I’m pretty sure all the ones I’ve used have got a no motorbike circular sign above them
Motorway ‘blipper’ / smart tags - For ALL news, advice, how to get one and what’s best, irrespective of the country
- Thread starter leadfarmer
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I’m pretty sure all the ones I’ve used have got a no motorbike circular sign above them
I admit it took me a while to realise that you have to stop in some of the LiberT lanes 
The Telepass ones in Italy can all be crossed at about 30kmh without stopping and assumed it was the same for France.
To be fair you don't really have to stop, just go very slow.
The Telepass ones in Italy can all be crossed at about 30kmh without stopping and assumed it was the same for France.
To be fair you don't really have to stop, just go very slow.
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Some have I know, but I would say that most 30kmh lanes are any vehicle, I use them pretty regularly on the bike, although I generally approach them at less than 30 kmh just in case
As much as anything else, the tag is useful as a form of insurance. Most of the booths are now unmanned and card only. Drop your card and you are grovelling on the ground. Drop the card and not realise until you pull over to the right to put your gloves back on and you are walking back up the motorway, facing the oncoming stampede of metal coming through the barriers. Drop it and not realise (it happened to someone on one of my Wanders *) and you are potentially royally fecked.
* Being a kind soul, I lent the fellow my spare card.
* Being a kind soul, I lent the fellow my spare card.
Have a look at the payment itself on your account.
It should say APRR SDD. This stands for Single Euro Payments Area which thankfully the UK is still part of - look it up.
As this is not a UK based payment it may not show up in your DD list - it doesn't show on mine either.
I'm hopeful it will work when I get over there to try it - If I lived closer to the Tunnel I would just go over and try it.
£0.87 debited successfully from my Lloyds account yesterday, I guess that means good to go. Shows as APRR.
(Really simple, no issues, don’t know what all the fuss is about
)
Mango update....looks like my change to using my Revolut Euro account has been successful. 9 euro payment to APRR taken yesterday by direct debit. Looks like I'm all set for my trip to France, Italy & Greece in May!
If they fail the debit, they don't have proper ways to easily fix the situation. Their comms are horrible.
Good to know that Lloyds works.
I think we can come up with a small list of banks that work and don't work with Mango (and maybe Ulys).
It would be so much easier for folk, if the tag providers would take a debit card for payment… Surely they realise this?
If they were able to set up a bloody SEPA payment, too.
If they actually designed an usable service.
I'm in Italy at the moment. A friend went to my place in London yesterday to water the plants/check the place.
He found a letter from Ulys saying they weren't able to debit my account and bla bla bla. A fucking paper letter. While all the other comms are over email or through your account web panel.
Since I suspected this would have happened (reading the reviews online) I proactively asked them if the debit failed, sent them over a 40 quid bank transfer (but, I learnt only yesterday, without some details that were only in that letter - hope they can reconcile the payment). I also gave them a new Euro bank account and asked them to let me sign a new SEPA mandate for this new account.
Guess what: they updated the IBAN, but the mandate is still the old one for HSBC.
Direct debit is scheduled in 2 days. Pretty sure it will fail again.
It's embarrassing how shit their set-up is.
I am definitely going down the SANNEF route if and when I want to get a tag for Spain and Portugal. The Italians pah!
HABEMUS PAPAM.
Ulys managed to successfully debit my new Wise (TransferWise) Euro account.
So: HSBC is a no go. Wise Euro accounts work (and it is free)!
No idea what happened to the 40 quid I wired them though
Ulys managed to successfully debit my new Wise (TransferWise) Euro account.
So: HSBC is a no go. Wise Euro accounts work (and it is free)!
No idea what happened to the 40 quid I wired them though
Update, going through the second billing period.
All seems good. Billing for French and Italian motorways comes separate, so sometimes the numbers don't completely add up, but hey.
Ordered a second blippy thing to shrink wrap it in plastic and leave it permanently in my bike jacket pocket.
I'm still trying to understand what happened to the 40 quid I sent over. Not sure if those are held as a deposit or should have been used against any payment. Looks like it is time for another Google Translate adventure.
All seems good. Billing for French and Italian motorways comes separate, so sometimes the numbers don't completely add up, but hey.
Ordered a second blippy thing to shrink wrap it in plastic and leave it permanently in my bike jacket pocket.
I'm still trying to understand what happened to the 40 quid I sent over. Not sure if those are held as a deposit or should have been used against any payment. Looks like it is time for another Google Translate adventure.
To make it work I set up an Euro account via TransferWise (now Wise). All done from the UK.
I've been using TransferWise for international bank transfer for years as they are cheaper than using my HSBC account directly.
With them you can also open accounts in different currencies. Their Euro pool account is based in Belgium. Helps with the SEPA I guess.
https://wise.com/gb/borderless/euro-account
(you don't need the debit card)
It is not a proper bank account, but more than enough to keep a few hundred euros in when needed, to pay the motorway bills.
I guess, this would have worked with Mango as well, at the time...
I've been using TransferWise for international bank transfer for years as they are cheaper than using my HSBC account directly.
With them you can also open accounts in different currencies. Their Euro pool account is based in Belgium. Helps with the SEPA I guess.
https://wise.com/gb/borderless/euro-account
(you don't need the debit card)
It is not a proper bank account, but more than enough to keep a few hundred euros in when needed, to pay the motorway bills.
I guess, this would have worked with Mango as well, at the time...
Just getting my docs etc together for a trip later this month. I have just noticed my APRR tag has an expiry date 4 June 2025, so about 7 years after I created the account. I guess that is how long they expect the battery to last for.
Same here ever any problems using Sanef for years.
Jump in haste, repent at leisure?
Just ordered a ULYS tag then found this thread....
Tag not needed until August but I will (try to) report back. Used a UK NatWest account; IBAN given, they said they will debit the €1, but not yet done.
Seemed a good transaction, proper English and no issues setting-up.
Just ordered a ULYS tag then found this thread....
Tag not needed until August but I will (try to) report back. Used a UK NatWest account; IBAN given, they said they will debit the €1, but not yet done.
Seemed a good transaction, proper English and no issues setting-up.
If they don't debit it within a few days, try the alternatives listed above.
You should receive a paper letter in two or three weeks if they cannot debit. Be faster than that and provide an alternative.
I would just like to say my pre Mango APRR TAG worked perfectly over the May Bank Holiday weekend when I used the autoroute to avoid Le Havre. Just had a bill for the princely sum of €3.80. Debited to my VISA credit card, none of this bank account nonsense.
Not that I'm gloating.
Not that I'm gloating.
My Ulys works perfectly as well still.
I ordered a second tag (one for the car, one for the bike).
Went through a few gates in France a couple of weeks ago. Correctly billed. Effortless (now ).
Very happy.
I ordered a second tag (one for the car, one for the bike).
Went through a few gates in France a couple of weeks ago. Correctly billed. Effortless (now
).Very happy.
