[BigBrad]

Originally Posted by Sarkar_ask

Sharing this incident of my colleague here which I believe will be helpful to many.

Well, if you have a valid tag with enough balance, the toll operator HAS to deduct money from the tag only and should not demand any other mode of payment. If the system is unable to detect a valid tag, the vehicle is allowed to pass free.

See this (FASTag: All you need to know about procuring & using it!) post.

[Sarkar_ask]

You are right BigBrad, but there are many people who don’t know this thing, same with my colleague. He could have argued and easily went away without paying the toll in cash since he was having a perfectly running fastag account with enough balance, but since he wasn’t aware about the rules hence he ended up paying the fee in cash. Also he missed to check his toll receipt before leaving the counter due to which later he couldn’t claim the FASTag amount which was deducted from his account. Unfortunately he learnt it the hard way!

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by SideView

When toll is crossed and if deduction happens and the message doesnt come up instantly what is the point really?



1 new thing to help turns into 10 ways to scam common folks.

There is no way you can get an SMS instantly, at least with today's mobile network technology. So that is not really a fault in the fastag implementation.


And coming to the scamming part, who needs to be blamed? The govt Or the Indian mentality of trying to find loopholes and game anything and everything?

[Vysakh]

Originally Posted by gkveda

I dont think this is a possible scenario unless they hold the fast tag on the windshield of the bus. IF they have kept the tag in their bag or purse, system is not going to scan the bag and deduct money.

It's RFID technology. There is no need of a line of sight for the tag to get scanned. As long as the tag is in the range of the scanner not covered in something that blocks RFID signals, it will get scanned.

[SideView]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

There is no way you can get an SMS instantly, at least with today's mobile network technology. So that is not really a fault in the fastag implementation.

Surely there are better ways to implement and enforce violaters, which reduces the possibility of scamming.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elec...oll_collection

[binand]

Originally Posted by SideView

When toll is crossed and if deduction happens and the message doesnt come up instantly what is the point really? Easy to cheat anyone, since there is no proof of deduction.

This is because as per Fastag system architecture, deduction happens in a batched mode at certain specific intervals (15 minutes is the upper limit in the architecture for batching without risk for the toll operator). Basically the toll operator sends all tags they have seen in a 15-minute interval to NPCI for processing in one go.

That is, instead of making real-time deductions from tag owners' accounts (which would mean unnecessary delays at the toll booth if/when connectivity or any tag issuer's systems are slow) the system allows deductions to happen at a later time.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by SideView

When toll is crossed and if deduction happens and the message doesnt come up instantly what is the point really? Easy to cheat anyone, since there is no proof of deduction.

We need to get over the hangover of paper based "proof" for everything, after all this is digital toll collection/payment
The onus on proving one hasn't paid the toll will lie with the toll operator in this case. Even if one doesn't receive the SMS it should be fine (mobile network can go down too), the system in place at the toll let the vehicle pass, so it can be assumed they charged the toll in some fashion (excluding extreme cases/exceptions).
Eventually, the tag account will get updated in a few minutes to reflect the transaction.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

PayTM will be more expensive.

https://inc42.com/buzz/paytm-adds-tr...igital-wallet/

[Aditya_Bhp]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

PayTM will be more expensive.

Its only for credit cards, that too for monthly wallet additions over 10k. Adding money through all other means will remain free. This is to prevent people from minting points by adding money into wallet using the credit cards. Already HDFC had stopped giving points for wallet additions long back in 2018.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by binand

That is, instead of making real-time deductions from tag owners' accounts (which would mean unnecessary delays at the toll booth if/when connectivity or any tag issuer's systems are slow) the system allows deductions to happen at a later time.

How does the balance validation happen in that case? Is the balance stored in the tag itself?

[rajesh1868]

Originally Posted by Sarkar_ask

Sharing this incident of my colleague here which I believe will be helpful to many.
So, my colleague yesterday shared one incident with me which I think is worth sharing here. My colleague was going to Shirdi from pune on last Tuesday. At toll booth he was asked for cash. He showed that he has Fastag, but the guy at the toll counter said it’s not working and so my colleague paid the toll in cash only. After two hours he received sms confirming that money was deducted from his FASTag account. So like everyone else he contacted the ICICI FASTag customer care for refund and at that time only he noticed that in the toll receipt the car number mentioned was not no where close to his car number and hence no refund was made to him. Now the point is it is not a mistake, rather cheating, these toll counter guys are cheating. If it was a mistake then he could have missed a single digit from the number plate or two, but the entire number was different and nowhere close to the original number, also as the FASTag money deduction messages don’t come at the time of transaction (like otp based transactions) so some of these guys are taking advantage of it maybe. So it will be great if we can check the toll receipt before leaving the counter (in case paid cash) to avoid such cases.

I suggest that your friend should file a complaint in https://pgportal.gov.in/ .
He needs to upload the toll receipts and the fastag statement and explain the issue.
Most importantly ask them to check the cc tv camera footage. They will do it.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Jaguar

How does the balance validation happen in that case? Is the balance stored in the tag itself?

There is no balance validation at the time you cross the toll booth - only an active/blacklist check. It is up to the tag issuer to ensure that either you have sufficient balance to clear a given toll booth or you are flagged as one with a blacklisted tag before entering the booth.

[achagamreddy]

I purchased the Fastag in PAYTM recently. Ordered it through PAYTM App. All information it required was Vehicle Type (Car/Jeep/Van Class 4), Vehicle Permanent Registration Number, my name and address. No documents were submitted in this process. I had to pay Rs.500/- for this. Note that Fastag delivery is free.

Within 5 days the Fastag is delivered to my home. It says:
1. Fastag charges: 100/-
2. Security deposit: 250/-
3. Threshold amount: 150/-

As per instructions given by PAYTM in their portal, the Fastag once received has to be activated by uploading vehicle RC copy. However, I see it as active even though I did not upload any copy. Fastag is by default linked to PAYTM wallet and it is said that amount will be deducted from my PAYTM wallet directly when used.

I am yet to use the Fastag as I did not drive through any toll plaza after I pursued it.

[binand]

On 24/11/2019 I had gone to Bangalore airport to drop my mother who was catching a flight out. During this trip I was charged the full one-way fare of Rs. 90 twice at Devanahalli toll plaza even though I returned from the airport within 45 minutes of going there.

I raised a ticket with Paytm (their app/website makes it a terrible experience, raising these tickets), which they closed on 29/11 with no clue as to what the resolution was. I waited for a few days for the refund, but when I realised it was not forthcoming I raised a second ticket on PG Portal on 8/12. The Paytm team immediately sprang to action, refunding the excess deduction of Rs. 45 on 11/12 and sending me this email:

We have raised your issue to the respective plaza against transaction id 00393779214 for an amount of Rs 45/-. We are working closely with them, however, please note that as defined by the FASTag regulatory body, toll plaza may take upto 15 calendar days to share an update on the dispute basis the outcome of their internal investigation.

(I removed some boilerplate drivel about they being 24x7 available to help me etc.).

Since I got my money back I didn't think of this anymore; but today I got an email from NHAI with a PDF attachment, included here. I have redacted some personal information (contact details, car number etc.).

What I understand from the attached document is that ICICI Bank configured the Devanahalli Fastag lanes all in one direction (instead of marking some as "towards Hyderabad" and some as "towards Bangalore" resulting in mass-double deductions, which they have fixed as of 16/12/2019.

[deadguy25]

Hi team,

There used to be some kind of cashback from Fastag, earlier. Is that still there? I am not seeing such messages for quiet sometime.

thanks.