Wrong charges, right out of your wallet: Toll error hits ACT drivers
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Imagine opening your toll account statement and discovering you’ve been charged for dozens of trips across Sydney’s toll roads—despite not having left Canberra.
For a growing number of ACT drivers, this isn’t a hypothetical nightmare, but a frustrating reality that’s left many out of pocket and scratching their heads.
Kim and David Lynch, Canberra locals, were among the first to sound the alarm.
After a couple of trips to Newcastle last year, they noticed their Linkt toll account was being automatically topped up with $50 increments—far more than their actual travel warranted.
A closer look at their account history revealed a baffling pattern: they were being charged for daily journeys across Sydney, a city they hadn’t visited in weeks.
‘I was surprised and annoyed,’ Mrs Lynch said. ‘I can’t believe that something like that could happen.’
Their attempts to resolve the issue with Linkt were met with a wall of bureaucracy.
After seven phone calls and repeated promises of a callback that never came, it was only when Mrs Lynch threatened to escalate the matter to authorities that they finally spoke to a senior manager and received a refund.
Their advice to fellow drivers? ‘Make sure everyone checks their statements and gets on to Linkt and gets their refund.’
The Lynches aren’t alone. Multiple ACT drivers have reported similar experiences, with toll charges appearing for trips they never made. One driver even received a toll notice for crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge during a Canberra lockdown—an impossible feat!
So, what’s causing this confusion? The culprit appears to be the humble number plate.
ACT plates all start with the letter ‘Y’, a legacy of a 1948 decision by the now-defunct Australian Transport Advisory Council. Back then, each state and territory was allocated a range of letters for their plates.
The ACT, with its smaller population, got just the ‘Y’ prefix. Fast forward to today, and the explosion in vehicle registrations means other states, including NSW, have also started issuing plates beginning with ‘Y’.
The result? Multiple vehicles across different states with identical letter and number combinations.
Source: @licenseplatetok / Youtube.
Toll road cameras are supposed to capture not just the plate number, but also the state or territory identifier, as well as the vehicle’s make, model, and colour.
However, when the system fails to read the state identifier or misinterprets the image, it can mistakenly charge the wrong driver—especially when two cars share the same plate number but hail from different states.
While toll operators insist these errors are rare, the impact on those affected is anything but minor. Some drivers have been left hundreds of dollars out of pocket, and the process of getting a refund can be time-consuming and stressful.
Transport Minister Chris Steel has stepped in, writing to toll operator Transurban (the company behind Linkt) to demand swift refunds for affected ACT motorists.
He’s also called for a dedicated contact line and email for ACT drivers to report and resolve these issues, acknowledging that many have struggled to get through to customer service.
‘All effort must be made to identify ACT motorists wrongly charged and issue refunds as quickly as possible,’ Mr Steel wrote. He’s also asked Transurban to meet with Access Canberra to discuss how to prevent future mix-ups and compensate those already affected.
Access Canberra has updated its website to alert drivers to check their toll accounts for any suspicious charges and promises to keep the public informed as the situation develops.
Transurban has apologised for the inconvenience, saying, ‘While incorrect charges are rare, we understand the inconvenience this causes and are actively working to improve our systems and processes to minimise these occurrences.’
Transport for NSW echoed this, stating that misidentification is ‘a very rare occurrence in a system that processes millions of journeys every month’. They assure drivers that when errors are detected, they’re added to a ‘watch list’ for manual review in the future.
Read more: Most drivers risk $6,000 fine over little-known road rule
Have you ever been wrongly charged for a toll road trip you didn’t take? How did you resolve it? Do you think the number plate system needs an overhaul? Share your stories and tips in the comments below!
For a growing number of ACT drivers, this isn’t a hypothetical nightmare, but a frustrating reality that’s left many out of pocket and scratching their heads.
Kim and David Lynch, Canberra locals, were among the first to sound the alarm.
After a couple of trips to Newcastle last year, they noticed their Linkt toll account was being automatically topped up with $50 increments—far more than their actual travel warranted.
A closer look at their account history revealed a baffling pattern: they were being charged for daily journeys across Sydney, a city they hadn’t visited in weeks.
‘I was surprised and annoyed,’ Mrs Lynch said. ‘I can’t believe that something like that could happen.’
A series of Australian Capital Territory plates with errors. Image source: @licenseplatetok / Youtube. Disclaimer: This is a free use image used for illustrative purposes only and does not depict the actual person, item, or event described.
Their attempts to resolve the issue with Linkt were met with a wall of bureaucracy.
After seven phone calls and repeated promises of a callback that never came, it was only when Mrs Lynch threatened to escalate the matter to authorities that they finally spoke to a senior manager and received a refund.
Their advice to fellow drivers? ‘Make sure everyone checks their statements and gets on to Linkt and gets their refund.’
The Lynches aren’t alone. Multiple ACT drivers have reported similar experiences, with toll charges appearing for trips they never made. One driver even received a toll notice for crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge during a Canberra lockdown—an impossible feat!
So, what’s causing this confusion? The culprit appears to be the humble number plate.
ACT plates all start with the letter ‘Y’, a legacy of a 1948 decision by the now-defunct Australian Transport Advisory Council. Back then, each state and territory was allocated a range of letters for their plates.
The ACT, with its smaller population, got just the ‘Y’ prefix. Fast forward to today, and the explosion in vehicle registrations means other states, including NSW, have also started issuing plates beginning with ‘Y’.
The result? Multiple vehicles across different states with identical letter and number combinations.
Source: @licenseplatetok / Youtube.
Toll road cameras are supposed to capture not just the plate number, but also the state or territory identifier, as well as the vehicle’s make, model, and colour.
However, when the system fails to read the state identifier or misinterprets the image, it can mistakenly charge the wrong driver—especially when two cars share the same plate number but hail from different states.
While toll operators insist these errors are rare, the impact on those affected is anything but minor. Some drivers have been left hundreds of dollars out of pocket, and the process of getting a refund can be time-consuming and stressful.
Transport Minister Chris Steel has stepped in, writing to toll operator Transurban (the company behind Linkt) to demand swift refunds for affected ACT motorists.
He’s also called for a dedicated contact line and email for ACT drivers to report and resolve these issues, acknowledging that many have struggled to get through to customer service.
‘All effort must be made to identify ACT motorists wrongly charged and issue refunds as quickly as possible,’ Mr Steel wrote. He’s also asked Transurban to meet with Access Canberra to discuss how to prevent future mix-ups and compensate those already affected.
Access Canberra has updated its website to alert drivers to check their toll accounts for any suspicious charges and promises to keep the public informed as the situation develops.
Transurban has apologised for the inconvenience, saying, ‘While incorrect charges are rare, we understand the inconvenience this causes and are actively working to improve our systems and processes to minimise these occurrences.’
Transport for NSW echoed this, stating that misidentification is ‘a very rare occurrence in a system that processes millions of journeys every month’. They assure drivers that when errors are detected, they’re added to a ‘watch list’ for manual review in the future.
Read more: Most drivers risk $6,000 fine over little-known road rule
Have you ever been wrongly charged for a toll road trip you didn’t take? How did you resolve it? Do you think the number plate system needs an overhaul? Share your stories and tips in the comments below!
