The toll booth at Kurnool robbed ₹ 500 from me on Sunday. I was returning from Tirupathi and was at this toll around 6 am. There was one guy in the stall in front of the computer and another one was standing outside, chatting with the guy in the stall and assisting with money-ticket transactions. The toll fee was ₹ 90 and I had a ₹ 1000 note. I asked him if he can provide me with the change for ₹ 1000 and the standing guy said yes while he accepted the note. He passed it on to the other guy who returned only ₹ 410 with the ticket, as he claimed I gave ₹ 500 note. All my effort to remind him that I even asked if they can change ₹ 1000 before I gave them the note went in vain. To settle the argument, they offered to show me the ‘backup’ feed from CCTV footage. I gladly accepted as that would be a black & white proof. I parked the car, stepped into their office and looked at the feed. Apparently they maintain three aluminum boxes for cash in the stall; one each for 1000, 500 and 100 notes. In the video, I can see my car come up and I hand over the note. Then the booth guy puts it in the second box. The note I handed over appeared as a piece of plain paper. There is no way anybody can determine if it’s a 1000 or a 500 note. They stopped the video and told me it was a ₹ 500 note. I couldn’t see the note clearly and asked them how they could see it. It has terrible quality and the way they verify using backup made me laugh even at that hour, after all-night drive, during the fight. They say it’s a ₹ 500 because he put it in the second box! If that guy had put it in the first box, then they would consider it as ₹ 1000 note. :) I told them I really appreciated their sense of humor, but I needed a better mechanism to settle the argument and get my 500 back. They said they offered second level of verification in instances like this. I was glad and asked them to go ahead. He called the guy in the stall over intercom and asked them to check ‘if he has the correct amount of cash or if there is an excess 500’. He replied that he has the correct amount and that’s final. There was nothing much I could do then. They probably do that with a few vehicles every day and split up the ‘incentive’ when they go home! Is there anything that I can do now to stop this organized crime, or, long shot I know, but get my ₹ 500 back?
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 07:37:28 +0000
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