Mitzi2012

If you have a U.K. bank account you can acquire a toll tag that covers Spain and Portugal from Sanef Tolling. You can also get the French toll tag from them. I have both. They are good to deal with, a very clear website and they bill you monthly.

007Steve

Interesting, do you have a link for that Mitzi2012 ?
Thanks

dingg

https://www.saneftolling.co.uk/subsc...dule/tag_spain


google

007Steve

Much obliged Dingg !

RichardHenshall

Obviously not all of us have a Portuguese (or Euro) bank account or card but a potential snag with the Sanef device must be the requirement to link it to a GBP account, so there may be exchange conversion costs added to any other admin charges for each small transaction.

Lelandy

We have used a Sanef tag throughout France and were very happy with it so were keen to get a Spain and Portugal one when they were introduced last year, however there is a problem.

The overhead gantries on the A22 in the Algarve are not as effective as they should be. This isn't a problem if you have pre-registered at the border or are using a Via Verde tag because the gantries take your registration number as a back up and both of the above are linked to your car.

The Sanef tag is not, so if the gantry doesn't detect a Tag it means you are regarded as breaking the law by using the toll road without a payment method and liable to a fine.

Sanef are in denial about this and particularly unhelpful, they will tell you to check for tolls retrospectively.

This happened to us and I don't think I'll use the Sanef tag next time I'm there.

Mitzi2012

Did you have both your French Tag and the Portuguese Tag on the windscreen at the same time? I only ask as in the info sheet that accompanied the Portuguese tag it says that only one of them should be on the windscreen at any one time. I assume they both use the same technology so one might interfere with the other.

Lelandy

No, just the Spain and Portugal Bip and Drive tag. We noticed it wasn't beeping at every gantry, and queried this with Sanef, who said it wouldn't always do so. I'm not so sure and think it should, the fitting instructions are also for toll gates rather than overhead gantries.

Mitzi2012

I hired a tag from Europcar a few weeks ago when I drove from Lisbon to Lagos. It’s also did not beep at all on the main highway down. The bill from Europcar recently showed up so it seems it was working.

RichardHenshall

It's interesting that the Sanef FAQs suggest that if driving in Portugal you need a "Temporary Electronic Toll Device (DEM) or Pre-Paid Tolls – A DEM or the prepayment of tolls is required, before using many motorways in Portugal."

Isn't that what their device is supposed to be? Or is it an admission that it isn't? Has anyone successfully used one on, for example, the A22?

My Pré-Pago Anónimo device doesn't always beep but it does seem to be recognised despite this.

Mitzi2012

I will be using it for the first time in June so will post the outcome.

Mitzi2012

I just read your first paragraph on the Sanef website, my take is that they are just giving you an overview of driving in Portugal and the requirements on the toll roads. As the tag also covers Spain I read that also and read that in Spain it is necessary to carry two warning triangles. Also a spare set of bulbs, as cars increasingly have LED bulbs fitted I am not sure they can be replaced by the car owner.

Mitzi2012

On the Sanef website under where to place the tag they did recommend on certain cars, mainly MPV’s that the tag is not placed at the very top of the windscreen where it might point to the sky, rather that it be placed a little lower which would point it towards the gantry.

RichardHenshall

I don't expect a toll tag supplier to know about bulbs etc but I do expect them to know about toll tags.

I have yet to see a definitive statement on their site that their device is a suitable device for use on the electronic-only toll roads in Portugal. If it is, why do they give information about other ways to pay (some of which won't apply if driving a foreign car anyway)?

Lelandy

Just to reiterate, we did use the Sanef tag on the A22. My Sanef account showed that it was working, but didn't always beep.

Sanef sent out an unrelated email warning not to use their tags in hire cars because of the problem outlined in my earlier post, ie tag not always detected and reg number back up used. Hire cars registration numbers are logged with the toll companies, so a Sanef tag could confuse things.

In this warning they posted a link to check to see if you had any outstanding tolls based on your reg number, so I did, and I did.

I was charged €2.95 for a single €0.75 toll at Loulè, on that journey I passed other
Gantries that I was charged for on my Sanef account. The payment to ViaVerde was easy but came with a requirement to acknowledge that I had broken the law!

Sanef charge a €6 per month activation fee, but leave you with the responsibility to see if you have outstanding tolls that should have been covered by them but wasn't, for whatever reason. This is entirely unacceptable in my opinion.