'Euro Parking Collection is chasing me for unpaid toll charges'

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A debt collection letter from Euro Parking Collection (EPC) plc came out of the blue for Robert Hellen. 

It claimed he hadn’t paid tolls when he hired a car in Portugal more than a year ago. 

EPC debt collection letter

The toll charge was £9.12, but EPC applied two different admin fees, one of £16.12 and another of £57.36, bringing the total to £82.60.

Sure that he’d paid at the time, Robert checked his credit card statements but found no toll fees had been charged. 

He contacted the car rental company, Zest Car Rental, which spoke to Via Livre, the toll company. Via Livre said it had tried twice to recover the tolls, but each transaction was declined. 

Zest Car Rental explained to Robert that Via Livre was facing a significant backlog. 

The delay meant that by the time it tried to collect the charges, Robert’s credit card had expired. 

Zest Car Rental told Which? that other customers had also been affected by this delay. It told us that many toll collections on motorways in Portugal are electronic; some drivers don’t realise, and toll companies are very slow at collecting payments. 

By the time the toll companies notify the car rental company to collect the fee, the bank could flag the transaction as suspicious and stop it. Toll companies then pass the debt on to debt collectors, such as EPC.

Settling the debt

Robert paid only the toll fee, without the additional charges, directly to EPC’s bank account to avoid additional admin charges. Others have settled the debt by paying the toll company directly. 

We contacted EPC and Via Livre. EPC told us: ‘All cases forwarded to EPC by European issuing authorities are processed on their behalf in compliance with applicable laws. 

‘All road users, regardless of their country of origin, are obligated to adhere to local laws, traffic rules and regulations when travelling within another jurisdiction, including the payment of tolls and fines.

‘An appeals process is available for drivers who wish to challenge the veracity of incurred tolls and fines, and contact information is provided on all issued notifications.’ 

We didn’t hear back from Via Livre.

• Find out more: free debt advice contacts
  

What to do when you receive a debt collection letter

You shouldn’t ignore a debt collection letter. If you don’t think you’re liable or the charge isn’t accurate, contact the debt collector and dispute the debt. 

You will need to provide as much evidence as you can to explain why you don't think you should pay. 

There’s a six-year time limit for most debt to be collected, and this starts from the last time you made a payment or wrote to the company. 

You may not be liable for the debt if there were issues when you signed the agreement, such as being pressured or if the company didn’t check whether you could afford repayments.

If you’re unable to settle a debt, you may be eligible for a debt relief order (DRO).

The National Debtline (0808 808 4000) can provide more information on DROs, as well as free debt advice.

Get in touch. If you've got a consumer rights problem you need put right, email us at yourstory@which.co.uk

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