I understand that New York City is a metropolitan area and a very busy and expensive area; however, there has to be a fair system where you can pay your toll's and avoid fees or have your fees waived if you are an EZ Pass account holder. Vuolo got a call on Jan. 7 from a customer service rep who said her office reviewed his complaints "with a fine-toothed comb.". Yes. 26. I cautioned my brother that many tolls no longer have cash lanes but that we would be billed by license plate and I would pay the tolls. Text Alert Update. Then he received another violation notice. As your vehicle enters the toll lane, the E-ZPass tag that is mounted on your vehicle's windshield is read. -Once the transaction becomes a "violation", a notice is sent that includes a $50 administrative fee - this fee often get waived as a one-time courtesy, with every case being unique. Danielle Leigh and the 7 On Your Side Investigates team at Eyewitness News want to hear from you! The people in collections say they have no way of waiving the fee; however, that is a complete lie and these collection agencies and EZ Pass New York are taking advantage of people with these cash less toll lanes and hitting people with over thousands of dollars in toll fees which they won't waive which is unfair especially if your an EZ Pass account holder. I sometimes pull a camper or trailer with my vehicle. If you fail to replenish your account when the balance gets low, and your actual balance drops below $0.00 due to usage of your transponder, you may be subject to an administrative fee of $25.00 in addition to amount of funds necessary to bring your account into compliance with the minimum balance requirements. Pay by plate: If you decline the PlatePass program, the terms say that the "highest, undiscounted applicable toll rate" will be charged, with a $15 per toll admin fee, up to $90 per rental. Mueller is also the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Administrative Fee Amount; COLEMAN BRIDGE: $1.50: DULLES TOLL ROAD: $0.00: I-64 EXPRESS: $1.50: I66 INSIDE BELTWAY: $1.50: The State of New York does not imply approval of the listed destinations, warrant the accuracy of any information set out in those destinations, or endorse any opinions expressed therein. Emails didn't get attention to his problem, either. I pre-recorded message kept telling me how busy they were and that I could go online to pay or dispute the violation. WebBusiness Accounts. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. WebIf you use the Tag when your bank account has insufficient funds and payment is not made by means of your back-up credit card, you may incur administrative fees of up to $50 per occurrence; be charged the full, undiscounted charge; and/or be asked to surrender the Tag to E-ZPass via certified mail or to plaza personnel. On 8/22/22 I received Prompt Attention bills acknowledging I no owed $0 for unpaid tolls but each said I owed $50.00 for Administrative Fees. Parking fees of less than $20.00 will be deducted from your E-ZPass account prepaid toll balance, while any Links may open in a new window. Are Delaware's toll fines fair? Vuolo wrote to this new address on Oct. 22. While we reviewed the records, Vuolo The MTA recommends E-Z Pass customers sign up for mobile alerts that send email or text notifications when a balance is low. It also promised to waive all initial first time violation fees once it's received full payment for tolls owed. Carolyn said that didn't happen in her case. Vuolo even received several notices threatening a suspension of his registration. Since you do have an EZpass now it is quite easy to have the fee waived. Customer must have a cell phone number and email address listed on their account. We asked the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which handles Vuolo's E-ZPass, to review the customer's records. Youll just have to wait on hold for a long time. Why did I receive a letter/call from the collection agency? We reviewed a two-inch stack that included violation notices, letters to E-ZPass, fax confirmations and postal receipts. Dollar's toll-collection arm sent me a physical bill about four weeks after we returned the car. But Vuolo was able to show he paid that fee on Oct. 30, and he wrote another complaint letter -- return receipt requested. Rent an E-ZPass: Pay each toll, plus a rental fee of $3.95 per day, up to $19.75 per month. One $8 toll violation carries a fine of $100. account. Vuolo wrote to E-ZPass again on Nov. 10, this time via fax, which E-ZPass said would be answered in 10 days. Before sending a violation notice to an E-ZPass customer, the system will re-check the customer account for a 10-day period to see if the balance has become good. Our editorial policy at TPG is not to accept free travel from providers, so I declined the offer. "It appears that E-ZPass has a completely different approach, which is signing for letters and then ignoring them," Vuolo wrote. If you incur a toll fine of $20 and a $50 administrative fee, your total charge will be $70. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. There are 17 states connected within the network, making the system hugely convenient for those who travel long distances, mainly if their roads include toll lanes, bridges, or tunnels. Customer Service Center Locations. Carolyn Rodriguez-Dondero.is livid she's in collections after she says she wasn't warned she even had violations. Vuolo received a notice saying his registration could be suspended related to an unanswered Oct. 12 violation. "It is apparent that E-ZPass is a three-ring circus with no ringleader," he wrote. Anyone with outstanding toll violations incurred onRoute 1 or I-95 from Jan. 1, 2014, to April 30, 2020, is eligible to participate in the program. not retirees. EZ-Pass is not going to just waive your fees, you can forget about that. You'll earn 15 elite night credits each calendar year, and receive automatic Gold elite status. They reported back that Mr. Voulo's letters were processed incorrectly after they were scanned into the system, Feeney said. This way, you will avoid many headaches in the future and spending unnecessary money. The Keyport man received 25 violation notices from the agency over several months. He tried it out on Dec. 29, and again, the tool booth said "toll unpaid," so that made for violation notice No. Vuolo tried to get an answer online on Dec. 4. This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback. Each year, Delaware collects more than $190 millionfrom tolls on I-95 and Route 1. Even if the system has been widely used for over thirty years, people often commit mistakes. Credit ranges are a variation of FICO Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application. "I'm quite sure if I missed a violations payment I would be notified immediately.". E-ZPass is Expanding! Whenever this happens, you will receive a toll violation notice that requires you to pay an administrative fee (for the infraction) and the tolls total cost. To do this, make sure that the rental car's transponder isn't active, pass through the toll and then search the applicable tolling agency to pay the toll amount before it's billed to the vehicle owner by mail. Drivers can arrange to make payments on the amnesty balance. If you don't want to go through the hassle of getting an E-ZPass, renters may be able to pay the toll directly to the toll agency to avoid the convenience fee charged by the rental car company. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. He's been trying to get E-ZPass to respond to his complaints about violation notices. WebEz Pass Violation Dispute Letter Sample. Mobile Alerts sends notifications for low balances, failed payments, successful replenishments, increased replenishment amounts, and payment method expirations. If anyone on our team wouldnt recommend it to a friend or a family member, we wouldnt recommend it on The Points Guy either. EZ PASS NY Every single day EZ Pass is taking advantage of customers, either their machines at EZ-Pass to Refund 80,000 Administrative Fees Charged During COVID-19 Pandemic. And again. Vuolo wrote again, but this time via a paper letter. "If you replenish your E-Z Pass they take the balance (due) at replenish," remarks Brienza. How can I have excessive EZ Pass fees waived in the state waived? BALTIMORE, MD (April 27, 2022) Two months after the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Board approved a new Customer Assistance Plan, the agency is continuing to offer a civil penalty waiver grace period for customers who pay their unpaid Video Tolls by 11:59 p.m. November 30, 2022. He then received another suspension warning about an Oct. 14 violation. They will require between 48 and 72 hours to be activated. I was assured that a new bill would be available online in about 24 hours and I could pay it then. "They've changed their procedure and are providing additional training to the employees involved to make sure it doesn't happen again," Feeney said. You can also contact Danielle Leigh directly: Email your questions, issues, or story ideas to 7OnYourSideDanielle@abc.com, American Airlines pilots vote to authorize strike, NYPD detective dies after spending 33 years in a coma, Officials, workers rally on May Day in New York City. Usually you just go online and process the violation under your EZpass account. That's how we found the toll-free option that we used when leaving the Boston airport area. I pointed out this absurdity to the agent, and he shared another option: "You can go without the E-ZPass and just go through the tolls and pay $18.50 each toll you go through." Your application may have been lost. Here Vuolo holds the 25th notice, and laid out before him are the other 24. And it usually takes some time for the tolling agency to check the plate. $200 in fees for $3 in tolls. I called E-Z Pass again; more than once to no avail. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon. Both customers were granted a one time courtesy and had nearly 6 grand in penalties dismissed. Supplies can be ordered by calling the Customer Service Center at 877-643-9727 or online at the. If the license plate is registered to a transponder, it'll bill that account. Refer to this step by step process to sign up for an E-ZPass: Buy an E-ZPass at an On-the-Go Retail Location. Given my personal experience, I can only imagine the exponential cost to NJ taxpayers to support NJ Administration! On June 24, 2015, his statement was charged twice for going through different exits on the New Jersey Turnpike -- on the exact same date at the exact same time. For Ralph Vuolo, kablooey is an understatement. Call the Customer Service Center at 877-643-9727 or visit one of three local walk-in centers located in Concord, Nashua and Portsmouth. Is this where the problem began? This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). "The state should fix the malfunctioning intermittent toll booth plate reading unit or deduct the error amount automatically from my account," he wrote. Still, getting multiple toll violation notices in the same year can be pretty expensive. Newark, NJ 07114-2562. The discount is based on the class of vehicle not the type of account. Ralph Vuolo of Keyport has been trying to get someone at E-ZPass to address his complaint. I traveled across the Outerbridge Crossing and my device was not read while crossing the toll lane; however, I had money in my EZ Pass account. The violation notices continued, with a new one arriving on Aug. 27. Check here before booking an award fare. No materials from this website may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way. All rights reserved (About Us). Fifty cents times five thousand percent will give e - z pass the twenty five dollars violation charge. Nobody at E-ZPass finds it unusual to have 25 violations.". That carried a fine totaling $2500 - a mark-up of more than 2300%. Call 1-800-333-8655 or visit the E-ZPass website. That carried a fine totaling $2500 - a mark-up of more than 2300%. Car to a pickup with six tires (dual wheels in the rear is not acceptable). The Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex is a stacked card with a rewards rate that will help you earn bonus points on everyday and business-related purchases. I had made the mistake to use this route and found owing seventy five dollars. Brienza recently got socked with thousands in fines after his account balance went into the negative. Vuolo received occasional violations notices as early as 2008, but his didn't give them much thought. That's what's Suffolk resident Bill Brienza has nicknamed his E-Z Pass. The correct way to get the fees waived is to send E-Z Pass a brief dispute dispute (return receipt requested) along with your payment by check. PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- E-Z Pass is not going If it has, the toll will post to the customer account at the E-ZPass rate and no violation notice is sent. The only flaw I found is that I neglected to sign below the explanation of dispute I had included. Certain hotels have resort fees. What should I do? The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Please view our advertising policy page for more information. It is unclear why many people receive toll violation notices and are asked to pay administrative fees even if they did not commit any offense. He kept getting violation notices from EZ Pass and thought his transponder wasn't working ot there was a toll machine malfunction, but E-ZPass hasn't responded to his inquiries. WebThe E-ZPass Customer Service Representatives will review your explanation and determine if this is an inadvertant unpaid transaction per New Hampshire E-ZPass Rules & Where to Take Enterprise Rental for Oil Change: Tips and Options. I know some of you may say $50 is not a lot of money; however, it's the same money I need to replenish my account and with our economy, money isn't easy to make and I work hard for my money. Some of them are not even taken seriously. Supplies can be picked up at any of the three local walk-in centers located in Concord, Nashua and Portsmouth. New Jersey E-Z Pass Users Receiving 'Ridiculous' Bills With Administrative Fees For Tolls Closed During Shutdown. Contact the Customer Service Center at 877-643-9727, you can do it online at the. "He had every right to expect a response to his letters, and we failed to provide one.". Call our confidential tip line 1-877-TIP-NEWS (847-6397) or fill out the form BELOW. "I'm now up to 25 violations with my account in good standing due to your faulty equipment, questionable charges and incompetent customer service center.". Please click (https://www.ezpassva.com) here to navigate to our Production site. Now, at the time of pickup -- after we had flown into Boston, taken the bus over to the rental car center and waited in a long line -- the agent finally shared the information: $11.99 per day or $59.99 per week. I looked up the nearest physical NJ E-Z Pass Customer Service location (an hour away in Newark, NJ) hoping to make an appointment. Copyright 2023 WABC-TV. The websites for both Dollar and Thrifty only refer to ". I called the agency on 10/10/22 but was told they could not discuss this with me since it was my fathers account and I was not able to pass the phone to him for permission since he now lives in MA. We're looking forward to hearing that things stay corrected. Rent an E-ZPass: Pay each toll, plus a rental fee of $3.95 per day up to $19.75 per rental period, Pay by plate: Pay each toll, plus $3.95 admin fee per day you actually incur a toll -- up to $19.75 per rental maximum admin fee, Rent an E-ZPass: Pay each toll, plus a rental fee of $3.95 per day, up to $19.75 per month, Pay by plate: Pay each toll, plus $3.95 admin fee per day of your rental period -- up to $19.75 per month, Rent an E-ZPass: During my booking, an agent on the phone said the all-inclusive toll fees "range from $8.99 to $21.49 per day" and that they couldn't provide an exact price at booking. They accidentally pass through the lanes without a transponder. It also promised to waive all initial first time violation fees once it's received full payment for tolls owed. What lanes can I use at the toll plazas? He asked, no -- he begged -- for an answer. You can sign up online using the Sign Up Now button below, or you can download an application using the Download Application button below. How are customers supposed to travel and get to work with a suspended registration because these EZ pass toll's are such a high amount to pay and it is not affordable to many people across the state? There is no phone number and I hesitate to go there only to wait in an endless line, then to be told they cant discuss or resolve this with me since they dont have my fathers permission to speak with me. Not even after the 10-day mark. Most rental car companies charge the same rental/admin fee at Boston as their other US locations, but there are some that take advantage of this captive market, such as Dollar and Thrifty. If you think youve been wrongfully accused of an E-ZPass violation, please contact your areas customer service center to start solving your case. Carolyn said that didn't happen in her case. The correct way to get the fees waived is to send E-Z Pass a brief dispute dispute (return receipt requested) along with your payment by check. Every once in a while something goes kablooey with an E-ZPass transponder. For additional information, please visit the E-ZPass website: www.e-zpassny.com, This page is available in other languages, P.O Box 149001, Staten Island, NY 10314-9001. They're double dipping, they're getting paid two times," he said. Freedom of Information Act | 2x points on all other eligible purchases. And on Dec. 7, he received another violation notice -- but no answer to his letters. I got a bill for almost $2,000! Each toll violation results in the following: A civil penalty surcharge of $12.50 is added if the toll violation remains unpaid after 42 days. In less than two months, an unpaid $1 toll can balloon to a charge of $88.50. I went away on my own vacation from 9/29-10/10/22. Please provide name and address to receive an E-ZPass information packet by mail: An application will NOT be mailed to you if you cancel this request. Receive a 7% discount off standard rates for reservations of standard guest rooms at hotels that participate in the Marriott Bonvoy program when you book directly. If toll roads are unavoidable or worth the extra cost, the easiest way to avoid toll convenience fees is to bring your own E-ZPass with you. Google Maps, Waze and other mapping apps give you the option of only taking routes without tolls. But we're hearing from scores of consumers who are are saying it's a big loss for them after getting hit with fines in the thousands - facing collections - even after some say they've paid the tolls. It is not refundable. On July 31, Vuolo received two more violation notices. "This is the devil." Finally, after getting several violation notices in July 2015, Vuolo went beyond answering the violation notices and he wrote his first complaint letter. We drove around the toll on the way out of the airport, but we came back to the airport through the tunnel, which charges tolls. We're hearing from scores of consumers who are saying cashless tolling is a big loss for them after getting hit with fines in the thousands - facing collections - even after some s. NEW YORK (WABC) -- Cashless tolling seems like a win-win. If you have an E-ZPass account, but don't have the transponder with you, a National rental-car agent recommended that renters associate the rental car license plate with your existing E-ZPass account for the length of the rental. 375 Mccarter Hwy. "I just got a letter yesterday that says if I don't pay by the 26th, they're going to suspend my registration. He said the rep believed the positioning of Vuolo's transponder may have been the reason the transponder didn't register. NHDOT and its representatives are held to the same privacy standard as outlined in RSA 236:31, however law enforcement personnel may be able to obtain records upon court intervention or exigent circumstances. If we passed through the toll without the transponder active -- as we believed we did -- we should have been charged $17.95. However, we can tell you thestandard price for it is $50. Of course, the obvious way to avoid toll convenience fees in a rental car is by avoiding tolls altogether. To open an account, however, you need to have a vehicle license plate to associate with it. Chase's fraud department was apparently as skeptical as I was at this price and messaged me to confirm that I used my card for a $59.99 purchase with Dollar Toll Charge. There's no way to get to or from the airport without paying for a toll.". We reviewed a two-inch stack that included violation notices, letters to E-ZPass, fax confirmations and postal receipts. I opened an account some time ago, but I have no. E-ZPass users are charged $1.75 for each toll. This is not true either. After I explained the situation, the agent told me that she'd be able to reduce the bill to "just" $17.95 -- that's still more than 10x the single toll amount. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Enjoy Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status with your Card. Transponders will not be active immediately. Find Bamboozled on Facebook. We recommend enabling JavaScript for the best experience using our website. That, Vuolo's records show, was paid on Oct. 31. No dice. DO YOU NEED A STORY INVESTIGATED? I looked through the bills I had initially received and confirmed by my posted check that I had paid and E-Z Pass had received my payment. A week later, the online invoice still showed a $59.99 balance due and my credit card was charged for this full amount. WebContact Information. You will find stories of people who received multiple letters and havent faced any consequences yet. That's the $15 per toll administrative fee plus a $2.95 toll as the rental car is registered as a commercial vehicle. If it still fails to work, you need to contact the Customer Service Center at 877-643-9727 or visit one of three local walk-in centers located at the Concord, Nashua and Portsmouth. I am filing this complaint here, mostly to vent and intend to send this same letter to NJ E-Z Pass and Credit Collection Services, The Better Business Bureau, and am considering sending it to NJ Governor Phil Murphy. For example, those with 10 or fewer violations can pay a $60 amnesty fee plus the cost of the original tolls instead of the administrative fee and civil penalties. www.e-zpassny.com, go to Account Profile, and opt-in to Mobile Alerts. WebTo dispute the administrative fees, the customer will need to print, sign, and date the back of the violation notices and why she is not responsible for paying the administrative On 8/29/22 I received another Prompt Attention bill. Are Delaware's toll fines fair? When the toll plaza doesn't get a signal from a transponder, it will default to checking the license plate. Can I swap my transponder between two or more vehicles? (973) 368-1656. Choose, Click here to enroll For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit. Have you been Bamboozled? The E-ZPass system is used widely across the Midwestern and Western areas of the United States. If it happened to me, I myself, would simply pay it and next time I saw my relative I'd tell him or her to try to be more careful. "We cannot process your request at this time," an E-ZPass email response said. That was our contract with E-Z Pass," recalls Carolyn. Same complaint as noted exhaustively here by other drivers on NJ toll roads. How do I get additional mounting strips? Car to a pickup truck with four tires is acceptable. To ensure that all users of MTA toll facilities pay their fair share, a series of enforcement measures were put in place to tackle toll payment evasion and chronic toll scofflaws, this included implementing a violation fee of $100 at our major facilities (RFK, Hugh Carey, Queens Midtown, Throgs Neck, Whitestone, Verrazano). If you desire to not use your transponder, you must remove it from the windshield/license plate and place it in the metallic "read prevent" bag that came with it or you can leave it at home. Faxes were not answered. it is completely unfair for us hard-working New Yorkers that work eight hours a day or more trying to survive and taking care of our families being forced to pay these high toll amounts which is something that we are adjusted to and used to doing but with these fees on top of that how are we supposed to get to work and how are we supposed to pay our bills when most of our money is going to EZ Pass ?? NJ E-Z Pass - Fraudulent violations posted on auto license tag I surrendered in 2016. We asked if the $11.99 daily rate only applied to days when the toll pass is actually used. Commonwealth of Virginia. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. ComplaintsBoard.com is a leading complaint resolution website on the Internet. Each time he answered a violation, it showed the toll fee was charged to his account -- his account was always in good standing -- and the administrative fee was waived. First, you should know that there is a low probability of you receiving an Administrative Fee Waived Letter if you havent started a dispute with your violation. Vuolo wrote his third letter, again explaining the problem and asking for a new transponder. You can enroll in E-ZPass with as little as $25 to start. I could not reach a human being to discuss and resolve this problem. The rep also told him E-ZPass was reviewing some internal procedures, and gave Vuolo a direct number to call her should another problem arise. Visit Website. Violation notices ramped up in 2014 and 2015, and Vuolo would answer each notice. "They're saying I owe them $2500," complains Brienza. The fee is automatically waived on first-time notices if the toll is paid by the due date. On 7/20/22, I received the first of 3 NJ E-Z Pass tolls by mail (Bergen, Raritan South, Toms River) Advisory and Payment Request Violations; each included a $50 "Administrative Fee". My wife Katie and I were renting the car for a week but we would only need to use the toll pass twice -- once leaving the airport and another time returning to the airport. Plus, your own feed of TPG content. Because of this mistake, Hertz offered to waive the toll amount and administrative fee "to help make this right and retain your future business.". At the same time, first-time offenders may get away with it and pay only the tolls total cost instead. Vuolo said he checked in with the post office on that day, finding another return receipt that was never returned. On Oct. 5, Vuolo wrote again, and again, his letter went unanswered. Privacy Policy the letter they receive from the Delaware Department of Transportation, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy, a $15 fee for the Fund to Combat Violent Crimes (only violations after Jan. 31, 2017), a $10 fee for the Volunteer Ambulance Company Fund (only violations after Jan. 31, 2017). Call us Monday-Friday 7:00am-7:00pm or Saturday 8:00am-12:00pm. No. What happens if I use my transponder when the balance in my account is $0.00 or less? Receive 1 Free Night Award every year after your Card renewal month. How are customers held liable for scanners at the bridges, tunnels and thru-ways not properly reading customers vehicle tags? You could end up being billed for a prior renter's tolls. A Thrifty agent said the same thing. Choose which state you live in. All in all she was billed $190 in unpaid tolls, plus an additional $2,100 in fines and penalties. Carolyn said that didn't happen in her case. It turns out the return receipt for his Oct. 22 letter was never returned. Please DO NOT add attachments that contain your or other peoples personal information, if you dont want it to be visible to the public. Plus, earn an additional Free Night Award after you spend $60K in purchases on your Card in a calendar year. I prefer to use cash. In my situation, my brother visited from Australia and used my 91 year old father's car during his vacation (July 1-18, 2022). Find the right card for you. Between the lack of cash toll booths and a supposed lack of non-toll route between the airport and the city, the Dollar agent insisted that we needed the pass. There are only two possible outcomes: will you pay for the toll or file a claim? Susan Quitzau. Let's turn back the clock so you can join Vuolo on this misadventure. However, even if thats what happened to them, your case may not end up the same. After youve committed the offense, you will receive a toll violation notice in your mail two weeks after the event happened. They waive it easily if you have an existing EZ pass, but probably not for this scenario. WebRefer to this step by step process to sign up for an E-ZPass: Go to the E-ZPass website. Awards can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy. Does Enterprise Check Your Driving Record? The state said in the last three years it has collected on average8.4% of toll debt. Assuming these rates, the total cost charged by each of these rental car companies is: *E-Z Rent-A-Car price is "before taxes and fees.". I have a question about my E-ZPass account. However, the spokesperson conceded that "they did not process this refund appropriately." After looking into the situation, a Hertz spokesperson was able to confirm that the toll-pass provider had agreed to reduce the charge to $17.95. This is highway robbery," he said. Therefore, it is highly recommended to act on them once you receive them, instead of just letting them pass.
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ez pass administrative fee waived letter