FASTag fiasco: Unexplained wallet deduction raises questions

Guwahati, July 24: Imagine yourself sitting at home and suddenly a message pops up on your phone stating a certain amount has been deducted from your FASTag wallet at a toll plaza while the car is parked in the garage. Did something similar to this happen to you as well?

Several people, including well-known personalities, have recently raised concerns over this mystery of how money is being deducted from their FASTag wallet when they are either at the office, home or within the vicinity of their area where there are no toll plazas.

On July 24, 2024, a private sector employee received a notification on his mobile stating that money had been deducted from his wallet at Madanpur Toll Plaza at 9.21 am while he was at home getting ready to go to the office with the said car parked at his garage. Shocked at the sudden mysterious deduction from their wallet, this common man had no idea of how to recover the money.

In the same way, another common man also fell prey to this unexplained wallet deduction on June 6. These instances are just a few that The Assam Tribune came across, however, the victims could be many more than we can ascertain as of now.

When The Assam Tribune reached out to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), an official, requesting his anonymity, refuted the charges highlighting the possible reasons for these unexplained wallet deductions.

The official said, “Sometimes when the car owners travel to a particular place crossing a toll plaza, the money at that moment might not get deducted from their FASTag wallet due to technical issues. During those instances, the workers at the toll plaza keep a photo of these vehicles, and the money is deducted later. The particular vehicle owner whose money got deducted from his FASTag wallet might have crossed the particular toll plaza mentioned in the message or app.”

“If, in case, he hasn’t gone anywhere through that particular route then first he needs to contact their FASTag provider to inquire about any discrepancies from their side, however, if they refute the discrepancies then they can contact our helpline number 1033 and lodge a complaint. The officials will look into the matter and if the case is genuine, the money will be reverted back to his account,” he added.