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So, going to France in the summer for a couple of weeks. Apparently we can get an auto tag for the motorway tolls which seems like a good plan. Problem is that there seem to be several options, most of which are about 10€ delivery then a service fee in the months it's actually used. After that it all gets a bit confusing.
Ideally would want one that can be paid with a UK credit card. Anyone have any recommendations?
Personally I wouldn't ( don't) bother.
The queue aren't usually that big. I think CCs have made it much slicker.
(At a rough guess I think I have driven there around 70 times.)
Having said which, one excellent reason to get one is to allow the passenger to sleep properly... that was a PITA Tbh.
one excellent reason to get one is to allow the passenger to sleep properly
Aye, that's what I was thinking.
In a RHD vehicle they are an advantage if the passenger sleeps.
Beaten by the edit!
You also get to gamble how fast you can use the Sanef lane before the barrier opens.
Definitely get one. A load faster than queuing, billing is done almost a month in arrears by DD, no mucking about with change or running the gauntlet of british CC failing to work correctly in france. Queuing, when it happens can be mind-bogglingly slow in the cash/CC lanes. Emovis' UK base is in harrogate & they usually turn tags around in a day or so. I still think there's a discount if you use the eurotunnel site. Its now ever so slightly cheaper than cash, offset by the fact there's a yearly activation fee and a fee every month you use the tag in france. I've three tags - two for france and one for spain/portugal. Wouldn't be without one now. Only wish there was a similar setup for italy.
If it's from Emovis UK does that mean the DD is in £? Just wary of being clobbered for non-sterling fees.
I've been using Emovis tags for about 10 years....can't fault them and v convenient
Jesus, I can't even remember which tag I've got, but it's been stuck in various cars for years.
Always a nervous moment as you approach the first pay booth, aim for the 'T' option, and pray to god you hear the 'beep' as you haven't used the thing for 6 months. I drive down through France to CH 2-3 times a year, most of the time alone, so quite useful. Agree there are rarely queues, but nice not to have reach over seats and stab buttons, or god forbid get out the car and run round, or drop credit card cash in the process 🙂
I think I pay a small fee for the month in which I use it, plus the tolls of course.
Edit: just remembered - Bipandgo
Emovis UK here too. No issues and no spurious extra charges IMHO.
I was always worried that my tag only got to communicate with anyone once a year (when I went to France) so how would they be able to monitor when it needed replacement due to battery, but I got a notification to swap out of the blue when I'd had it about 3 yrs, so they must have some way to decided it needs changing.
I use Blip&Go I got it as we drive overnight and to save waking my driving partner. Pay as you go, so dont get charged a monthly fee. The app keeps a history of your payments, making it easy to total up expenses. Very good last year. Hope it still works when I get to my first toll in a few weeks time!
I've got a "Fulli" tag. No yearly fee here, just a fee for each journey and for each month it's used. Requires payment in euros but Starling allow you to hold a euro balance, so the DD just goes out of that and as it's billed in arrears I have plenty of time to make sure I've enough balance to cover it.
We have an emovis one. It just makes life a wee bit easier on a long drive, with a caravan (hard to get the short-armed passenger close to the booth), so we think it's worth it.
Last year, the annual cost was €5 and a €10 per month charge when it's used. They take payment in sterling, from our nationwide account no problem.
IIRC, the tunnel, caravan club, and probably others had discounts to get one, it was years ago though.
Another emovis user here - faultless for driving to france. I think there are other options that cover spain or italy if you've going further afield. I think you have to ask for a replacement every five years to replace the battery.
They're great if you've either no passenger or if they're asleep.
agree about the nervous first toll - will it / won't it work - the sigh of relief when it beeps
Another +1 for Sanef/bip&go, the year subs fee is small, the bill in GBP a while after the trip and email you the amount well in advance.
Lots of things aren't 100% necessary in life, but I really like the simplicity of this. I say that having actually sat behind an older woman from the passenger seat of a XJ putting coins into the machine, but then dropping some, having to squeeze out of the door as it was close to the machine, the collect coins from the floor and finish putting them in.
Or drive to barrier, hear the bip, barrier lifts and the drag race commences.
we used to have one, but I don't think its worth it any more. It used to be there were loads of bloody gates on the yomp through france, now they have a smarter system with a ticket that identifies where you entered/exited the system, and just tracks you all the way though. I think you can get to the south of france in about 4 gates these days, wondering round the car to stretch your legs 4 times in a 10 hour journey is a non issue.
i wonder if they will do what Itlay has done and go Camera based -has it's pro's and cons..
I wondered if it was ANPR but apparently not. I had horrendous problems with ANPR car parks in Cornwall with ordinary, standards compliant UK plates, mind you.
+ another 1 for the Emovis tag. I do a reasonable amount of solo driving in France and it makes the journeys pretty seamless. Charges appear in arrears on registered debit card for me.
I get that there may be new technology coming that reduces the number of waypoints, but until they're all gone I'll stick with using the tag. It's particularly useful on the first Peage points out of Calais when you can bypass the queues of UK drivers suddenly discovering that there are tolls in France,,
Last year, the annual cost was €5 and a €10 per month charge when it’s used
Wow. the Fulli tag is €1.70 for each month you use it, no annual charge.
Vaguely off topic, but apply now for your French ulez sticker.
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/law-change-for-uk-drivers-in-french-cities/
Only €4.61 assuming your vehicle is compliant
I had a Crit'Air sticker on my last car - didn't take all that long to turn round IIRC.
@ratherbeintobago, direct debit from my euro bank balance at Starling Bank
If you use that link to sign up we both get a free National Trust day pass
Some of the fulli tags cover Italy, Spain and Portugal, and they apparently work on some car parks too
https://www.fulli.com/en/electronic-toll-badge
I've got an emovis tag and love it, but I've been driving over there 2 or 3 times a year for the last 20 years! If I was only going once for a couple of weeks I probably wouldn't bother. Paying on a card at the toll is really easy and you won't lose too much time.
Yeah it means the passenger can sleep, but if you're not driving at night does that really matter. Wake the lazy ****er up!
Wake them up, are you mad? IvE discovered drousy travel pills that my family are effectively forced to have, they are all a nightmare when awake, especially the "co driver" 🤔
@ads678 You can wake my wife up then. Like poking a hibernating bear with a stick.
I tried to get one a while ago, but my bank account wouldn’t work with it.
I keep meaning to have another go, probably with Emovis, because we do drive through France at least a couple of times a year.
Although down in the Alps now and it wasn’t a big deal to hang out the window with the debit card.
@sui have the Italians gone completely anpr? If so that would be brilliant. The autostrada between Monaco and Finale was an absolute bloody nightmare last summer with people queuing for 2hrs to get through the tolls in either direction just to the east of Monaco.
Still haven't got one, it can't possibly save more time than faffing with ordering, payment, checking bills, sticking in the car, posting eulogies on this thread. There wouldn't have been any point today. Madame just got in along the back lanes because the D817 is choka because the protesting farmers are blocking the autoroutes. 🙂
have the Italians gone completely anpr? If so that would be brilliant.
Nope it just excludes the non-connected people from services. It's a long way around the M25 the wrong way if you have no means of paying online.
I've had an Emovis tag for 10-15 yrs now and wouldn't be without it. There are quite often deals for them with DFDS or the Chunnel etc, so keep your eye out.
Another vote for Emovis, we have had ours for 3 years now. Euro account through Revolut to pay the fees. It just works.
It’s a long way around the M25 the wrong way if you have no means of paying online.
no, it isn't.
Other ways to pay
You can:pay with cash at a Payzone store - find your nearest Payzone store
set up an account by post
pay in advance or top-up your account by post
pay a fine (or PCN) by phone
pay or set up an account by phoning the Dart Charge contact centre
Also had Emovis for years (since 2016 I think) with absolutely zero issues (and amazingly, still on the original battery...). I definitely pay for it with a normal GBP account though. But, I am thinking of switching to Bip& Go as we're spending a lot more time in Spain. That I think is a Euro only payment, plus there also seem to be less and less toll roads in Spain every year, so still on the fence as to whether I bother to switch. I'd simply stick with Emovis if I were just in France. And also - this thread has reminded me that if I stick with Emovis, I'll need a new unit this summer cos battery since 2016!
EDIT: Just seen fulli are doing some deals right now making it the cheapest way to have a multi country tag
I've got two Fulli tags - one purely for France, and another that does France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. The tags are free but it's a tenner delivery. Costs me 1,70€ PCM that it's used if it's only used in France, and (I think) 2,80€ PCM that it's used in the other countries. I was anti for ages, but a couple of really bad queues and not having to wake my sleeping co-driver changed my mind. I genuinely wouldn't be without them now.
Definitely easier to go the other way around the M25 then than go to through the time consuming hassle of finding a payzone store and getting to it, or setting up an account by post (from a foreign country).
Really bad queues block all the lanes and the tag is no quicker. The tags are only worth it when queues are a certain length IME. No queue = tag pointless. Moderate queue= the tag might asave a few minutes. Long queue = all lanes crawling.
highly convenient to use. And a bit of light hearted entertainment to watch your know all BiL, who you are travelling in convoy with, wonder what the hell you are doing when arriving at the first toll and you take the automatic lane.
We used Ulys by Vinci last summer for France and Spain and it was seamless. No waking up the passenger or the kids, no searching for change. no charge when you don't use it.