Linkt Sent You Hundreds in Toll “Admin Fees”? Here’s How to Dispute It

You drove through a toll gantry once. Maybe your tag didn’t beep, maybe the account had lapsed, maybe you sold the car and the new owner never transferred it. Now there’s a pile of toll notices with a $10 or $20 “administration fee” stapled to every single trip, and the total is ten, twenty, fifty times the toll itself. Then the letters start threatening a state infringement, a licence suspension, debt collectors.

Toll operators like Transurban (Linkt), EastLink and their state partners process millions of these. The fee model depends on you paying rather than reading. Read this instead.

Your rights

• Excessive admin fees can be challenged. A fee that is out of all proportion to the operator’s legitimate interests may be an unenforceable penalty. In Paciocco v ANZ (High Court, 2016) the court held that a fee is not a penalty merely because it is more than the cost of processing, so the argument depends on the size of the fee and the operator’s interests.
• Unfair contract terms (ss 23–28 ACL). Toll accounts and casual-user arrangements are standard-form consumer contracts. Terms that stack multiple fees per trip, or charge you for notices you never received, are open to challenge.
• Misleading or deceptive conduct (s 18 ACL). Notices that imply a court fine is imminent when the operator hasn’t referred anything, or that imply you owe money for a vehicle you no longer own, can be misleading.
• You’re only liable as the registered operator. If you sold the car before the trips and can prove the transfer (or the buyer’s details), the debt is theirs. If someone else was driving your car, you can nominate them.
• Hardship and relief schemes. Transurban’s LinktAssist program can waive fees and set up payment plans. New South Wales has the Toll Relief rebate. In Victoria, the Tolling Customer Ombudsman can direct CityLink or EastLink to waive fees.

What to do right now

1. Get the full statement. Log in or call and ask for every trip and every fee, itemised, in writing. Separate the tolls (which you probably do owe) from the fees (which you’re disputing).
2. Pay the tolls only, in writing. Offer to pay the actual toll amounts immediately, and state that you dispute all administration and notice fees.
3. If you weren’t the driver or owner, say so. Complete the nomination or vehicle-disposal form and attach proof (transfer receipt, sale contract, the buyer’s licence details). Do this before any notice becomes a state infringement.
4. Request a fee waiver, citing the law. Put it in writing: “The fees claimed are disproportionate to any actual cost and are an unenforceable penalty. I require them to be waived and confirmation that no matter will be referred to the state enforcement agency.”
5. Send a Letter of Demand if they’ve already taken your money. If you paid stacked fees under pressure, or a debt collector has been set on you for fees you dispute, a formal letter demanding a refund and withdrawal of the debt, with a 14-day deadline and a reference to fair trading and the ombudsman, puts your position on the record.
6. Escalate to the ombudsman. Free, and they can direct waivers.

What happens if a toll notice becomes an infringement

If you ignore the operator’s notices long enough, the matter is referred to the state: Revenue NSW, Fines Victoria, or Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads. At that point it’s a government penalty, and the process changes: you can request an internal review (for example, “I was not the driver” or “I never received the notices”), elect to have it heard in court, or apply for a payment plan. Don’t let it get there if you can avoid it. Contact the operator first, in writing, and keep the evidence.

If a debt collector contacts you about toll fees, respond in writing that the debt is disputed and why. Under the ACCC/ASIC Debt Collection Guideline, they must not pursue a genuinely disputed debt while it’s being resolved, and they must not misrepresent the consequences of non-payment.

Sold the car? Wrong plate? Tag didn’t read?

The three most common reasons a toll bill is wrong, and what fixes each. Sold the car: send the operator the disposal notice you lodged with the roads authority (or the sale receipt with the buyer’s details) and ask them to transfer every trip after the sale date to the new owner. If you never lodged the disposal, do it now with the roads authority and ask whether it can be backdated on your evidence. Wrong plate: ask for the gantry image for each disputed trip. Character misreads (B for 8, O for 0) are common, and the image shows what was read. Tag didn’t read: if you had an active account with funds, the operator’s own system failure isn’t your fee. Ask them to “match” the trips to your account at the normal toll rate and waive every notice fee; they have a process for this. In each case, put it in writing, keep the reference number, and set a date by which you expect a corrected statement.

Who to complain to

Victoria: the Tolling Customer Ombudsman (covers CityLink, EastLink and Linkt Melbourne). New South Wales: Linkt’s Customer Advocate, then NSW Fair Trading, and Revenue NSW for any infringement review. Queensland: Linkt Brisbane’s dispute process, then the Queensland Ombudsman or Transport and Main Roads for infringements. Everywhere: the ACCC for misleading notices, your state fair trading body for unfair fees, and your state civil tribunal if you’re chasing a refund.

Start your claim — $49

Claim Done drafts your Letter of Demand in about 5 minutes for $49. Tell us what happened — we handle the legal language.

Start My Claim — $49 →

You approve it before anything is sent.