Travelling to Italy by car? Be careful with toll payments!

Travelling to Italy by car? Be careful with toll payments!

Our neighbour Italy is a popular holiday destination in both winter and summer. Many Slovenians travel there in their own vehicles, which makes it difficult to avoid motorways.

Our centre has received several complaints from consumers who were sent a notification of alleged unpaid toll charges on Italian motorways from an Italian collection company, Nivi SpA, the debt supposedly having been incurred five years ago or even earlier.

Based on EU legislation (Directive No 520/2019), which simplified the acquisition of data about vehicle ownership, the company in question obtained addresses of the vehicle owners and delivered these notifications to their mailboxes by regular mail, which led some recipients to believe it was a scam.

The matter was checked with EPC Italy, which explained that the use of motorways was governed by a civil law relationship with a private company managing Italian motorways on the basis of a concession. Under Italian legislation, the statute of limitation for such claims is 10 years. In most cases, the allegedly controversial situation arose for various reasons of a technical nature, when the toll gate was raised despite toll charges not having been paid. Motorway users would receive a ticket with instructions on how to pay the uncharged toll in the following 15 days. Users probably didn’t notice the notification and discarded the ticket, but the claim remained. Nivi SpA is now sending these users demands for the payment of initial claims plus the additional costs incurred in the debt collection procedure.

Even though the procedure seems unusual, it was concluded based on the explanations received from EPC Italy that a demand for payment sent by Nivi SpA, if supported with appropriate evidence, is lawful and justified. Consumers who received the letter are advised to pay the costs. However, if they are certain that they were not in Italy on the date of the event and can prove that, they are advised to contact the sender immediately and challenge the matter, enclosing the appropriate evidence.

Due to repeated queries about toll payments, EPC Italy published a brochure providing a consumer-friendly description of how Italy’s motorway toll-payment system works. As the abovementioned technical issues can occur at any time, it is recommended that consumers always save proof of payment – particularly when paying in cash. And finally, a friendly warning – driving on Italian motorways is not free, even if the toll gate is lifted.

EPC Italy’s brochure is enclosed in the English language.

If you are not careful, travelling by car can lead to other unpleasant situations due to road traffic offences, illegal parking, driving in limited traffic zones (e.g. slow zones), etc. If Slovenian citizens find themselves in a dispute with a foreign national authority (e.g. the police or local authorities in another Member State), they can contact the Solvit network, which operates as part of the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport, for assistance and queries. Solvit can help solve Slovenian citizens’ problems pertaining to all areas of the Member States’ national authorities – including, in addition to the issues above, complications with cross-border health insurance, the recognition of diplomas, family transfer claims, VAT refunds, etc. For more information about Solvit’s activities, please visit https://ec.europa.eu/solvit/index_sl.html.

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