leave? Just afraid we get into trouble later on.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted November 28, 2014 Report Share Posted November 28, 2014 Honestly, all the news drama aside, you dont need the possibility of trouble from that later.If you can afford to, just pay it and know that you wont pick up trouble on a visit to RSA later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zamunda Posted November 29, 2014 Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 Honestly, all the news drama aside, you dont need the possibility of trouble from that later.If you can afford to, just pay it and know that you wont pick up trouble on a visit to RSA later.Could't agree more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orphan Posted November 29, 2014 Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 Hi Nedine,My advice is to await the outcome of the E-Toll Investigatory Committee Report, which is due to be handed over to the Gauteng Premier on Sunday.There is a very real possibility that e-Tolls may be scrapped in its current format, and will in future be funded through the Fuel Levy. If so, there will in likelihood be an amnesty on all unpaid e-toll bills. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted November 29, 2014 Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 Orphan, you are a fountain of information, what would we do without you ! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blung Posted November 29, 2014 Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 Amnesty sounds a bit optimistic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orphan Posted November 29, 2014 Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 Not really. Very few Gauteng motorists are paying their e-toll bills right now, and these e-toll boycotters are even less likely to pay their arrears if the system is going to be scrapped.Moreover, the cost to SANRAL to collect the outstanding amounts is unsustainable. At the last report, SANRAL spent R48m to collect debts of R50m!An amnesty is the only viable option; and if this happens to coincide with a fuel price increase, it will make the whole thing more palatable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted November 29, 2014 Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 (edited) My only concern is that, irrelevant of the ability of the government to implement it, not paying your e-tolls is a criminal offense.If i was in south Africa i would be one of the people doing the right thing in my books and not paying the tolls, but when you plan to move to another country where a criminal offense might scupper your future, you pay the outstanding and make sure that you have a document stating it was paid in full.It is not worth the risk, no matter how small, to not pay and then pick up trouble later as the consequences could be quite significant, should you also theoretically fill in on your visa applications that yes there is a criminal matter outstanding in your name if you haven't paid...... because there is?To add though, wait as long as you can (While still giving enough time to get it sorted) before paying in case it is scrapped, but don't leave the country unless it is sorted would be my call.... Edited November 29, 2014 by Nev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhyss Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Hi PeopleWe are moving next year April to Aus:) Would you recommend that we pay our E-Toll bills before we leave? Just afraid we get into trouble later on..You might as well pay them as it will be good practice for when you move to Aus. Here we pay our toll fees so get used to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orphan Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Hi Nev,If payment of E-Tolls was indeed a legislated requirement (such as TV licenses), then I would agree with you. It would not be worth incurring a criminal record for non-payment, never mind the moral obligations of settling one's debts in full. However, non-payment of an E-Toll bill is a civil matter, not a criminal one.An E-Toll bill is no different to any other ordinary transactional debt, which must be collected by the creditor (in this case SANRAL), through the usual process of debt collection, i.e. notices, demands, summons, and finally, court action. The worst that can happen to a defaulter is that compensatory assets will be seized via the Sheriff of the Court, and his credit rating will be negatively affected.Having said this, the legitimacy of an E-Tolls bill, and consequences of non-payment, have yet to be tested in a court of law here. Despite millions of unpaid bills, SANRAL has never taken one defaulter to Court, because its position is constitutionally flawed, and its case is weak. In addition, there are at least three law firms who have offered their services pro bono to defend the first motorist sued by SANRAL for non-payment.The entire question of E-Tolls is unclear at the moment. It is for this reason I am advocating a wait-and-see position. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 We are missing each other, I hear you, i have also been reading the various news on the tolls, I just don't think the amount of drama you could end up with is worth the $$$ you might save by not paying before hopping on a plane to Auz.The justice guys believe that it is not a criminal matter however SANRAL says it is and has gone so far as to get 2 prosecutors ready, if they try to use them and the number of lifetimes that it would take for them to work their way through the millions of people who haven't paid is a separate issue. http://mg.co.za/article/2013-12-23-non-payment-of-e-tolls-criminal-says-sanralNothing has been tested in court yet, nobody knows if they will still make everyone pay the monies owed, anything is possible in a country where the president can spend 240 mil on his house and say he didn't know about it My feeling is just that you don't want things hanging over you when you moving to Auz, wait till you have to leave and settle to give yourself the peace of mind and remove the possibility of it affecting your future, cheap at the price. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedine8 Posted November 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Thank you so much for all the info. I think we'll wait a bit longer and eventually just pay it all in one go. Definitely want to start on a clean page, it's an honour to come to AusIt's a once in a life time opportunity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blung Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Hello Orphan, Do u have an example of this type of amnesty being granted on this scale? I can't think of one, hence why I remain sceptical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnyskies Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 You might as well pay them as it will be good practice for when you move to Aus. Here we pay our toll fees so get used to it And if you don't pay them you will feel the pain. I forgot to change my etoll tag when I got a new car, and I was hit a multiplicity of charges, even though I tried to get them to simply deduct the amount from my account. As I found out, being annoyed and ignoring CityLink is an expensive exercise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Ouch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orphan Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 Hi Blung,Re your question.There have been a number of large-scale amnesties over the years; but mainly from SARS. These have usually concerned tax evasion matters, such as the non-declaration of Income Tax and Forex transactions, but there have been others such as waiving transfer fees on the re-registration of Close Corporations. It really depends to what degree it suits the government's purpose.However, the practice of writing off uncollectible bad debt is fairly commonplace among businesses. If, (and I repeat) if the Gauteng E-Toll system is scrapped, I think there is a strong possibility that outstanding bills will be cancelled. For three reasons. Firstly, because an increase in the fuel levy will sort out the arrears problem very quickly; secondly because collection of unpaid bills after a decision to scrap the system will be hard to justify, legally or politically; and thirdly, because the cost of collection will likely exceed the amount recovered.As for the chances of the system being scrapped?This is now a political, rather than financial matter. If the Government presses ahead with E-Tolls, there is a good chance they will lose the Gauteng Province at the next national elections, if not the 2015 municipal elections as well. They cannot even risk this possibility; not only because it is the largest Province economically, but also because it will allow the opposition a chance of duplicating what is happening in the Western Cape. And two examples of what South Africa will be like under new management might just convince the voters! to switch allegiance.The only question remaining is whether Minister Peters and the Government is prepared to lose face by backing down on E-Tolls? We should know soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.