General Questions?

Q. What is plate denial?

A. Plate denial is the process whereby the Ontario Registrar of Motor Vehicles (the “Registrar”) must deny the renewal of existing, or the issuance of new, vehicle licence plates for people who have failed to pay their 407 ETR tolls, fees and interest. Plate denial is also used for the failure to pay parking tickets.

Q. Why does 407 ETR get to deny plates?

A. Plate denial exists because of the open-access nature of the highway and the fact that there are no toll booths. The open-access was designed by the Ontario Government to keep traffic moving as quickly as possible and to avoid congestion at toll booths. Unlike other companies which can cancel credit or cut service, 407 ETR cannot prevent people who refuse to pay tolls, fees and interest from using the highway.

Q. How does plate denial work?

A. The process for denying plates is outlined in the Highway 407 Act, which was enacted by the Ontario Government in 1999.

According to the Act, if a customer has not paid their bill in 35 days, 407 ETR may send a Notice of Failure to Pay to the customer. 407 ETR must send a Notice of Failure to Pay to the customer’s address listed in the Ministry of Transportation’s address database.

If the customer has not paid their bill 90 days following receipt of a Notice of Failure to Pay, 407 ETR can then send a Notice of Plate Denial. 407 ETR sends a Notice of Plate Denial to the customer at the address in the Ministry of Transportation (the “MTO”) database as well as to the Registrar indicating that the individual has not paid and that the renewal of their plate or issuance of a new plate must be denied. (By law, you are considered to have received a Notice of Plate Denial sent by registered mail five business days after it is sent to you.)

Q. If I get a Notice of Failure to Pay and disagree with it, what can I do?

A. You have the right to dispute the Notice of Failure to Pay. For your convenience 407 ETR includes a Notice of Dispute form on Notices of Failure to Pay sent to customers.

Q. I just received a Notice of Plate Denial. What happens now?

A. If you attempt to renew your plate without paying the outstanding amount, the Registrar will not renew your licence plate at an MTO office or kiosk. You will also not be able to obtain a new licence plate.

If you would like to pay the outstanding amount in order to renew your plate, please contact our Customer Service department at 1-888-407-0407 or pay online. Once you pay what you owe, we will inform the Registrar that you are no longer in plate denial.

Q. My licence plate has never been on 407 ETR, why is its renewal being denied?

A. While a vehicle with licence plates currently registered in your name may not have travelled on Highway 407 ETR, a vehicle with licence plates registered in your name travelled on Highway 407 ETR at some time and incurred toll and other charges that have not been paid. These plates currently may be in an unattached or expired status. In such circumstances, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles is required to refuse to renew another single vehicle permit issued to you and/or issue a vehicle permit to you.

Q. Why would the Registrar transfer an old debt to my current plate?

A. Where a licence plate associated with a customer's unpaid 407 ETR account becomes unattached from the vehicle or expired, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles is required to refuse to renew another single vehicle permit issued to the same customer and/or issue a vehicle permit to that customer.

Q. Why don’t you use a collection agency like other companies?

A. We do use collection agencies.

Specific Customer Questions?

Q. I’ve never received a bill or notices about plate denial. You must have sent them to the wrong address. Am I still responsible to pay and could I be in plate denial already?

A. 407 ETR obtains Ontario address information from the MTO. Under the plate denial legislation, 407 ETR must send Notices of Failure to Pay and Notices of Plate Denial to the address on file with the MTO and that is what we are doing. In fact, 407 ETR checks the address with MTO just a few days before these notices are sent to ensure we have the most up-to-date address information from the MTO. If your bill does not get delivered to your current address, that is a matter that you must sort out with MTO.

If you have not received a bill or notices and you have not paid for using the highway, you may be subject to plate denial. We encourage you to contact Customer Service at 1-888-407-0407 to determine the status of your account immediately.

Q. I did get some Notices of Failure to Pay a long time ago, but I ignored them. Back then, plate denial wasn’t being enforced by the Registrar. Now what do I do?

A. Receiving a notification that you have failed to pay from any company is a serious matter that should never be ignored. Information was provided at that time about the options that were available to you. If you received a Notice of Failure to Pay from 407 ETR in the past and failed to act on it within 30 days, you have missed your chance to dispute the notice.

The company will not re-issue Notices of Failure to Pay, but you may receive new notices for amounts that have not been on a notice. We encourage you to contact Customer Service immediately at 1-888-407-0407 or go online to pay your account before it’s time to renew your licence plate.

A. If you ever think you have an error on your bill, you should contact our Customer Service Department at 1-888-407-0407 to resolve it. If you do not pay the bill, you will receive a Notice of Failure to Pay, which outlines your ability to raise a dispute with the company. The Notice of Failure to Pay will be sent at least 90 days prior to a Notice of Plate Denial being sent to you and the Registrar. If the company does not agree with your dispute, then you can appeal to an independent dispute arbitrator who has been appointed by the Ontario Government.

Q. I think I got some notices about plate denial a while ago. Now that plate denial has started again, you’ll send me some new Notices, right?

A. The company will not re-issue Notices of Failure to Pay, but you may receive new notices for amounts that have not been on a notice. Receiving a Notice of Failure To Pay from any company is a serious matter that should never be ignored. Information was provided at that time about the options that were available to you. If you have received Notices in the past, we encourage you to contact Customer Service at 1-888-407-0407 to pay your account immediately or make a payment online.

A. If you would like to check the status of your account and make a payment, please contact Customer Service at 1-888-407-0407 or visit our website.

Q. Okay, I understand I owe the toll, but most of what I owe is from years of interest accumulating on the account. Had I received a bill, I would have taken care of this amount a long time ago. So, some of that interest will be waived, right?

A. If you choose to use 407 ETR, by law you are required to pay your bill. If you don’t pay your bill, then you are responsible for all interest charges.

407 ETR obtains Ontario address information from the MTO. Drivers have a legal responsibility to inform the MTO of any change in their address and must notify 407 ETR.  

Q. Can I pay the outstanding balance at 407 ETR?

A. You can pay your bill at our Customer Service Centre in person, online or by calling our automated attendant at 1-888-407-0407. If you pay by credit card or certified cheque, you will be removed from plate denial after the company has received your payment, and this information will be sent to the Registrar.

Q. I called your office to resolve my problem a long time ago but no one called me back. I assumed the matter was closed.

A. If you have continued to receive invoices for outstanding amounts or plate denial notices, the matter was not closed. Since 2003, the average wait time to get through to our call centre has been under 30 seconds and you had an opportunity to resolve the issue. If you subsequently received a Notice of Failure To Pay, you had an opportunity to raise a dispute with the company and, if the company disagreed with you, to appeal that dispute to an independent dispute arbitrator.

Q. If I’m disputing the charges, can I still have my plate renewal denied?

A. The dispute and appeal process and plate denial run at the same time. Therefore, if it’s time to renew your licence plate and you’ve disputed or are appealing the tolls, you must pay the disputed amount. If the dispute is resolved in your favour, 407 ETR will return the disputed amount to you plus interest.

Q. I paid this bill a long time ago but you lost the payment because it was never applied to my account.

A. Like other businesses, something like this is very rare but can occur. In most cases, the wrong account number was entered by the customer when telebanking or banking online. Since you have continued to receive bills and notices in the mail, the payment has not been applied and still needs your attention. We encourage you to contact Customer Service at 1-888-407-0407 with proof of payment (including the date, amount, method of payment and 407 ETR account number) so we can track the payment and apply it to your account.

Q. I did get Notices of Failure to Pay and sent the dispute back to 407 ETR. I never heard from you so I assumed the matter was resolved.

A. If you disputed a Notice of Failure to Pay formally by the methods listed on the notice and the company did not respond, then we will take the disputed amounts out of plate denial. However, you must provide proof that you did formally dispute the Notice of Failure to Pay.

A. You have the right to dispute a Notice of Failure to Pay. For your convenience 407 ETR includes a Notice of Dispute form on Notices of Failure to Pay sent to customers.

If a customer sends a Notice of Dispute to 407 ETR, 407 ETR will not use a collection agency or seek court enforcement to collect the amounts until the final disposition of the customer’s dispute.

Q. I tried to dispute the charges but couldn’t get through to the Call Centre.

A. Several years ago we did have challenges in the Call Centre. We spent over $50 million to replace the billing system and improve the minimal Call Centre infrastructure inherited from the Government. Since 2003, the average waiting time has been less than 30 seconds. In addition to responding to calls quickly, we have also introduced many online service features and expanded the automated phone system.

NOTE: As the Notice of Failure to Pay states, if you wish to dispute the tolls on the notice, you must do so in writing and send your Notice of Dispute to one of the addresses listed on the Notice of Failure to Pay. You cannot dispute a Notice of Failure to Pay by calling the Call Centre.

If you think there has been an error with your account and you have not yet received a Notice of Failure to Pay, we encourage you to contact Customer Service at 1-888-407-0407 immediately to resolve your concern. If you have a concern while in plate denial, a dispute process exists which includes the availability of an independent dispute arbitrator. The dispute process is outlined in your Notice of Failure to Pay.

Q. I got a bill or notice, but I never use the highway. What should I do?

If you have already received a Notice of Failure to Pay, then the way to resolve the issue is to formally dispute it with the company following the process stated on the Notice of Failure to Pay. We will respond to you within 30 days. If you failed to dispute the charges within the allotted time, then you should contact Customer Service at 1-888-407-0407 to settle the account.

Q. How long does the arbitration process take? I don’t want to spend years clearing this up.

A. Our goal is to resolve the dispute as expeditiously as possible. Most disputes can be heard and resolved by the independent arbitrator within a few months.