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.

[brachiopod]

"The govt department..." (II)

Prior to that it was Avon County Council..... so yes, very Welsh. I can expect lots of preferential treatment as someone 'going back to my homeland'.

For someone who travels into Wales "at least once a week", you show a remarkable misunderstanding of the Principality.

[Dom Tuk]

Have a nice christmas Brachiopod and thank you for your responses.

[brachiopod]

Bah! Humbug !!

;o)

Merry Crimbo too, Dom !!

[lankeela]

But Dom Tuk, if you leave your wallet at home, you are unlikely to have your credit card with you anyway - unless you stuff it down your sock.

[diana.m]

Brachiopod your so funny, you did make me laugh!

[wilsarnie]

Just to flatten everybody's humourous moods and be serious for a second....

I will tell the story of my best friend (english btw) who assumed that in this day & age they would have a card machine. Alas, she got up to the barrier to find no card machine and no cash in her purse. Embarrassed she turned to the clerk and professed her mistake.

The clerk then turned on the tannoy and bellowed across all of the barrier stalls some kind of code word, whilst the cars behind all beeped and honked their horns.

The next thing my red-cheeked friend knew, the barrier had lifted to show a yellow Land Rover with yellow flashing lights on the other side.

She was ordered to follow this car through a special gate and back on to the eastbound section of M4 and told there was a cashpoint at the next services!

So, with this story I can therefore confirm Dom Tuk's post (albeit yellow and not white van) is true.

And before anyone says, yes it was definitely 'a friend' that made this mistake and not me. I'm Scottish, mistakes like that just wouldn't happen.

[legendrose]

The Tamar Bridge at Plymouth/Saltash has a toll, my friend at the beginning of the Summer rocked up with no cash/card/anything and was given a receipt which i then payed on my next trip to Cornwall at the office they had there....

It must be an option for those that are terribly unorganised or forward planners... they probably tell you otherwise to not encourage this kind of behaviour!