Am trying to apply for one of the French toll thingys and am at the 'country' selection on a drop down menu;...........which one is for England or UK , I think its grande bretagne but not 100% sure...........please advise !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ta Muchly
Mitch

'Grande-Bretagne' = Great Britain. Sometimes they call us 'Royaume Uni' too!

Its great fun driving up to the telepéage lane and disappointing the French who think we've made a mistake!

Pete

I ordered one before Christmas for our forthcoming ski trip. Did it well in advance as I had read here it can take a few weeks. Went for the E30 deposit, E2 for any month you use it deal as I expect to use it once or twice a year. E2 is good value compared to the emotional wear and tear involved in waking my wife up for toll booths.

Delivery was prompt (about 5 days I think), instructions in the box seem easy enough (probably won't stick it to screen though as I will want it off most of the time, bigger than I thought).
Billing was spot on - exactly what I expected was charged to my card

The only worry will be the 'first time use' - when I drive up to first the barrier out of Calais will it open for me? No reason to doubt it, but I won't relax until I see the evidence. Don't forget the 2 m height limit. Our 9-5 Estate with a biggish Thule roofbox is 1.97

Order with confidence ........

(As posted, Grande Bretagne = Great Britain, Royaume Uni = United Kingdon, Angleterre = England. Les Rosbifs is a derogatory term, but so too are frogs.)

Approach the barrier at walking speed!!

If there is a cars only Telepeage barrier (2m high) on the left, there will be another Telepeage barrier towards the right for trucks etc. This will also give out tickets, so you could use that lane for the first time so that if it doesn't work you can still take the ticket. It will work of course.

Okay all,
'Mine' has arrived in the post; is there nothing to 'turn on' or batteries to fit to start it working?
Doesnt seem so but would have expected there to be!
Cheers
Mitch

No. It "just works". I think there is a battery in it but we've had ours for 5 years now and it's still OK.

The contacts you can see are used if the man in the booth needs to read it for any reason. We had that once when the telepeage lanes were closed for roadworks. We used the gadget to enter the peage but there were only tollbooths at the other end.

We don't use the windscreen mount. it's just kept in the centre console and held near the windscreen when required. In fact we've lost the holder!

Don't drive up too fast or it may not work. Walking pace is what they recommend.

Is the system smart enough to know what you are driving, for example if you have bikes on the roof are you at risk of being charged as a commercial vehicle if you go through the HGV lane?

Yes, and (if not using the holder) to hold it up high would be my other tip: it seemed to work better for us when held near the top of the windscreen rather than merely on the dash.

NedLudd,
The 'installation' instructions show to mount it at the top of the screen, close to the rear view mirror, so that would concur with what you are saying.
Mitch

The system is pretty smart. The box you get is only for a car (Telepeage class 1), so if you tried to use it with a truck you probably wouldn't get let through as class 1 has a 2m height limit. However whether it would notice the bikes on the roof if you went through the general lane is another matter. The only person I know who got into difficulties with height was a chum in a Discovery with a roofbox, and the tollbooth chucked out a ticket from the truckers machine, about 8 feet up in the air. I don't think cars with bikes on the roof get changed more normally. If you are higher than 2m, a lot of the advantage of Telepeage goes away as you cannot use the dedicated class 1 lane so have to queue with the trucks etc.

You could always call them on 0033172365103 and ask.

I noticed lots of signs (in English) pasted on toll booths going towards the Vendee last summer - saying that bikes/roofboxes would incur the higher charge if total height over 2m. It looked like a new 'tightenin gup' on the rule - never seen it before. Maybe some operators are more strict than others (or maybe they just charge the English cars?)

Spot on - it was looking at that diagram which prompted me to tell my wife to "try lifting it up a bit"!

When we got our transponder, we registered our UK credit card as a means of payment. That card is now coming up to its expiry date, and I'd rather replace it with our UK debit card. Does anyone use a UK debit card for payments? Any problems if so?

If there are any problems, I'll use the French CB instead.

Thanks.

Pete

I have just got a telepeage transponder from Sanef. My 93 Aero si fitted with a heat reducing windscreen which I am told can interfere with the signal to and from the transponder. If I mount it as instructed in the black area behind the rear view mirror about a third of the transponder is outside the black area. Does anyone know if the thing will work or have any advice please?
Peter

Most people these days keep the unit in the car and wave it at the window or even out of the side window. when you get to the barrier. I think they are becoming a theft target in France, like satnavs, so best kept out of sight..

The Saabs have a heat absorbing windscreen. My unit works fine just held up to the screen anywhere, by driver or passenger. Just approach the barrier at walking pace and it works. Ours has been going for 5 years now.

They will write to you at your UK address when the expiry date is near. You can then change the card number if you wish, as they ask for all the card details again. You can either post it or fax it back - I faxed mine a few weeks ago and they updated the records OK. You will need to send/fax a photocopy of the credit/debit card as well. I doubt whether they will accept a Switch card, but a normal Visa debit card should be OK.

Just bear in mind that you have better consumer protection with a credit card, so you may want to continue to use a credit card.

I got an email pointing out my credit card was running out. All very efficient done and updated.

i work at rolls royce delivering the engines around europe and the main customer is airbus the engines are 2.9 or 3.2 metres wide and the french in there wisdom shut the wide lanes at peage at 6pm ,getting a 2.9m engine through a 3m gap is fun and when you take into account that the engine is worth 18 million dollars ..........need i say more!

Just a heads-up to anyone who, like us, has quite an old box - we probably got ours six or seven years ago - that they may need a new one. We rang SANEF just to check that our account was still active - nothing like that nervous first moment at the barrier... - and were told that while it was, we needed a new box, which they'd send, and that we should return ours. Might be worth checking.