EZ Pass hell for honest mistake - heading to court

[Anonymous]

After disputing invoice after invoice with EZPass, we discovered that the reason my husband kept getting hit with fines from EZPass was because he never updated the license plate registered in EZPass when we moved from MD to VA. With the move, new baby, new jobs...I don't know how we functioned last year. About $7,000 later, they told us by phone they are taking us to court for $850...with the other invoices waiting in the wing. $2,000 or so is already in collections. Although they have a first time forgiveness program with their collection agency, Professional Account Management, I suspect they'll reduce it only to some degree. I don't understand why they can't be reasonable in this situation. I feel like letting them take us to court for this, and fighting the whole situation. It's clear that we had an account with EZPass that we were paying - it's an honest mistake. We weren't just flying through the tolls! Should I try to negotiate the full $7,000 owed before court, or present the full case to the judge. We live paycheck to paycheck right now, student loans, aging parents in need, etc. Any advice is welcome!! Would love to hear any personal experiences with this.

[Anonymous]

That is crazy. We move our EZpass from car to car, without issue. I believe only one vehicle is officially registered. As long as the pass has money in the account, it auto-deducts the toll without paying attention to the license plate.

- MD side

[Anonymous]

Wait...so was the EZ Pass working and were you being charged appropriately? What's the reason for the fines? How much is the outstanding value of the tolls you actually owe?

[Anonymous]

i don't understand this either. I take my EZPass, loan it to nanny, use it in rentals, etc. In fact, I think it's registered to a car we don't even own anymore. Seems lke something is off.

[Anonymous]

This happened to me but with only one violation. I changed my license plate # right after that and they removed the violation. How many violations have you gotten?

[Anonymous]

Didn't you notice that you were getting a free ride for a year? How much were the fines? You absolutely should have to pay those plus a penalty. I'm confused about how much you actually owe, though.

I'm sure you had a rough year, but lots of people move and have babies and still manage to pay their bills and do other required tasks. Sorry to sound so rough, but it sounds like you want sympathy rather than owning up that you made a mistake and are liable for the charges.

Perhaps take the approach of apologizing for your oversight and working to pay back what you owe, and that might help ? I don't know, just a thought.

[Anonymous]

Why on earth did you let it get so high? I think I would have stopped with the EZ Pass before letting the bill run up so high.

Something doesn't seem right with this story.

[Anonymous]

Can I use my transponder in other vehicles?
Yes, you may transfer a transponder between vehicles as long as they are of the same vehicle class. There are penalties for using a transponder in a different vehicle class (i.e. Car transponder in a tractor- trailer.) Please be sure that all vehicles using the transponder are listed on your EZ Pass account. You may register your additional vehicles on-line or by calling our call center at 877-743-9727.

[Anonymous]

More than meets the eye

[Anonymous]

OP here - wow! this is surprising - we have 50+ violations or so...from my husband going to and from work. I would hope EZPass can remove the violations for those that are still in their jurisdiction. I have forwarded the evidence of our car registration, but it didn't sound like they'd retroactively remove the fines (worth calling again!). With those already in collections, it seems we are destined for court, or else work with them on their first offense program (they'll reduce the fines, but not sure by how much) - it's worth asking. thanks

[Anonymous]

OP again - And yes, trust me, husband is in the DOG house, big time!! I take the metro to work... he takes the EZPass to work (this is his mess, I'm cleaning up) Very irresponsible for letting them rack up. We have 2 cars registered with EZPass..and he alternates between the 2 cars. He was aware of the fees, and kept disputing ONLINE. When you dispute online, there is no one on the other end telling us why the dispute was rejected. It was until I called that they told us the license plates were off.

[Anonymous]

How long has this been going on for them to have sent it to collections? I don't know, OP. I'm a mama bear when it comes to my pocketbook.

[Anonymous]

Why does the license plate matter at all? If the EZpass is in the car properly, it reads that, not the license plate.

[Anonymous]

Call local news. They have written about this and every day people getting whacked and it worked in changing Ez pass policy. I've used in wrong car plates too and they just changed over and fixed and billed me for the toll - no fee. This is immoral. Do NOT roll over and make sure your credit gets fixed when it's over. Write a note saying you will be calling Washington post wamu everyone. Say you are a working mom living paycheck to paycheck and will make your story known. Fight!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - wow! this is surprising - we have 50+ violations or so...from my husband going to and from work. I would hope EZPass can remove the violations for those that are still in their jurisdiction. I have forwarded the evidence of our car registration, but it didn't sound like they'd retroactively remove the fines (worth calling again!). With those already in collections, it seems we are destined for court, or else work with them on their first offense program (they'll reduce the fines, but not sure by how much) - it's worth asking. thanks

I'm fairly certain it's not the license plate that is the issue here. I'm betting you did not have a valid credit card linked to your account.

If your EZPass is on any car and linked to a valid and current credit card such that the toll can be paid, you would not get a violation. You might get a warning, but again, if the toll was paid I have not found it to be a problem.
If your EZPass is on a registered car and fails to work (yes, the batteries on the EZPass die and you need a new EZPass), the EZPass system can bill you based on your license plate. This has happened to me several times - once all up and down 95 - and I did not get any violations. I did get a new EZPass transponder.

OP, have you looked at your credit card linked to your EZPass to show that it is valid? Have you looked at your credit card receipts to see that the tolls were paid?