British family who repeatedly defrauded motorway tolls handed €3,000 bill
The family had been avoiding the toll for some six months by lifting the barrier
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A British family who avoided paying motorway tolls for several months has been stopped by gendarmes in Doubs in eastern France and reportedly required to settle a bill of €3,000.
The incident took place at the Saint-Maurice-Colombier toll plaza on the A36 motorway, south of Montbéliard.
The family had been lifting the toll barrier manually to avoid paying when passing through the toll booth. This practice had continued for around six months before the motorists were stopped by gendarmes.
The Connexion has contacted the Doubs gendarmerie, which confirmed that the incident did take place, however they did not confirm the reported €3,000 sum.
Three vehicles belonging to the family had been identified using number-plate recognition cameras at the toll plaza and the gendarmes had been alerted by motorway operator Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhône (APRR).
What happens if you do not pay a French motorway toll?
If you do not pay a motorway toll, the motorway operator can record the violation and send a payment notice.
The notice gives details including the date, time and location of the violation, the vehicle's registration number and category, and the total amount to be paid.
The amount payable includes the unpaid toll, inclusive of VAT, plus a fixed €90 compensation for the violation.
This means that repeated failures to pay can quickly add up. The amount eventually requested from a motorist may therefore be considerably higher than the value of the tolls originally avoided.
This means that the reported €3,000 does not necessarily represent unpaid tolls alone.
For drivers who have difficulty paying at a toll station, the safest option is to use the assistance system at the toll barrier or contact the motorway operator rather than attempting to pass without paying.
