The German transport association Camion Pro e.V. has filed a petition against Toll Collect GmbH, the operator of the German toll system. According to the association, Toll Collect is abusing its dominant market position by multiplying bureaucratic obstacles and imposing unjustified and excessive fees on hauliers in the ongoing process of reimbursing overpaid tolls.
The purpose of an interim order is to secure a claim. The Berlin District Court has set the hearing for 26 February this year.
“If the court issues an interim injunction, Toll Collect will face a serious lawsuit and millions in damages,” Camion Pro eV emphasises.
It should be noted that the Federal Republic of Germany incorrectly calculated the road toll for lorries by including the cost of the motorway police in the cost of the road infrastructure, which was not in line with EU rules. The ruling in this case was made by the Court of Justice of the European Union and concerned a Polish haulier who sought to recover overpaid tolls.
“Strange administrative processes”
Camion Pro strongly criticises the approach of the German toll system administrator, who appears to have ignored the ECJ ruling.
The organisation claims that aggrieved companies have to go through a complicated reimbursement process in which they have to prove the amount of tolls paid and provide detailed accounting documents.
“It is unbelievable. Instead of simply refunding the overpaid amounts, the victims are now dragged into bizarre administrative procedures and additional money is taken out of their pockets,” comments Andreas Mossyrsch of Camion Pro eV.
What is particularly irritating, according to the association, is that Toll Collect requires the companies concerned to provide receipts issued by the operator.
“Since Toll Collect registers all companies by name and includes all toll invoices, it can be assumed that Toll Collect can easily retrieve the documents required by the companies at the push of a button (in its own system),” Camion Pro points out.
In addition, the organisation stresses that the system operator charges administrative fees of several hundred euros for the return procedure itself.
“What is happening here is extremely distasteful. It seems to me that there is an attempt to discourage claimants with artificially created barriers and inflated costs, thereby undermining claims that have been recognised by the courts,” adds Mossyrsch.
According to Camion Pro, the transport companies have been harmed by Toll Collect in three ways: firstly, through excessive fees; secondly, through burdensome and absurd administrative procedures; and thirdly, through unjustified and excessive charges.
“So far, only a small proportion of Camion Pro members have actually submitted a refund application. For many companies, the frustration and excessive bureaucratic requirements were too great, and they did not submit any applications,” Camion Pro concludes.
15,000 companies joined the case
At the beginning of February, the German law firm Hausfeld, together with eClaim, filed three model lawsuits with the Administrative Court of Cologne regarding claims for reimbursement of overpaid road tolls in Germany, and the interest due.
Transport and logistics companies from Europe, including around 8,000 small and medium-sized companies from Germany, are seeking claims for illegally levied truck tolls – reports the German transport website dvz.de. These are tolls overpaid at a later date than the refunds claimed by Camion Pro members.
According to the information provided by the law firm, the total amount of tolls paid by the aforementioned companies between January 2017 and September 2021 is €7.5 billion, of which €330 million are illegally charged traffic police costs. Statutory interest must be added to this amount.
Too low a return
Hausfeld’s lawyers also question the entire toll calculation and the road cost report on which it is based. They claim the values of the toll have thus been illegal since its introduction, i.e. since 1 January 2005.
The claims are based on contracts concluded with the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility (BALM) in July 2023. The legally binding decisions on the three claim models will then apply to all companies represented by Hausfeld.
Hausfeld cooperates primarily with the German Freight Forwarders’ Association (BGL), the German Road Haulage Association (DSLV) and organisations in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania.
“In response to the ECJ ruling, the German legislature passed an amendment to the German motorway toll law and recalculated the toll. The amendment, which will come into force on 1 October 2021, concerns new, reduced toll rates. The change in the law is retroactive to 28 October 2020, so the toll rates have already been reduced for the period from the ECJ ruling of 28 October 2020 to 30 September 2021. If you pay tolls during this period, the legal basis – as well as the amount of the toll – has been changed retroactively,” explain Hausfeld and eClaim, the company supporting the lawsuit.
As a result, there have been requests for reimbursement based on the difference between the toll rates applicable under the old and new laws.
“However, following a detailed legal analysis, we have concluded that the amendment to the law does not fully comply with the requirements of European law. Among other things, the retroactive reduction in toll rates only applies to the period after the ruling. The amendment does not apply to further refunds for the period before 28 October 2020. However, also with regard to the refund for the period covered by the legislative amendment, there are doubts as to whether the refund based on the legislative amendment is high enough,” eClaim and Hausfeld add in an official statement.
The company and the law firm, together with economic experts, concluded that the refunds offered were regularly too low and that, in some cases, carriers could demand refunds much higher than those set out in the amendment to the Act.