The Red Tape Chronicles has an interesting story from Kathy Sunato, a Pennsylvania driver who noticed that E-ZPass was charging her strange $5 fees.
It turned out that every time the E-ZPass device couldn’t figure out when she exited the toll road, what is called an “orphan exit,” she was assessed the $5 charge.
To get her $35 refunded, Sunato had to fill out seven different forms, one for each fee. She had only discovered the error in the first place because she checked her bill online. Paper bills cost ezxtra.
If you use E-Zpass, be sure to check online if you’re getting assessed any “orphan” fees, which can arise from low batteries in the device, waving it front of your windshield instead of mounting it, or system errors.
ON E-TOLL ROADS, BEWARE ‘ORPHAN EXIT’ FEE [The Red Tape Chronicles]
(Photo: Phoosh)
More From Consumerist
-
Verizon Tells Us ‘Upgrade Fee’ Is To Pay For iPhone Instruction Classes, Store Kiosks
-
T-Mobile Tells Me I Can Cancel Son’s Line With No ETF After His Move – Now I Can’t
-
Verizon Sends Me To Collections Over Fees It Shouldn’t Have Charged Me In The First Place
-
Water Company Wants Me To Pay $30 To Activate Service I Already Have
-
US Airways Charges $75 To Change My Ticket To Incorrect Flight, Won’t Talk To Me About It
Different states have different EZ Pass fees. You can sign up for another state’s tags. In CT they want $1/mo for the privilege of using EZ Pass, plus they charge you for your statement.
I signed up for a Maryland tag, no fees, free EZ pass tag.
I know this story is old, but I’d like to chime in and give you guys this little piece of information:
Toll roads here in Dallas TX are sometimes EZ-Pass ONLY. (It’s called “TollTag” here by the way). Anyway, they’ve conveniently started “construction” projects near tollway exits that close the cash booths but leave the TollTag booths intact. In short, I had to get a TollTag in order to actually exit the highway near my office, instead of going all the way past the city and taking a different highway back. Some people are just running through the gates without paying, but eventually the city will ticket them I’m sure.
No amount of arguing about the legality of not accepting cash will work here I don’t think, they’re machines and aren’t subject to that sort of rule. As far as I know anyway.