Details of the regulation affecting millions of drivers: Conditional discount for illegal crossings

According to the amendment published in yesterday's issue of the Official Gazette, those who pass through toll roads without paying and miss the 15-day 'penalty-free payment' period will now face a penalty of only one times the toll instead of four times, provided they make the payment within 45 days. Previously, those who exceeded the 15-day period were subject to a penalty of four times the toll fee.

With the new amendment, a provision has been introduced for the aforementioned penalties to be applied regardless of whether they have been 'notified' or not. Responding to Hürriyet's questions on the subject, Consumer Confederation President Aydın Ağaoğlu said, "Reducing the penalty to a single fold is very correct, but in law, there can be no penalty without notification; notifications are made on state highways, but private ones do not."

Criticizing the lack of a balance indicator on HGS (Fast Pass System) tags, Ağaoğlu stated that in an era where technology has advanced so much, it is unacceptable for consumers to be unable to see their toll fees or remaining balances while passing through. Ağaoğlu said, "It is a fundamental principle of law that a debt cannot be accrued without being notified to the individual. However, companies have the phone numbers of all license plate owners. A notification is just one SMS away. If a consumer files a lawsuit with the consumer arbitration committee for a debt sent without prior notification, they will win," he said.

Ağaoğlu explained the key point for filing an objection when a penalty is sent due to a toll violation as follows:

“The key point is this: for the consumer, the 15-day penalty-free payment period begins upon notification. Therefore, the 15-day period legally starts from the date they become aware of it. For example, if a notice has been sent to them and enforcement proceedings have been initiated, the consumer should pay the actual toll fee and object to the rest. The consumer can pay the 1,000 lira toll fee and file an objection with the consumer arbitration committees regarding the remaining 4,000 lira penalty plus enforcement costs. Thousands of complaints are being filed because private companies send penalties without prior notification.”