FASTag: All you need to know about procuring & using it!

[Aiel]

Originally Posted by binand

Given all the horror stories about the Axis Bank Fastag that have been reported here, I think all future applicants should stick to ICICI Bank.

Has IDFC Bank started issuing the tags?

Axis Bank is best avoided.

IDFC bank has also started issuing tags. I recall some posts that they are available at the Electronic City office.

[R2D2]

Four months after I submitted an application there was no progress. On the way back from my holiday I stopped over at the Khed-Shivapur plaza on NH4. To my not-so-pleasant surprise the application lay in a drawer by the staff desk. When I enquired why it had not moved I was told that it would be processed ASAP and I'd get a call in a few days.

Frankly, I feel the hassles of getting a tag are just not worth it.

[smnrock]

Originally Posted by Altocumulus

Also mine is a new car. No RC yet. What to do ?

I've used RC extract copy from karnataka mobile one website for getting icici fastag.

[Altocumulus]

Originally Posted by smnrock

I've used RC extract copy from karnataka mobile one website for getting icici fastag.

That's a great idea. Let me check if it's available for my car.

[SunnyBoi]

U'm having a harrowing time with IDFC Fastag. I got my fastag in Jan end and used it for the first time on 24th March. It worked, albeit slowly on the first tollgate, it was hand scanned on the second and let through and on the third gate it says my tag is blacklisted!

I have 575rs balance, I have made numerous calls to their customer center who have no clue why my tag has been blacklisted and till date it has not been fixed.

I am seriously contemplating losing the 200rs deposit but still closing the horrible account and get a tag with ICICI.

Avoid IDFC tag at all costs.

[audioholic]

My Celerio finally got Fastagged today after a long drive. Left office to my native today and planned to get Fastag at devanhalli. However I had to pass through Hoskote Toll plaza and wanted to give it a try since it would cut down my journey by 80kms. The person in charge of the smart card counter told that they are no longer issuing Fastag and the ICICI guy is no longer there.

As per the original plan, went to Devanhalli through the Bagalur route and had a blast driving through the twisty roads which were mostly empty. Reached the Devanahalli toll booth and thanks to Parag Sachania for providing me the contact details of the guy there. He did all the paperwork, activated my account and he stuck the tag himself.

After a pretty longish drive of 110kms I reached my native and will test the tag tomorrow morning on the way to work. I was able to recharge the tag through online login too.

[nagarjun]

Has anyone got a tag for a car which is company leased? The RC has the name of my company as the owner.

[mjumrani]

Originally Posted by nagarjun

Has anyone got a tag for a car which is company leased? The RC has the name of my company as the owner.

Not leased car but all my cars are in company name. I got a letter prepared authorizing me to purchase or recharge the Fastags for the cars. The paper work is slight different than what it is for personal car.

1) List of directors and address from Ministry of Corporate Affairs

2) Letter Authorizing you to purchase the fastag on company letter head with signature of at least 2 directors, in the same letter get the car license plate and VIN number mentioned.

3) Copy of PAN card , address proof of company with seal and authorised signature.

4) Registration certificate, MOA and AA again with seal and authorised signature on first and last page.

Paper work is a little too much for a small piece of RFID tag but that's how it is.

[hrman]

Originally Posted by RedOne

Same case with me. Took all documents 2 weeks back and Umesh delivered the Fastag sticker home after taking Rs 1000. But it is still not activated after 10 days in spite of multiple follow ups. Don't even have an alternate number or application/reference number to make a complaint.

Gears,
Red-One.

Were you able to get the Tag?
I have a different problem. I paid Rs.1500(Big mistake) to Umesh from Axisbank sahaj by Cash and submitted all the documents on 21st Feb. I got the messages a few days later that the account has been created bla bla. But when I login to the website, it says no balance.

I have been continously following up with Umesh for the past one month.I asked him to return my money and I will recharge it online. Still he keeps saying it will get done today/ tomorrow, let me check on the website portal etc etc.
Meanwhile my fastag shows as blacklisted and KYC not completed.

Extremely poor experience with Axis Bank and fastag. Please avoid at all costs.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by hrman

Extremely poor experience with Axis Bank and fastag. Please avoid at all costs.

The small time agents tend to wait till they have collected a batch of such tag applications, before they send the whole batch in to axis bank. So there's sometimes a delay of several days before your tag goes active, unless you chase after the agent.

Don't pay the agent more than the usual 550 so you end up with a Rs.100 balance on your tag.

[hrman]

Originally Posted by hserus

The small time agents tend to wait till they have collected a batch of such tag applications, before they send the whole batch in to axis bank. So there's sometimes a delay of several days before your tag goes active, unless you chase after the agent.

Don't pay the agent more than the usual 550 so you end up with a Rs.100 balance on your tag.

Agree. But this wisdom has dawned on me very late. He already has the money and is taking his own time to sort out the issue. Will need to be more careful in the future

[hserus]

Originally Posted by hrman

Agree. But this wisdom has dawned on me very late. He already has the money and is taking his own time to sort out the issue. Will need to be more careful in the future

For now while your tag is zero balance pay cash at a POS located at one of the tollgates, in order to get your card active and out of blacklist status (it takes about 20 minutes).

Then complain to Axis that this agent is holding on to your cash. Let them sort it out with him.

[Secretariat]

I went on a 6000 kms road trip to Madhya Pradesh in March and am summarising my experience with Fastag.

I paid a total of Rs 2600 in tolls. Of this, I could only pay Rs 1400 using Fastag. The rest were toll booths which did not accept Fastag (State Highways, Other toll roads , Hyderabad ORR, etc). There were also a few toll booths on National Highways ; Chennai-Nagpur, Indore - Aurangabad, etc which did not accept Fastags.

About half the toll booths where Fastag was accepted had a dedicated lane where other vehicles were not allowed. This included a barrier and a guy manning it. But most of the time he had gone away for chai and repeated honking had to be resorted to, to bring him back. Others had a notified Fastag lane, but were allowing all vehicles to enter. Overall I really did not save much time anywhere.

Clearly trucks are the largest users of Fastag. I rarely found another car using it.

On three occasions, I was stuck between trucks with the lane jammed because the first truck did not have sufficient balance in his account. This resulted in an elaborate argument between the driver and the toll attendants and I lost 15 mts each time staring at the delectable backside of a rust bucket while all other toll lanes were empty.

Finding the Fastag lane was not always easy as they are all over the place. In general as you go from the South to the North, it appears the Fastag lane moves from the right of the road to the left of the road. In 5 instances, there was simply no Fastag lane marked at all, but at the booth, I was able to get them to bring a portable scanner. In 2 cases there was a Fastag lane identified, but they had not yet implemented Fastag (no overhead or hand held scanner) !

On balance my feel is that the effort to get a Fastag is simply not worth it (the 762 posts on this thread bear witness to it) unless you are a frequent traveller on a National Highway where Fastag has been implemented all through. It must surely be one of the worst implementation of any system anywhere. Keeping track of Umesh/Srinath/Prabhu, et all, their general wellbeing, their ever changing phone numbers, checking whether the ICICI server is working or slow or fast, whether stock of cards have arrived at Devanahalli, and all the contortions we have to go through to get a Tag is simply not worth it.

If, and when, they implement it at most toll plazas, bring an easy way to get a Tag, and fine trucks who try to cross without sufficient balance, then maybe, just maybe, it might be worthwhile to get it.

I however had one "pleasant" experience of a Porsche Cayenne which gunned past me on the road, but then got stuck in a toll booth, while I breezed past him in the Fastag lane. For just that sheer look on his face while I grinned at him, the Fastag was worth it !

[audioholic]

The very next day I got Fastag, I tested it in the Hoskote Toll booth. It worked except that I was charged at night. Initially I got a message saying 0.0 was deducted after I passed through the booth, but at night they deducted the correct amount. However, my vehicle number was not displayed at the gate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j83tVU-4668

If anyone wants immediate activation of the tag, then I guess Devanahalli toll booth is the best option since the guy there immediately enters all the details in the portal and activates it. However, I have not been charged for passing through the devanhalli toll booth though they scanned the tag with a handheld scanner. I am not sure when they will do it.

[ajayclicks]

Will be driving to Kodai, from Bangalore on 14th April- did not realize it's an extended weekend.

I have ICICI fastag with Rs.240 in balance. Would this be sufficient for the tolls, or should I top up. Any suggestions? Also any tips for specific toll plazas where the lane may not be marked properly or any other issue faced?

Regards,
Ajay