Dear Editor
As a follow on from the various comments on the A22 tolls, as a regular visitor and part owner of a home in Carvoeiro, I was slightly apprehensive of how the tolls would work after reading various horror reports before our last visit for a week at the end of March.
We always hire a car when we visit and I was worried how difficult it would be to pay.
After arriving on the Sunday night, we drove from the airport to Carvoeiro in the dark and this was the only time up until our return trip that we used the A22.
I visited the local post office on the Thursday after being advised to wait at least 48 hours before paying and, to my surprise, the vehicle had not been shown as having used the A22 up until then – does this mean that the cameras do not work at night?
I used it again to return to the airport on the Sunday and asked my car rental company how I would pay for that trip.
The agent of the car rental company calculated that the journey would cost just over €4 and that they charge an additional fee of €5 to cover the cost – is this another scam for the rental companies or a €5 solution to the problem?
I even considered setting up a business for myself in the corner of the car park and provide an ongoing service as at €5 per car on approximately 100 cars a day this could provide a nice income for as long as this mess continues.
Surely an easy solution is for everyone, especially using hire cars, to have, say, seven days from the end of their holiday to go online once they are home and pay online (once the website has been set up in English) by credit card.
If a simple solution is not sorted out, the tourist/golf and even car hire sectors will be affected by visitors who return home to unpaid fees and penalties being deducted from their credit card deposits by the rental companies. Hardly a way to encourage tourists or boost the economy.
Best regards and hopefully it will be sorted out by July.
DON MCCALLUM
Scotland
