Received this SMS :
Alert: HDFC Bank FASTag portal will not be available on 09th April,2019 between 12:00 AM to 02:00 AM IST due to system upgrade.
Regret the inconvenience caused.

I have started using HDFC FASTag since 3 months, but have seen a weird issue. Everytime I cross a toll booth, it deducts return fare from my account and if I come back within 24 hours, then it would again deduct half of the fare that was deducted earlier. which means if I have to pay Rs 100 for my return journey, I end up paying Rs 150 and also if iam travelling only one side within 24 hours, iam paying Rs 100 which is actually for return journey. This happened multiple times for me on the Hyderabad ORR but I ignored it due to the small amount I pay, but yesterday I travelled to Vijayawada and had to pay way more than what I ideally should pay as toll.


I tried speaking to the people at toll booths on ORR and they asked me to reach out to HDFC FASTag for this. I raised a complaint on the HDFC portal more than 20 days ago but no response received till date. Then I called up the helpline number and they gave some vague responses and suggested me to send an email to fastag.hdfcbank@insolutionsglobal.com, which I have done this morning. Can somone help me reach the right forum to get this issue resolved?

Just got a sms from ICICI regarding revision of cash back on fastag transaction at toll booth. It seems its 2.5% now onwards, down from earlier 5%.

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Looks like they are reducing it slowly and will withdraw it finally.

In months to come, I will expect them to completely remove the cashback and introduce "user fee" because it is hitting their revenues for the simple reason that their aim to automate and reduce workforce ironically resulted in increase in expenditure to have 2 more guards man the FASTag lanes all the times .

A classic example of super bad implementation called FASTag!!

Fastag suffers from lack of intent.

NHAI on its part complicated the entire process (limited counters to get tag, dedicated lanes at different sides in each toll booth, positioning of boom barriers at same position for dedicated lane like in case of cash lanes causing those without tags or invalid tag to get stuck in the lane causing others to suffer, mandatory tags for new vehicle causing those with no balance to delay the process)

While the toll booth operators on their part just want the whole initiative to be a failure for reasons known to all.

. I have seen 4 guys last time. 1 guy was guarding the entrance, another dude just after the entrance asking to maintain enough distance from the car in front, another dude with a manual scanner and to check if the tag was read at the exit and of course another dude to keep him company .

Thrissur FASTag is mostly under repairs (Dec'18 and March'19) so a solid amount goes down the drain there.

Had to go to Chalakudy today, the one dedicated FASTag lane was running and it was being strictly guarded too. There was a big board at the entrance of the lane that said - " Penalty of double toll fees to be paid for entering into the lane without a tag ".

AT E-city flyover (from Hosur road side), anyone can enter the Fastag lane and buy a ticket. One does not need to have Fastag\multi-entry ticket.
So by default, there will be a guy at the entrance and two near the reader (to either scan the multi-entry ticket or provide a ticket).

Just got the following sms from paytm: As per the recent directive, starting 1 April'19 toll fares will be increased by 10%. Please maintain sufficient Paytm Wallet balance to continue using FASTag.

Received this broadcast message from PayTM today. , failed to understand the purpose of paying road tax and why no toll fare for 2 wheelers?

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Although I didn't receive any sms from PayTM, it's true that they have hiked the rates as I passed through a toll yesterday (from Rs.30 to Rs.35 for a single trip and Rs.45 to Rs.55 for return trip).

So, does that mean it's a double whammy, reduced cash back + increased toll tax? Don't think I've got a msg about reduced cash back from paytm yet

Yup, cashback was supposed to be reduced yearly. It was just to incentivise people to buy Fastag. It was 10% in FY 2016-17, then 7.5% in 2017-18 and 5% in 2018-19 now 2.5% in 2019-20.

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Got both the messages from Paytm.
The cashback was a nice way to get back the extra petrol cost wasted waiting at the toll booths.
Anyway, hope the infrastructure keeps improving. There's still a long way to go before we can call fastag a seamless experience. The general toll infrastructure is not enough to cater to the needs of a lot of highways.