November 16, 2009 @ 17:02
I have a 407 transponder, in fact I have two. This despite the fact I find the pricing and business practices of the 407 to be offensive.
But it's a choice I've made; convenience over principle.
I'm sure you've read recent stories about the highway and the billing screw-ups that have left hundreds deep in the hole and with no where to turn when it comes time to get their registration renewal. It's downright maddening.
A deal struck with the Harris government back in the early 2000's totally screwed the drivers of Ontario and crazy as it seems to a bunch of you, I'm willing to admit it. Harris did a lot of good for the province, a lot of good that Dalton McGuinty is still taking credit for, but the 407 deal was bad, very bad.
Ontarians are left with a convenient highway that will be operated by a consortium for the next 99 years. They want to make lots of money, and to their credit, when it came time to do the deal with Harris; they got everything they wanted and more. The result is thousands of stories of 407 billing problems that have left people owing perverted amounts of money and unable to get their new license stickers until they pay up.
But here's the deal people, I have the feeling that there is more to these stories than a lot of so-called victims are willing to reveal and when it gets right down to it, there is a way that all Ontarians can rebel against the 407.
Stop using it.
I know this doesn't help those who are still with massive bills and no one to help them, but going forward if you don't like the pricing or you're afraid that one day you might become a victim, stop using the bloody highway.
The deal that the 407 got with the province has proven to be iron clad with no loop-holes or options, so the best advice to anyone who's been screwed by the consortium, or those who are afraid they might be screwed in the future is to turn in your transponder and don't use the highway. In other words, the citizens of the Province of Ontario should put the consortium out of business. Stay off the road, dry up the funds and watch them walk away. It's the only way.
I know what you're thinking. Fat chance.
The same advice has been given to Toronto Maple Leaf fans over the years - stop going to games and maybe things will turn around, but for some reason when it comes to getting down and dirty with protests, we tend to turn around bend over and take it up the ass.
I don't plan on handing by transponders in. I've got an account and any charges immediately go onto my credit card so I don't seen how I could run into any billing problems.
I think the road is too expensive, I think the deal they got with the province is too sweet and I don't agree that the consortium should be able to prevent Ontarians from renewing their registration.
But I find the highway to be luxuriously convenient and when I really need it, I appreciate it and I'm willing to pay for the convenience.
Category: Politics | Stuff
November 16, 2009 / 21:08
I agree Freddie. For this and more. Don't like the service somewhere---shop elsewhere. Lots of choices.
November 16, 2009 / 22:13
Fortunately I haven't had issues with them, but a family member has, and you stand a better chance of getting in touch with Canada's Finance minister (Mr. Flaherty) than any person of authority at the 407.
All my family member wanted was a picture of the vehicle they claimed was theirs, it took 3 months to find out it wasn't the same car (the one pictured had a rusty plate) so a few numbers were basically guessed at.
The interest rate is over 26%, as bad as the credit companies.
And any government that ever signs a 99, or even a 25 year lease on anything the taxpayer has paid for should be lynched. I supported Harris and defended him many times in discussions with friends, but they trump me with the 407 everytime. What was he and Flaherty thinking!!
November 17, 2009 / 08:34
They wanted to take my mother-in-law to court based on one notice. Only problem was she couldn't appear due to passing a away 3 years before.
If she owed we'd have paid but to send a threatening notice yrs later with no other notices was poor management there.
November 17, 2009 / 10:07
I had an automated call that disrupted me, in MY home every bloody day for over 3 months! The prick at the other end kept saying I was passed due on my account and to call a phone number. The number I called got an answering machine saying leave a message. I finally, finally got ahold of a human after leaving message after message. ( had to go on the web site to get another number) After I told them I have not used the Harris Sellout Highway since the asshole was screwing Ontario, (only because I was following someone to a swamp lake (Rice) and did not know where the cabin was)and they said the calls would stop after a few days. Three more contacts with the poor O seven and after six weeks the calls finally stopped. Hey Fred, I guess the dummy's that use the poor O seven are just as stupid as those Liberal voters, they will never learn! Or maybe just more money than brains. Take your pick!
November 17, 2009 / 11:42
Yep Harris effed this one up big time. Originally I though selling the 407 to a consortium was brilliant... let them take over the debt, people wouldn't use it because it is expensive, they'd bankrupt and the province would take it over debt-free. Fat chance. Boy was I wrong.
I avoid it like the plague, and I question why didn't they set up tolls 'till it was paid off (like the Burlington Skyway). My only fear is that I'll get a bill because someone will screw up a plate at the 407 offices and send me the bill.
November 17, 2009 / 12:34
I've used the 407 maybe three times in my life and wasn't really impressed. If you think lane discipline on the 401 is bad, the 407 is ten times worse because all the minivan and SUV drivers feel they have a God given right to drive the left lane since they're paying for the privilege. Hell, it's not even a good value, compared to toll roads in the U.S.
November 17, 2009 / 16:39
I do my boss's 407 billing every month. Even though she has a transponder, they continue to bill her for video tolls. I refused to pay those as she was being billed twice. She received a note threatening legal action, so I had to sort it out through our Fleet management company. In the end, she was reimbursed. My question is this? How much money have they made from unsuspecting subscribers who don't bother or don't care to check the veracity of their billings.
November 17, 2009 / 18:38
Hi there,
I have already seen it somethere...
Miato
November 17, 2009 / 20:39
The 407 has a long history of weird billing. But they shouldn't control a government. That should be the domain of really big companies as it always has since Igor's club and spear factory controlled the Neanderthals.
November 17, 2009 / 22:42
The Provincial Govt tried unsuccesfully to overturn the 407 agreement regarding the plate renewal clause. Apparently the contract that Mike Harris and his boys agreed to was iron clad and teflon coated.
Perhaps the Govt could have tried to force them to improve their customer service (ie performance benchmarks)? From the stories that I have read, dealing with the 407 people is about as much fun as stepping in a steaming pile of dog shit.
November 18, 2009 / 10:39
@Pauly Walnuts- yes, with all the misery Harris caused, ALL of it could be reversed. NOT the 407!! As far as I'm concerned, he could shit a gold brick in the hand of every person in Ontario and that would NEVER exonerate him for that sellout......99 f'in YEARS! What an asshole!
FORE!!!
November 18, 2009 / 11:13
I don't need to go anywhere that quick that I need to use the 407. I've heard that they they are proud of their reputation for being tough on collecting debts.
November 18, 2009 / 11:46
I have a transponder and have had to take the 407 on ocassion while towing a small utility trailer. Here's the kicker. I get the regular transponder toll charge for the car with the transponder on one bill. Weeks later I get another bill for the plate on the trailer and get charged for the same trip twice, and enjoy the privilege of video toll charges for the trailer. I contact the 407 they say they have to see the two bills with the trip at the same time in order to reverse the charges. My bill shows one time for my car and another time for the trailer, so they won't reverse the charge. I challenge them by asking how can my trailer travel without a car towing it. The response is that it is my responsibility to prove that it was my car towing the trailer.
The practices of the 407 are pure theft. That said, I still use it religously because the "public" infrastructure has not kept up with the demand. Between the 410 and Trafalgar/401 points it saves me at least 30 minutes a day, and accords me 8 minutes of sanity versus 15-20 minutes of grief.
November 18, 2009 / 15:29
Mike, In my opinion, all the stuff that shouldn't have been reversed has been reversed. The one godawful thing that should have been hasn't. Now we're stuck with the worst of everything. The 407, broken healthcare system, fat bloated government, anarchy on disputed Native land claims, lower standards of education, effed up financials... hey but we can drink on the golf course right?
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