NYS ez-pass robbed me!!

[jimnyc]

Long story, but I don't even own an e-zpass, which is a device you put on your windshield, so no waiting at tolls, you just drive through and it reads it and you pay with pre-paid funding on the device. If you don't have one, you drive through and it reads your license plate and you receive a bill in the mail. Or you're supposed to.

So now I get a bill in the mail for once when I went to NJ for a day trip (passed through the toll 2x, there and back). And then I went on a weekend, where I went through the toll on a Friday and again on the way home on a Sunday. The bill comes in the mail today and I was stunned. It shows it as "late", even though my wife and I agree this is the first we got the bill. $5 for the 4 passes through the booth, totaling $20. They "only" assessed one late fee of $5. BUT, then they assessed a "violation fee" of $50 for EACH time through the toll - totaling $225 for the 4 times through, which would have been $20 otherwise.

And - you CANNOT pay the toll on that day. You either have an e-zpass, or you wait to be billed via license plate. Then of course they purposely bill you late, claim it's a second notice and assess a $50 fee.

Of course you can fight it, but it's not so simple and of course will require time. They didn't want to hear shit on the phone and just said pay it or fight it. They won't let you pay the tolls and late fee without paying the violation fee either, it's all or nothing. So, if you decide to fight, you can't pay anything, and then you run the risk of it hitting collections and your credit, or they can suspend your drivers license.

And you know the worst part? In order to prevent this in the future? I now need to get another e-zpass, just so that they bill me properly.

[tailfins]

Thanks for the heads up. If you want to part of an organization that defends you as a motorist join the National Motorists Association at www.motorists.org .

[jimnyc]

Thanks for the heads up. If you want to part of an organization that defends you as a motorist join the National Motorists Association at www.motorists.org .

I'll peek around their site. But let me ask - how will they defend me?

[tailfins]

I'll peek around their site. But let me ask - how will they defend me?

1) They lobby against anti-motorist actions by government
2) If you get a SPEEDING ticket, there's this:

Get Your Speeding Ticket Paid For In Three Easy Steps

This program is only available to supporting NMA Members.

1. Plead not guilty and fight your ticket in court.
2. Submit to NMA a readable copy of the original ticket, the receipt from the Clerk of Court for the amount of the ticket and court costs, and the court confirmation of a trial having been conducted with a "guilty" verdict indicated.
3. Cash your check from the NMA.

http://www.motorists.org/traffic-justice/

[tailfins]

NH has exits that don't give change at night. Are your toll roads like that also?

[Abbey Marie]

Wow, what a racket!

My husband went through tree tolls without funds in his E-Z Pass account, and received a pretty large bill with penalties. (I told him to pay the toll after the first digital notice popped up, but of course, he didn't listen). Anyway, he called up and was told basically, tough. He called back the next day and spoke to a supervisor who deleted all three of the penalties. With the proviso that this was a one-time thing. May be worth calling back, Jim.

[jimnyc]

NH has exits that don't give change at night. Are your toll roads like that also?

Sort of, in instances like I wrote above. If you get off some exits, it might be an ezpass exit, so you don't get change. You either have an ezpass which will be detected, or it gets your license plate and bills you by mail. It's a very stupid setup, IMO.

Wow, what a racket!

My husband went through tree tolls without funds in his E-Z Pass account, and received a pretty large bill with penalties. (I told him to pay the toll after the first digital notice popped up, but of course, he didn't listen). Anyway, he called up and was told basically, tough. He called back the next day and spoke to a supervisor who deleted all three of the penalties. With the proviso that this was a one-time thing. May be worth calling back, Jim.

I'm confident that they skip sending out bills or that they are extremely late. I was recently in NJ and that means 2 times over this same toll, and I haven't been billed for that yet either and it doesn't show up if I do a search. Then they surprise you with fees. Then they make the process so extremely crazy to deal with that a large percentage likely just give up. I paid up to date to protect my credit and license, but am still going to appeal the violation fees.

Other funny things I was just reading. People would have to send their ezpasses in for whatever reason, and sometimes when they would get a new one in the mail, the company would forget to put it in a protective bag. The owner gets his bill a month later with like 9 tolls they have never been near. Turns out, even in a mail bag in the back of a truck, it can be picked up by sensors when a tractor trailer passes a reader!! And the stories are horrid, where these people literally have to jump through hoops and fight forever and ever to get reimbursed or have fees waived.

My wife tells me that one of the reasons we no longer have it is because we received a charge for a toll in Delaware, when we had not even been out of NY for eons, nor in NJ, let alone further south. No matter what apparently they wouldn't listen to reason, so we went off the e-zpass grid after that.

[Gaffer]

Another reason to stay clear of that part of the country. We don't have troll roads in these parts.

[tailfins]

Sort of, in instances like I wrote above. If you get off some exits, it might be an ezpass exit, so you don't get change. You either have an ezpass which will be detected, or it gets your license plate and bills you by mail. It's a very stupid setup, IMO.

I wonder how many people obstruct their license plates for such exits.

Jim, I have your new EZ-Pass. It's REALLY EZ (two needed per vehicle)

[SassyLady]

Hey Jim,

It's the same here in the North Bay .... used to pay tolls on all the bridges to get into San Francisco. Now they take picture of your license and bill you. However, the "first" bill seems to never show up. And, by the time you get the "second" notice (which is your first) it's also late. So, yes, what used to cost $6.00 can now cost over $200.

My friend leaves his car here in CA so he'll have a car to drive around when he comes to visit from AZ. I drove it to airport in SF to pick him up. The registration is in his name with AZ address. After he got home he went to visit family in Illinois. Was gone for over a two months between the two visits (CA and IL). He gets home and finds that he's been billed and because he has not paid the bill has enormous late fees.

I refuse to drive into SF.

Just another way for a municipality to take advantage of everyone. It's definitely a win for the bridge authorities. No more manpower on the bridge and a gold mine of late fees.

[SassyLady]

I wonder how many people obstruct their license plates for such exits.

Jim, I have your new EZ-Pass. It's REALLY EZ (two needed per vehicle)

Only need one for car registered in AZ. Not required to have front license plate.

[gabosaurus]

Last time I was on the East Coast, I was on one of the throughways and didn't have an EZ Pass thing. Got a bill in the mail. Wrote back that my license plate was unreadable and said I would pay up when they sent a clearer picture. They never did.

[Jeff]

Sort of, in instances like I wrote above. If you get off some exits, it might be an ezpass exit, so you don't get change. You either have an ezpass which will be detected, or it gets your license plate and bills you by mail. It's a very stupid setup, IMO.



I'm confident that they skip sending out bills or that they are extremely late. I was recently in NJ and that means 2 times over this same toll, and I haven't been billed for that yet either and it doesn't show up if I do a search. Then they surprise you with fees. Then they make the process so extremely crazy to deal with that a large percentage likely just give up. I paid up to date to protect my credit and license, but am still going to appeal the violation fees.

Other funny things I was just reading. People would have to send their ezpasses in for whatever reason, and sometimes when they would get a new one in the mail, the company would forget to put it in a protective bag. The owner gets his bill a month later with like 9 tolls they have never been near. Turns out, even in a mail bag in the back of a truck, it can be picked up by sensors when a tractor trailer passes a reader!! And the stories are horrid, where these people literally have to jump through hoops and fight forever and ever to get reimbursed or have fees waived.

My wife tells me that one of the reasons we no longer have it is because we received a charge for a toll in Delaware, when we had not even been out of NY for eons, nor in NJ, let alone further south. No matter what apparently they wouldn't listen to reason, so we went off the e-zpass grid after that.

I was heading to Boston to deliver and got off the freeway and they did the same, no one there to collect so I had no choice but to drive through and when the bill came to the company I drove for it was a outrageous fee, it is all about making money how is anyone from out of the area suppose to pay and then they send the bill late and of course for a T/T it is very expensive from the get go but add on penalties and they are making a killing up there

[jimnyc]

I did a ton of reading last night and a ton this morning, and not surprisingly it turns out this is a nonstop and huge issue. How can SO many people be complaining about not receiving notifications and then having extravagant fees applied?

So I started thinking further. I went to Jersey recently and those tolls haven't been paid yet. But if searching on their site, you CANNOT get results without a notice violation number. It's impossible to pay your toll without having received the information in the mail. And by that time, a $5 toll may now be $60, minimum

So your hands are tied, and by the time you can do a single thing, you're already screwed, and your only way out is to jump through hoops. I'm just bypassing that toll bridge for now on. F these people and the racket they have going on.

[Abbey Marie]

I did a ton of reading last night and a ton this morning, and not surprisingly it turns out this is a nonstop and huge issue. How can SO many people be complaining about not receiving notifications and then having extravagant fees applied?

So I started thinking further. I went to Jersey recently and those tolls haven't been paid yet. But if searching on their site, you CANNOT get results without a notice violation number. It's impossible to pay your toll without having received the information in the mail. And by that time, a $5 toll may now be $60, minimum

So your hands are tied, and by the time you can do a single thing, you're already screwed, and your only way out is to jump through hoops. I'm just bypassing that toll bridge for now on. F these people and the racket they have going on.

Which bridge is it, Jim? GW?