M4 Wales toll what happens if you have no money

[Dom Tuk]

I was told by a colleague who is well informed in such matters that if you drive up to the M4 toll at Wales and find that you have left the cash at home, then you are turned back. Apparently a white van escorts you back to the other side of the motorway and you have to go back to England. They do not accept cards and you cant phone a card/bank/friend to pay for you. Is this true and acceptable.

[jno]

well obviously they don't want you bogus asylum seekers trying to sneak into the country without visible means of support Dom Tuk!

[Dom Tuk]

How did you know my claim for asylum was bogus. It is protected data. but then i did look at the presidents daughters photograph in a non biblical sense in the back of the shed.

[jno]

All asylum seekers are bogus DT, don't you read the Express or the Mail?

[Dom Tuk]

thanks jno now i will never get an answer to my question.

[jno]

well, if you accept the principle that some roads/bridges/tunnels should have tolls, then I don't see why anyone should be allowed to cross without paying. Trouble is, the toll is actually so low it's not worth anyone's while to make phone calls or use credit cards (which take a commission on their use) to pay them. Why not drive back to Bristol (there may be somewhere closer) and get some money from a bank? Why not check before you start out that you've got the money you need? After all, that's a general rule, it doesn't just apply to the M4.

[Octavius]

According to the website:

Payment can be made by either Cash or Cheque with a valid cheque guarantee card only. We do not accept credit or debit cards.

Furthermore, the Severn Bridges Act 1992 covers this eventuality well enough to conclude that not paying by the designated methods (by the Secretary of State) is a criminal offence so you are just as well to be towed off by a white van man. In any event I am sure there is plenty of warning along the way.

[funnywebsite]

It is best to always carry some cash with you for emergencies.

[brachiopod]

It is untrue. I have done this myself a few years ago.
I had no cash, and my chequebook was buried under a Renault-5-boot-with-the-seats-folded-down's worth of boxes and various carp.
With no other means to pay - they gave me some sort of receipt asked me to make payment by cheque.
If you fail to do this you get a reminder, (as they have your registration number and therefore the car's registered address). I understand that if you fail to pay at this point, it is treated like an unpaid parking ticket, with various escalations in the steps taken to recover the debt (and the costs incurred).

I was certainly not turned, towed or escorted back.

Mind you, this was the procedure for Welsh drivers.
I believe that English drivers that attempt to cross into Wales without the means to pay have their cars dragged over the side and into the Severn Estuary.
(If you look carefully just after the toll barriers, you will notice that there is a removable section of the parapet fencing, and a winch and tow-rope arrangement where this procedure is carried out)

[Octavius]

As I understand it, you only pay when going into Wales, so they were probably only too glad to let you go back!

[NORMANTHEDOG]

surely you all must know the best thing to come out of wales is the M4

[simsfreq]

Octavius, this is true
LMAO

We usually drive around on the way in and over on the way back!

[brachiopod]

It's true, Octavius, you have to pay to get into Wales.

England on the other hand, lets any b�gger in for free....

;o)

simsfreq, so you drive all the way up to Gloucester and back down through Chepstow just to avoid paying the �5 toll? How much does that cost in petrol? !!

[Narolines]

Brachiopod, you had a Renault full of various carp? Sounds a bit fishy to me........

[Dom Tuk]

Brachiopod, in my quest to find the correct answer i approached a toll operator yesterday and was told that they will not accept anything other than cash or cheque and no such thing as a receipt for welsh drivers exist (as they say anyone can say they are welsh). So what happened a few years ago to you when you were carp fishing?. Are you sue it was the M4 toll bridge.

Nevertheless i find this arrangement unacceptable. Many people innocently leave their wallets home and very few people travel with cash in their pockets. To then turn someone back to a long journey back home is ridiculous. They should provide a telephonic credit card service.

[jedimistress]

There is plenty of warning. No Cards, cash only signs too.

I got over for free when I genuinely thought there would be services somewhere, where I could use the cashpoint. Next thing I was on the bridge heading to the tolls.

I told the toll collector I had no money, they asked if I had a chequebook, I said no...and they let me through out of the goodness of their heart. Apparently this is unheard of. Everyone thought I was pulling their leg...jokes about even the queen has to pay...

I think I just caught the toll collector on a good day and she took poty on me.

[kempie]

Dom Tuk - there is an alternative route into Wales via Gloucester (M5 - A40 - A48).

This would add 80ish miles (1� hrs) to your journey and in monetary terms would cost about �9 extra in fuel, although you would save the �4.80 toll.

[jno]

well, like I said DT, you don't have to go all the way back to Aberdeen, you just have to go back to an ATM. If you go on a really long journey without your wallet, the bridge is likely to be the least of your troubles.

[brachiopod]

Dom, the bit about being unable to pay and being given a bill/notice to pay at a later date is true (this was about 1989).

And yes, as a Welshman living in London, I think I am certain it was the Severn Toll Bridge on the M4. (The sSC hadn't been built at that time).

The bit about Welsh drivers and English drivers was a joke. Did you honestly ask if there was preferential treatment for Welsh drivers ?!!!!

[Dom Tuk]

Brachiopod, yes i asked about the welsh and any preferential treatment. Why not, after all you are going back to what is your homeland and should get some advantages for it.

JNO my point is more about the inconvenience caused to innocent travellers who make a silly mistake. The govt department could easily install card readers etc or allow for telephonic payment from a third party (at an apprpriate premium). I know about all the ways to get into wales as i travel there very often (once a week nearly) and will be most put off if for a simple mistake i am made to go back home. The point being wherever i am going i can borrow from colleagues, by being send back i have to go home to get the wallet as i cannot stop at any ATM (assuming i have left all at home). I am trying to think of other equally unfair consequences for a simple mistake. passports and air tickets come to mind but then what is involved is international travel across controlled borders.

Why do we meekly accept it??

[kempie]

"The govt department..."

Both Severn Bridges are controlled by Severn River Crossing plc.

http://www.severnbridge.co.uk/history.shtml