Simon* had no idea how much money he owed until the letters gushed out of his mailbox.

He assumed his wife had been paying his CityLink tolls so he could travel to work each day.

Facing court over road tolls can be 'humiliating', 'ridiculous' and 'leaves you very exposed'. Credit:Bloomberg

What should have cost Simon $8000 at most had ballooned to $60,000. There was no hope of him paying that back.

So on Tuesday morning he joined the roll call at the Werribee Magistrates Court, where dozens of toll road cases were listed.