FAQ

1. How high are my reimbursement claims?

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The exact amount of the reimbursement claims will depend on the routes driven, the EURO standard, the number of axles and the permissible total weight of the respective truck. In all likelihood, toll payers have paid an average overcharge of four to seven percent until 30 September 2021.

According to the current case law of the OVG Münster, it is likely that interest can be demanded on the reimbursement claims from the time of the toll payment on.

2. For which toll payments can reimbursements be claimed?

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eClaim’s offer applies to truck tolls paid on German roads on the basis of a contractual relationship with Toll Collect or an EETS provider. Only Axxès, Toll4Europe, Telepass, AS24 from TotalEnergies and Tolltickets are approved as EETS providers. Even if the toll is paid via a billing company (e.g. SVG, UTA, DKV), there is always a contractual relationship with Toll Collect or an EETS provider.

If Hausfeld Rechtsanwälte LLP, within the framework of the eClaim offer, has already acted for you at the end of 2020, it is very likely that you are entitled to reimbursement claims – in  any case for payments from 2017 onwards. If Hausfeld Rechtsanwälte LLP did not act for you until 2021, it is very likely that you are entitled to reimbursements for payments since 2018.

You may also have reimbursement claims for earlier payments. In cooperation with eClaim, Hausfeld Rechtsanwälte LLP will also enforce these claims for you.

3. Do I have a contractual relationship with Toll Collect or an EETS provider?

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Toll Collect and the EETS providers (Axxès,Toll4Europe, Telepass, AS24 from TotalEnergies, Tolltickets) process the toll payments between the toll-paying company and the federal government. Therefore, every company that pays truck tolls itself has a contractual relationship with Toll Collect or an EETS provider.

All companies that are registered with one of these toll providers have a contractual relationship with Toll Collect or an EETS provider. Registered companies have a Toll Collect or EETS provider user number. You can obtain this from your toll provider.

Even if you are not registered, you can still have a contractual relationship with Toll Collect or an EETS provider. In particular, you have a contractual relationship if you have accepted the general terms and conditions of one of these toll providers. This can also be the case when you paid truck tolls manually.

In addition, it is possible that a billing company (SVG, UTA, DKV, etc.) has concluded a contract with Toll Collect or an EETS provider in your name. In case of doubt, contact your billing company.

4. What is the difference between a toll provider and a billing company?

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Every company that pays truck tolls itself has a contractual relationship with a toll provider (Toll Collect, Axxès, Toll4Europe, Telepass, AS24 from TotalEnergies, Tolltickets).

In contrast, a contractual relationship with a billing company (such as SVG, UTA or DKV) does not exist in every case, and if it does, it is in addition to the contractual relationship with a toll provider. This is because billing companies process payments between the toll-paying company and Toll Collect or an EETS provider.

5. What is the legislative amendment all about?

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Due to a legislative amendment, new, lower toll rates will apply retroactively for the period from 28 October 2020 to 30 September 2021 inclusive. Hausfeld Rechtsanwälte LLP will ensure a first prompt partial payment on your reimbursement claims due to this legislative amendment for the affected period for you.

6. What are the advantages of eClaim’s offer if the BAG partially reimburses the toll already?

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A review carried out by Hausfeld Rechtsanwälte LLP in cooperation with a transport expert has shown that the toll payers are likely to be entitled to significantly higher reimbursements in some cases than the BAG is paying out.

Furthermore, the reimbursements due to the legislative amendment only concern claims from 28 October 2020 to 30 September 2021. The amendment does not affect the period before that. eClaim therefore offers you the enforcement of all your toll reimbursement claims as a package. Therefore, all your reimbursement claims – especially also the claims that go beyond the legislative amendment – will be determined and comprehensively enforced for you. Please note that Hausfeld Rechtsanwälte LLP can only enforce your reimbursement claims within the framework of the eClaim offer as a comprehensive package, i.e. consisting of the claims arising from the legislative amendment and any claims going beyond this.

7. What do I have to do if I have already asserted my claims from the legislative amendment ("tariff reduction") on my own?

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8. How does the procedure continue? When can I expect a payout?

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To uphold your rights as comprehensively as possible, Hausfeld Rechtsanwälte LLP is pursuing the reimbursement of unlawful truck tolls in a staggered manner.

Hausfeld Rechtsanwälte LLP has developed a procedure according to which only the data and documents described under the question no 9 below are required to quantify and enforce your reimbursement claims due to the tariff reduction for the period from 28 October 2020 to 30 September 2021 at the BAG.

Hausfeld has developed a digital process to transmit your data and toll statements to the BAG efficiently and to process your toll reimbursement claims resulting from the statutory toll rates reduction as quickly as possible. 

Please note: Submitting incomplete or incorrect data or documents will delay the payout process.

Therefore, we ask you to carefully check your data and requests for information that you have received from us and to answer as soon as possible in case you notice discrepancies. 

Currently the BAG pays out the toll reimbursements for Hausfeld's clients due to the tariff reduction, which are forwarded to the respective clients within a few working days minus eClaim's share in the proceeds. 

Please note that due to limited human and technical resources, the BAG can only do the calculations and payout of the toll reimbursement claims successively. Therefore, there will be unavoidable delays. It will take a few more months for the payouts to be completed. 

IMPORTANT:
Please do not submit your own toll reimbursement application to the BAG based on the tariff reduction under any circumstances. Another application for reimbursement by your company would jeopardize claim enforcement and would not expedite the payment process. 

We inform you immediately as soon as the BAG has processed your toll reimbursement claims. 

Please understand that we are currently unable to predict when exactly the BAG will pay out your reimbursement amount. 

Your lawyers of course continue to pursue the reimbursement claims (including interest) that go beyond the statutory tariff reduction. This applies to the period starting from the introduction of the truck toll in Germany on 1 January 2005 as well as to the period of the tariff reduction.  

Your lawyers and the BAG intend to conduct several model lawsuits to comprehensively clarify the legal situation.

9. What documents do I have to upload?

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For payments between 28 October 2020 and 30 November 2021, upload your supporting documents under "Tollpayments 1/2" on the eClaim platform. Please upload only monthly or bi-weekly toll statements from Toll Collect or one of the EETS providers (Axxès,Toll4Europe, Telepass, AS24 from TotalEnergies, Tolltickets) at this point. If you do not know how to obtain the required documents, you will find a detailed description on the eClaim platform.

Please note that the respective PDF must only contain the monthly or bi-weekly toll statement. Do not attach any other supporting documents to the PDF file. Please do not upload single-journey receipts.

You can download sample statements from TollCollect and the EETS providers under the following links. Please upload only documents of this type under "Toll payments 1/2".

-         Unfortunately, a Tolltickets sample toll statement is not available at the moment.

For payments before 28 October 2020, upload your receipts under "Toll payments 2/2". Other receipts are also acceptable for this period. If you have monthly or bi-weekly toll statements from Toll Collect or an EETS provider, please upload these.

Please note that missing or incorrect receipts will significantly reduce your chances of success.

10. My company data has changed, what do I need to do?

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If you have not yet submitted your data by clicking the "Submit" button after (re-)opening the eClaim platform, please correct your company data on the platform yourself.

If you wish to change your data after submitting it, please contact eClaim's customer service at service@eclaim.de stating your eClaim registration number.

11. What should I do if my company has filed for insolvency or has been dissolved?

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If your company is insolvent, usually only the insolvency administrator is entitled to assert your reimbursement claims. In that case, please inform your insolvency administrator immediately about the toll reimbursement procedure and your participation in eClaim’s offer. Ask your insolvency administrator to contact eClaim and Hausfeld Rechtsanwälte LLP in this matter.

If your company has been dissolved in the meantime, it must be clarified in each individual case who is the current claimant of the toll reimbursement claims. On the eClaim platform, under "Registration data", you will find the question: " Was your company liquidated or has it filed for insolvency since October 2020?" Please select the answer that applies to you. Alternatively, please contact eClaim’s customer service at service@eclaim.de.

12. I have sent the power of attorney but have not received any response. Has the power of attorney arrived?

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The power of attorney reaches the law firm Hausfeld Rechtsanwälte LLP by normal post. Due to the great interest in toll reimbursement, the law firm receives a large number of letters every day. We will only contact you if your power of attorney has not been received or has been received incorrectly. If you do not hear from eClaim or Hausfeld Rechtsanwälte LLP, you can assume that everything is in order.

Please assist the processing by sending only the original power of attorney by post to the address given and ensure that your post is clearly marked with your eClaim registration number.

13. Why do I no longer have access to the eClaim platform?

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If you have registered your company on mautzurueck.de but have not submitted your data on the eClaim Platform in time (until 8 December 2021), you can no longer participate in the eClaim offer. Your link to the platform is then no longer valid.

If you have mistakenly registered the same company more than once, you will still have access to the platform for the registration that you completed by clicking the "Submit" button.

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