[ijeet]

Hi All,

I am going through a very harrowing issue with Fastag. Last month I transferred my car from Chandigarh to Haryana. Everything went smoothly and I was allocated a new HR number. I tried to purchase new FASTAG for new number but was given an error that FASTAG for this number is blacklisted. I did a bit or research and found out that a FASTAG was issued on this number from SBI. I contacted through call centre and as per them they can’t do anything and RTO is telling that issue is from SBI side. I found out the phone number whom this tag was issued to and that guy has no clue about it and he never owned a vehicle with same number.

Not sure what to do now, any advice

-Ijeet

[swapzero]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Just get a HDFC FASTag from any PoS and activate it. Then deactivate and cancel your IDBI one. I did that when I seamlessly moved from HDFC to ICICI.

Can we get a new fasttag before closing the existing one?
I have a dealer provided IDBI fasttag, but wish to get one from Saraswat Bank.
I was under the impression that the IDBI one has to be cancelled, before I apply from Saraswat bank?

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by swapzero

Can we get a new fasttag before closing the existing one?

I did just what I mentioned above. Cancelled the original tag after I activated the new one. But best to check with a few of the FASTag sellers first.

[m8002?]

Folks, what the deal with the 5 year validity of Fastag? Mine will complete 5 years this May. Does the tag become inactive then?
What happens to the balance in the account? Can I take a new one now for the same car?

[abhipuri]

Originally Posted by swapzero

Can we get a new fasttag before closing the existing one?

Yes you can. Only condition is the bank issuing new fast tag has to be different from the existing one. As already suggested, blocking/removal can be done for the old card once the new one is activated.

[Sran]

Originally Posted by ijeet

Hi All,

I am going through a very harrowing issue with Fastag. Last month I transferred my car from Chandigarh to Haryana. Everything went smoothly and I was allocated a new HR number. I tried to purchase new FASTAG for new number but was given an error that FASTAG for this number is blacklisted. I did a bit or research and found out that a FASTAG was issued on this number from SBI. I contacted through call centre and as per them they can’t do anything and RTO is telling that issue is from SBI side. I found out the phone number whom this tag was issued to and that guy has no clue about it and he never owned a vehicle with same number.

Not sure what to do now, any advice

-Ijeet

Any update regarding the ordeal? It is a very tough situation to be in. Did you try getting fastag from others instead of SBI or everyone has blocked it?

What is the reason behind the blacklisting, unpaid dues? Ask if the payment can be done by you. Call the NHAI 1033 helpline for assistance. Probably get a fastag from some dubious companies like airtel or small NBFC's like equitas. Write to SBI ombudsman. Afaik a used vehicle number is void and is never re-issued. How did RTO gave a used number is surprising. Go to RTO and ask if your current number is a used one, if not request for it in writing so that it maybe presented to the fastag company.

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by m8002?

Folks, what the deal with the 5 year validity of Fastag? Mine will complete 5 years this May. Does the tag become inactive then?
What happens to the balance in the account? Can I take a new one now for the same car?

My ICICI Fastag shows its valid till 2042. Does that mean I dont have to discard it after 5 years? I would have loved to have an option at the ICICI website to just get a new one instead of going through the whole KYC route.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by m8002?

Folks, what the deal with the 5 year validity of Fastag? Mine will complete 5 years this May. Does the tag become inactive then?
What happens to the balance in the account? Can I take a new one now for the same car?

The fastag issuer will send you a new pre activated tag. The new one will be valid for 20 years.

[smasher]

Originally Posted by Sran

Any update regarding the ordeal? It is a very tough situation to be in. Did you try getting fastag from others instead of SBI or everyone has blocked it? What is the reason behind the blacklisting, unpaid dues? Ask if the payment can be done by you. Call the NHAI 1033 helpline for assistance

I am on the same boat.

Recently purchased a used car. Previous owner had a fastag with ICICI. He just removed the tag from windshield.

Now, when I apply for fastag, it shows my car number is blacklisted. The reason-one vehicle can have only one fast (Controlled by NPCI). Hence trying with a different service provider is not an option.

Unless the previous owner cancels his fastag, I have to live with no fastag. To make it even worse, my apartment has auto barriers with RF ID scanners linked with fastag Car is practically lying at garage because of the hassles for entry and exit.

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by AutoNoob

Yesterday, I counted upto 6 lanes for FASTag, up from 2 earlier. Many lanes don't allow FASTag yet (around 7~8), still it's positive step and going to reduce congestion in FASTag lanes.

I hope that operator is instructed to convert all lanes similar to NHAI toll roads.

Finally sense prevails. All lanes on Yamuna Expressway tolls to accept FASTag. The news is from last week [15-Feb-2022].

Even then, some ramps to/from minor state highways (eg. Bulandshehar) are kept on cash only. Operator trying to steal away whatever they can.

[mygodbole]

Originally Posted by smasher

I am on the same boat.

Recently purchased a used car. Previous owner had a fastag with ICICI. He just removed the tag from windshield.

Now, when I apply for fastag, it shows my car number is blacklisted. The reason-one vehicle can have only one fast (Controlled by NPCI). Hence trying with a different service provider is not an option.

Unless the previous owner cancels his fastag, I have to live with no fastag. To make it even worse, my apartment has auto barriers with RF ID scanners linked with fastag Car is practically lying at garage because of the hassles for entry and exit.

Friend, the problem is that the bank, in this case ICICI, needs a letter from original owner that 'they wish to cancel' the fastag. I purchased a used car from a used car dealer so I have experienced it. Bank needs a letter from original fastag owner (original car owner) that they wish to 'cancel' their fastag as they have sold it to someone. Then, the bank will take its own sweet time to cancel vehicle number + fastag number. This, in my case took almost two months, a lot of heartburn, a lot of shouting (on the phone) with the pre-owned car service.
Hope this description helps. All the best, but is all this worth taking pills for high BP?
See you on the road.

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by smasher

I am on the same boat.

Recently purchased a used car. Previous owner had a fastag with ICICI. He just removed the tag from windshield.

Now, when I apply for fastag, it shows my car number is blacklisted. The reason-one vehicle can have only one fast (Controlled by NPCI). Hence trying with a different service provider is not an option.

Unless the previous owner cancels his fastag, I have to live with no fastag. To make it even worse, my apartment has auto barriers with RF ID scanners linked with fastag Car is practically lying at garage because of the hassles for entry and exit.

I had the same problem and there are 2 solutions that worked:
1. Just go to a toll booth and right after the tool booth there are these agents sitting.. get it from them and somehow they seem to bypass the normal checks that app based applications go through. This worked for me with a Paytm tag.

2. Before I did the above, i called Paytm and raised a support ticket to cancel the earlier fasttag by providing RC details showing that you bought the car. This process took a few days, but this is the correct process and does not necessarily mean that the original owner needs to be involved. Paytm was fairly good in doing all the necessary things for the same.

[varkey]

Had an embarrassing situation yesterday while travelling from Bangalore to Kochi. I use a Paytm fastag and I also have a Paytm postpaid account with a 5 digit limit. So by default a Paytm fastag is linked to the corresponding wallet and you don't need to maintain a fastag specific balance. In addition to this if you have a Paytm postpaid account, you do have the option to let Paytm debit the postpaid account for automatic payments depending on your preference ie a) Use Paytm Postpaid as the preferred option for all automatic payments b) Use Paytm Postpaid only when wallet balance is low c) Do not use Paytm Postpaid for automatic payments at all.

I had it set to option "b" and was working well for many weeks, I mostly had < Rs 50 in the main wallet itself, and like clockwork, for toll payments, the amount gets debited from Paytm Postpaid and gets credited to the wallet from which it will be used for the toll payment. I made a Kochi --> Bangalore trip and a Bangalore --> Anantapur and back in the same setup, didn't face any issue.
Now, yesterday I started from home, had no issues at the first few tolls, things worked just as before. When we stopped for breakfast, I had verified the Paytm app, all was good.

Then when we reached the Vaigundham toll plaza, the barrier didn't open and it was shown as "Blacklisted". I was shocked, cause I had sufficient limit in the Paytm Postpaid account, there is no way that I have used up the entire limit. Opened the Paytm app (while still at the toll gate, after asking the operator to scan the fastag manually) and I noticed that the app showed the security balance was used for the last toll at Omalur, Salem. Even then it showed Rs 215 as balance and I showed it to the operator, and she is asking when did I last recharge etc (at that point, explaining about Paytm Postpaid etc is out of scope). I anyway stood my ground initially armed with the information that if its the toll operator's fault then I don't need to pay the toll , so the lady escalated and called the her lead or somebody, and I explained the situation and showed the app as well. After going back and forth a bit, I noticed that the Paytm app does show that the security amount was used and it is below the threshold so the tag will not work. With cars behind me honking and queue starting to build up, I was like what should I do now, and he said you can pay cash and ended up paying Rs 130 (2 x the regular toll of Rs 65).



Drove a bit, parked on the service road to check what actually went wrong, but couldn't find anything other than a possible Paytm bug or glitch which prevented the amount from being debited from Paytm Postpaid, my wallet balance was 0 but it should have debited the amount from Postpaid like it always did the last 15+ toll debits. Anyway to be on the safe side, I changed my Paytm Postpaid preference to option A ie prefer Paytm Postpaid and also added some balance to the wallet. Right after adding the wallet balance, the fastag security deficit amount was debited from the wallet and tag status was updated to active/green. Subsequent toll transactions were eventless and it debited the amount from Payment Postpaid as configured (ie even with balance in the wallet).



Maybe I will open a ticket with Paytm to atleast inform them of this glitch, hope they address it. Or they may not even care about this 1 in a million glitch.

[searacer932]

Originally Posted by varkey

Maybe I will open a ticket with Paytm to atleast inform them of this glitch, hope they address it. Or they may not even care about this 1 in a million glitch.

I know Fastag Paytm account will block INR 250 against the security balance. So, the actual deduction will happen from the Wallet or from the Post-paid account in your case and if there is no money in the wallet or in the post-paid account then shouldn't the money from the security balance be utilised for toll deduction.

I thought that was the whole purpose of security balance.

Did you not try re-charging the Wallet itself while waiting at the toll? :-).

[varkey]

Originally Posted by searacer932

I thought that was the whole purpose of security balance.

Yes, the Fastag security balance did work as intended (in my case its Rs 150). However, Paytm also has this refundable security deposit of Rs 250, I am really not sure when that get used other than it being refundable if I cancel the account. I had got this tag back in late 2018 or early 2019, now if you get it from the roadside kiosks, I think this second Rs 250 security deposit is not charged. YMMV.



So when the "glitch" actually happened where it couldn't debit from Paytm Wallet or Postpaid, the amount was indeed deducted from the security balance, that is why my tag went into the blacklist/de-activated mode cause the balance was below the threshold of Rs 150. Then as soon as I added some money to my Paytm wallet it debited the security deposit deficit right away from the wallet and made Fastag active again.



The above shows the difference when it debits from the fastag balance (security or otherwise) and wallet balance. The Rs 85 debit was when it used the security balance. (Note the balance shows Rs 215 in my case, cause I have two fastags linked to my account (Rs 150 x 2 - Rs 85 = Rs 215), I think Paytm clubs the balance only for displaying in the UI which is misleading to be honest.)

Originally Posted by searacer932

Did you not try re-charging the Wallet itself while waiting at the toll? :-).

Nope! By the time I accepted defeat and realised that its some issue on my end or the fastag provider (Paytm), a few minutes had passed and the cars behind were honking. Didn't want to test their patience further, although the toll operators were already in the process of trying to get the cars behind to reverse and switch to another lane. But yeah in retrospect, could have added some money by UPI in a couple of seconds and asked them to try again.