Alleged unjustified charges suffered by road users who prefer to use the e-tag payment option at the Lekki Toll-Gate have raised suspicion of fraud and lack of transparency on the part of Lekki Concession Company (LCC).
Users recently accused the company of outrageous deductions from their accounts, particularly in periods when they didn’t use the route.
Some victims, including renowned actress Kate Henshaw, who took to Twitter to protest the anomaly, said despite the LCC admitting its system experienced glitches earlier in the year, the company continued to debit their accounts without access to the e-tag section.
The fallout of the problem has been unnecessary queues building up traffic and deteriorating service quality in the last two months.
“I have already noticed a discrepancy on a day I was away but was debited by your company. I have just left your office where I went for clarification. Despite a deposit of N10,000 top-up, you showed me a debit balance, saying I owe you. If I do not have money and I did not pass through, how do I owe you? Also, how do you account for the days I travelled and did not use the toll?” Henshaw tweeted at the official handle of @LCCTollRoad.
“With the amount of money you make, your electronic system should be top notch. You hardly display balance when one passes through. So in actual fact, I have been debited and also paid cash to pass through. My fault in this is not keeping my receipts but you will account for the days I travelled and yet was debited for passage. My passport with dates of departure and arrival will be made available to you. You have to clarify this. You need to be above board and come with clean hands,” she added.
Another aggrieved victim, @henryokoye called on the new governor to wade in, saying it was high time the state reviewed the service level agreement of the toll gate because things were worsening and causing hardship on residents.
Expressing her concerns on Twitter, Sumbo Akintola asked, “LCC what is going on? Why do you take your customers for granted? Repeatedly there have been a system breakdown. I have just noted massive unjustifiable deductions of funds. I only use the Lekki toll gate at most twice a day. I need a statement of account.”
But out of the pool of outbursts from numerous users, the LCC only singled out the tweet of the Nollywood actress Kate Henshaw for a response. Others were simply ignored.
“Thank you for reaching out. Kindly note that we will not unduly debit your account for passages not made. Kindly review the statement that was availed you and revert for any clarification you may require,” @LCCTollRoad replied to Henshaw’s tweet.
When BusinessDay contacted the LCC via its available official numbers on Wednesday, it failed multiple times to transfer to a customer service representative.
Temitayo Ayetoto
