Mr.

Recently (from 23 May to 22 July 2023) I had a Europcar vehicle that was given to me as a courtesy car by my insurance. I took the vehicle from a Europcar Hatfield branch. The day I returned the vehicle I indicated to the official (Ms. Gugulethu Tshabangu) that the e-Tag didn't work at the Verkeedevlei Toll gate on the north-bound side of the N1 when I was returning from the Eastern Cape. This led me having to pay the R68.50 cash in order to pass. The reasons I alerted Gugulethu Tshabangu was to: 1. For her to check if the e-Tag had charged whilst I paid cash at that gate. I also showed her the receipt (which I posted via email). 2. That if the e-Tag charged, then it must have failed to open the boom gate at the Toll gate because I had to come to a full stop (which is not the case when the e-Tag communicates well with the Toll gate receiver) and had to pay for the operator to open the gate for my passage. 3. That if the e-Tag worked, then it might mean there are Toll-gate staff who con people with e-Tags, which if a car rental company like Europcar company takes it up, might not only just resolve my case, but will also save other clients in the future. 4. To have Europcar waiver the charge, especially in the presence of a receipt as proof that I paid at the gate. The response I got from Gugulethu Tshabangu was shocking, which was that it is not the company's responsibility to check what happened at Verkeedevlei toll gate, where their e-Tag failed to open the gate, yet the charge appears on their final bill!!! She also stated that it's my responsibility to do follow-ups with SANRAL. When I asked how is it a client's responsibility if an e-Tag of a car hiring company fails to open the boom gate yet the same company charges for that transaction, she said she will have to consult her supervisor and then come back to me before end of business on Wednesday 28 June 2023, which she did not! I then made a call at 16:50 on the next day (Thursday 29 June 2023), which was towards the end of the next day's business and she didn't answer my call. Instead her colleague did, and transferred me to a Supervisor called Tshego Monnapula. Among the questions that I posed to her were the following: 1. Whether it is the Service Standard of Europcar to promise to get back to clients before end of business and then fail to do so? Making it worse, that it took me, the client, to call again towards the end of the NEXT business day. 2. Why Europcar toll charges were much higher than the Toll gate charges, e.g. Verkeedevlei being R68.50 but Europcar charging R82.20. 3. On why Europcar can't waiver my charge at Verkeedevlei Toll gate for that day at the gate and also follow the matter up with the National Roads Agency as a company, rather than saying it's my own issue and they won't be involved. Tshego only answered the issue of the Toll gate charges, which she posted a caption of "Clause 8" and further elaborated on the email that there is a 20% surcharge for the Toll gates by Europcar. She didn't answer the issue of the eTag failure to open the Verkeedevlei Toll gate and the waiver of that charge from the Europcar's side, which was the MAIN grievance. Europcar's eTag failed to open, yet the same tag charged me! How is that my problem and not the company's? I must add that the attitude of the staff at Hatfield branch is pathetic, especially the 2 officials (Gugulethu Tshabangu and Tshego Monnapula). I hope from this the Head Office will intervene and resolve the Verkeedevlei Toll gate issue and reverse that charge.