And I thought I had a bargain!

[w.a.nelson]

Very happy and relieved to have my car successfully transported to and from the Rally. Figured that safe return to my garage was the last word.

Not so fast!

I left my e-zpass transponder attached to my car. Never dawned on me to remove it. Reviewing my creit card bill for last month and I discover multiple recharges to my account on consecutive days.

Could it be?

You bet!

I called e-zpass and asked what's going on and they told me I kept being charged, because I kept having a negative balance. I said, that can't be, I wasn't driving any vehicles on those days. They said, sorry, we have record of reading your transponder. I said, where are these charges coming from. They say Indiana; Chicago; Illinois, etc. Suddenly I see the light. While my car was peacefully sleeping on the upper deck of the transporter, it was setting off every toll booth between Jersey and Vegas - and I assume back - the credit card bill stops before the return trip.

Live and learn. First lesson is to remove e-zpass, either completely or put it in the foil baggie they supply.

Any bets on whether I can get my money back?

Anyone think it will be easy? LOL

Of course there is another possible explanation. Perhaps Marcus drove the car all the way while someone else drove the truck, and they figured out how to reset the odometer! NOT!

 

[dbk]

:lol

That sucks!

 

[SYCO GT]

Send pictures and explain. But, you probably have to prove that the transporting truck also had a valid transponder, copy both your bill and transporter bill showing concurrent times at every single checkpoint.

Use your credit card company to assist in the dispute and consider not paying the credit card company until resolution. Show odometer proof that your car was not driven those miles. (service or other receipts providing odometer)

Should be a win with the proper documentation.

 

[fjpikul]

Sorry to hear this, but what a laugh. Ah, tolls are only $6.00 a pop in the Chicago area. Must be the other states.

 

[shelbyelite]

:bs
That sucks!

 

[skyrex]

That is funny. :lol

I would have thought something like that would be state specific. Learn something new everyday. Don't have to worry about that in my five traffic light town. :bored

 

[MAD IN NC]

Now that is funny! :lol

I'm sure Indy and Ohio hit you for ~$20+, Ill for $10 if he came in on I-88.....

Just out of curiosity - what was the total charges for this minor state of forgetfulness?



Good luck!

 

[Mark06GT]

This is not the first time I’ve heard of this happening. About a year ago I heard a radio report that many people had complained to EZ Pass about very large bills (some > $600). EZ Pass’ first response was similar to the one you got. The interesting part of the story was that all of the people who had complained had returned their transponders and the bills had occurred after they had sent them back.

It turns out that the transponders were getting put on UPS trucks and then getting driven across the country to various shipping centers. As the trucks went through tolls, KA-CHING! All the transponders in the trucks triggered charges. EZ Pass did refund the charges.

 

[S592R]

Been there before. My Texas pass reads in Oklahoma but my Oklahoma pass does not read in Texas... So both ride in the car ... first time I found out was the end of the month ... double billed in Oklahoma ..sent an fax of both bills and got a credit from Texas for the fees in Oklahoma.

it only took me MORE billable time to get the funds back than what the fees where worth. :ack

so from now on ... wrap it! :lol

Both ride in the car since OKHP told me that the only "legal" pass was Oklahoma's and if I got stopped they could ticket me for "non-payment of toll" .. which I think is now $250 a leg ...:bs

 

[w.a.nelson]

Thanks guys. Now I don't feel like a complete idiot. ( Just a little! )

I did put the charges in dispute with the credit card company, who were very nice about it - after they stopped laughing.

e-zpass "recharged" my account at least 6 times to the tune of $25 each. I am just reviewing my account off of the internet, and it appears that the transponder only triggered about $80 with of tolls, mostly in Illinois. Something is still rotten with their accounting. Maybe they are dealing in toll credit swaps and were looking to me to bail them out?

Your comments give me hope that it will eventually be sorted out in my favor, and even I admit it is kind of funny.

I love the UPS story. I guess if you ship one of the transponders anywhere, you had better put it in the little plastic/foil baggie that they give you. I am not sure what the physical principle is that makes the baggie charge-proof, while the metal barrier of a truck body does not. Perhaps the foil is constructed to resrict electromagnetic penetration at the specific frequency of the transponder?

 

[BlackICE]

I love the UPS story. I guess if you ship one of the transponders anywhere, you had better put it in the little plastic/foil baggie that they give you. I am not sure what the physical principle is that makes the baggie charge-proof, while the metal barrier of a truck body does not. Perhaps the foil is constructed to resrict electromagnetic penetration at the specific frequency of the transponder?

The a fully metal case will block the reading of the device. However, local UPS trucks have a white semi-transparent roof to let the sunlight into the cargo area and also allows the signal to get through. I don't know about the roofs on UPS long haul trucks.