I co-founded Maut & Vignette B.V. with Mattijs Wijnmalen back in 2014. As Chief Operating Officer, based at our headquarters in Amersfoort, I focus on keeping the operational side of the business running smoothly behind the scenes.
While Mattijs concentrates on strategy and route mapping, I oversee our day-to-day operations. That includes order processing and making sure our IT integrations stay reliable. It is my responsibility that our multilingual customer support team has the systems and information they need to help international drivers navigate cross-border journeys.
When Mattijs and I launched our first vignette platform in 2014, we wanted to solve a very practical problem: European tolling information was fragmented and often confusing for international drivers. Our aim was to make it simple for travellers to arrange the vignettes they needed in one place, in their own language, and using familiar payment methods.
When Hungary rolled out its digital e-Matrica database system, the physical sticker disappeared, but the importance of getting the registration details right became even greater.
As an independent reseller, reliability has been one of our main operational priorities. When a driver places an order through our platform, their information must be processed accurately and the correct vignette needs to be registered against the right vehicle details.
My job is to make sure that process works as smoothly as possible, from checkout through to registration and confirmation.
A large part of my role involves analysing how order data moves through our systems and identifying where drivers are most likely to make mistakes.
Hungarian motorway enforcement, operated by NÚSZ (Nemzeti Útdíjszolgáltató Zrt.), relies heavily on overhead camera gantries doing automatic checks. Unfortunately, these automated systems don't give drivers the benefit of the doubt. Simple mistakes are easily made but can quickly result in expensive fines. And yes, in Hungary, fines are issued for each and every day you drive without a valid vignette.
While I spend a lot of my time buried in database workflows and system monitoring, staying connected to what drivers actually experience on the road is equally important.
Driving Hungarian routes myself gives me a useful context for the decisions we make behind the scenes. For example:
These real-world observations help us improve the way our systems and customer guidance are set up.
My role is largely about preventing issues before they turn into support cases or fines.
When you use our service, you're not just buying a digital permit. You're also paying for a process that is designed to reduce uncertainty and give you peace of mind.
My standard for our operations is simple: clear information before purchase, fast confirmation once the registration is completed, and human support if something unexpected comes up.
If you ever need help checking a vehicle classification or confirming an order status, our customer support team is available 24/7.
We also stand behind the way we process orders. If a fine is issued due to a mistake on our part, our Fine Guarantee policy is there to protect our customers, no questions asked!
My operational role gives me a broad view of the problems drivers actually face when travelling or crossing borders in Europe.
I follow all regulatory developments connected to road use and tolling in Hungary, and I also travel the routes myself. On top of that, I stay close to our customer support team and regularly see the questions, mistakes, and frustrations that come in from real drivers. Over time, that combination has given me a practical understanding of both the official rules and the way those rules affect people on the road.
That's why I'm involved in the final review of much of our content. By the time an article reaches me, it's usually already been written, checked and improved by several people. My role is to give it one final operational review: to check whether the information matches current rules, reflects what our customers actually experience, and whether there are any practical details that could make our guides even more useful.
I often find that the small operational details make the biggest difference, and those are the things I try to add before we publish.
Placeholder: the guides reviewed by Freek will be listed here.
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