I hit the 540 toll one time, one way, back in August. Was expecting to receive a bill in the mail for $0.80 (after postage both ways and overhead costs, that's sure an efficient use of everybody's funds). Never got anything. Last night I finally get a letter from them, $31.80. Over thirty bucks to go 2-3 miles down I-540.

Naturally, I called and made them drop their charges back to $0.80 but $25 of it is a "civil penalty", a state fine levied after 60 days for toll nonpayment, and they said I'd have to appeal to the "state government". So, naturally, I filled out and mailed an appeal form.

Bullshit. Nevermind the fact that this "overdue" bill was the first thing I'd received, and that the appeal process takes entirely too much time (and a nonzero amount of my money) to rectify THEIR mistake, but if any other public company started throwing around $25 fines after 2 months they'd get shit on immediately.

So in order to keep charges from continuing to accrue I went ahead and paid the $25.80 and appealed for a reimbursement. Assuming they "ignore" my letter, what would you do? I don't intend to pay a red cent over the initial toll, letting postage slide.

12/6/2012 8:36:08 AM

Weird, I've known other people to go and get the fine waived without having to appeal to anyone other than whatever pencil pusher was sitting in the office at the time. You could always try going to their office in Morrisville and raising a rabble. Or call 5 On Your Side since they love to give the Triangle Turnpike Authority hell to begin with.

12/6/2012 8:38:33 AM

The latter thing was what I was thinking if I don't get a check in the mail by January 1st

The girl(s) I spoke to on the phone swore up and down they couldn't do anything about the $25 civil penalty

12/6/2012 8:40:55 AM

the purpose of the penalty is like red light cameras, to be high enough to provide the state with more money, and low enough to make people give in and pay up rather than waste their time appealing.

12/6/2012 8:45:20 AM

Are you going to tip?

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

12/6/2012 8:46:46 AM

^^ exactly.

12/6/2012 8:48:41 AM

Quote :

"$31.80. Over thirty bucks"

Laftamath

12/6/2012 8:57:10 AM

she lied.


they hit me with one of those improperly, i went down to the Quickpass office, and it got taken care of.


dealing with them has been an absolute nightmare though, so i feel your pain.



the quickpass office is back behind cracker barrel by the airport.

[Edited on December 6, 2012 at 8:59 AM. Reason : fyi]

12/6/2012 8:59:01 AM

We went through that over the holiday and was wondering how they got their money. Ugh.

12/6/2012 8:59:27 AM

a lot of their revenue is generated by the cops that are out on the new stretch of 540 every morning and evening.


they've always got someone pulled over out there.

12/6/2012 9:04:02 AM

^ Amazingly I didn't see any cops out there this morning. Must be starting their holiday break early lol.

Quote :

"she lied. "

This is my feeling as well.

12/6/2012 9:12:20 AM

I've had no such problems. Minus the having to pay the tolls they mail me. /knock on wood

12/6/2012 9:12:22 AM

Expect more of this in the year future as long as governments are cash-strapped.

NYC has already been caught red-handed rigging redlight cameras to snap random average joes instead of those actually running redlights.

It's all a mad grab for cash and appeals are going to become a thing of the past.

12/6/2012 9:12:28 AM

with the rumors to make 95 and the 40 toll roads as well.... if the cops stay on the highway I will gladly take the country roads

12/6/2012 9:14:57 AM

can't get a toll bill if you go past the cameras in reverse.

12/6/2012 9:16:39 AM

We gon spend money

12/6/2012 9:30:20 AM

Is this you http://www.wral.com/5onyourside/story/11405394/

I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter if you didn't get the bill or not, you went through so you know you owe something. I used to work for a power company, not in customer service, but I used to hear about people saying they didn't get the bill...I guess they forgot they were using electrcity. Anyway, my point is that regardless of what one "rep" will tell you (the fees can't be waived) someone else will tell you something different (the truth). You should go there in person to get that "civil penalty" removed, they can do it and they will...depends on what's easier for them at the time.

v That was probably the best path to take, they'll start tacking on more fees and the getting it waived will be impossible.

[Edited on December 6, 2012 at 9:48 AM. Reason : V]

12/6/2012 9:40:58 AM

Quote :

"I went ahead and paid the $25.80 I don't intend to pay a red cent over the initial toll"

mmmmmk

12/6/2012 9:46:18 AM

I always pay at least $1.00 (my banks billpay makes me, and its still cheaper than using a stamp myself) I wonder if I will have money in the state unclaimed property in a few years.

12/6/2012 9:48:58 AM

So this thread got me thinking, I also have some <$1 bill from these people, perhaps I should pay it.

I browse to: https://www.myncquickpass.com

And you can't search by plate number or name, you *have* to have the invoice number found on your paper bill. Of course. Why let people easily pay their <$1 bill when you can hit them with a $25 fee after they don't pay it in time. Fuckers.

12/6/2012 9:49:30 AM

Quote :

"I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter if you didn't get the bill or not, you went through so you know you owe something."

...but I thought you guys didn't start tolling on this section until [arbitrary date]. Besides, how are you going to pay? Pretty much ^.

Quote :

"Assuming they "ignore" my letter, what would you do?"

Buy $31.80 worth of bullets (what, like two bullets?) and find the toll cameras.

[Edited on December 6, 2012 at 9:51 AM. Reason : -]

12/6/2012 9:49:48 AM

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

[Edited on December 6, 2012 at 9:50 AM. Reason : lolololol]

12/6/2012 9:49:58 AM

From the web site:

Quote :

"If the bill is not paid within 30 days from the date of the bill, it will escalate to include fees, civil penalties, DMV registration holds and/or submittal to a collection agency. "

I like the language. Civil penalties... when fees aren't quite enough.

12/6/2012 9:55:32 AM

Quote :

"mmmmmk"

what is unclear here

Quote :

"I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter if you didn't get the bill or not, you went through so you know you owe something."

see:

Quote :

"And you can't search by plate number or name, you *have* to have the invoice number found on your paper bill. Of course. Why let people easily pay their <$1 bill when you can hit them with a $25 fee after they don't pay it in time. Fuckers."

So I waited on a bill that came over 2 months late. And that, apparently, is my fault.

12/6/2012 9:56:04 AM

Quote :

"what is unclear here"

You've already paid >$25, but you only intend to pay the toll in the end.

I don't think you're getting any $ back.

12/6/2012 9:58:04 AM

So do they include a picture or pictures of each time you went through a toll gate? Maybe the software misread the plate... what's to prove you actually went through a tolling station?

12/6/2012 10:02:37 AM

^^ I'll get it back. Even if I end up spending more than $25 in gas and opportunity cost. It's the principle, maaaan

^ No picture. If you get a bill in error you can contest the charge via downloadable form from their website, no idea whether you can request the photo. I'm not disputing the original toll though.

12/6/2012 10:35:04 AM

Stick it to 'em!

12/6/2012 10:55:32 AM

I went thru it once too!!! Around the same time...and my toll was $8

but I didn't get the thing in the mail either so they say I owe 30 something as well....maybe I should holler at thems

12/6/2012 11:07:28 AM

Quote :

"I've had no such problems. Minus the having to pay the tolls they mail me."

Ditto

Quote :

"No picture."

They post two pics online.

12/6/2012 11:30:02 AM

The bill I got recently had a pic of my plates.

12/6/2012 11:40:53 AM

The first time I got a bill from them (September), it said I could login to see pictures of my license plates

The second time I got a bill from them (November), my bill included pictures of my plates.

12/6/2012 11:44:37 AM

Has anyone with a pickup truck tried driving up and down the toll road with their tailgate down?

12/6/2012 11:50:28 AM

Oh, well the bill I got didn't have a photo and I just called as soon as I opened it, never went online to log in

^ when I get home I'll take a look to see if that's likely, I was in my truck

[Edited on December 6, 2012 at 11:55 AM. Reason : Mr]

12/6/2012 11:53:15 AM

There is a toll dispute form on the NC Quick Pass website

Maybe fill that out to try and expedite getting your money back?

https://www.myncquickpass.com/en/about/toll_dispute.pdf

12/6/2012 12:01:17 PM

Re: Not getting the bill

This is just like the fucking DMV and local tax collectors. I never receive a tax bill for my vehicles until they send the 60 days past due notice.

[Edited on December 6, 2012 at 12:07 PM. Reason : ]

12/6/2012 12:06:50 PM

Quote :

"Buy $31.80 worth of bullets (what, like two bullets?) and find the toll cameras."

What fucking bullets are you pricing that they cost $15.90 each!?

12/6/2012 12:22:59 PM

I, too, had to pay an "overdue" bill for which I never saw a first bill. I was too lazy to fight it and I just paid it, but I did buy one of the transponder things to prevent it from happening again. I'm rarely over there, but I got worried about a bill I didn't know about going to collections or something. $5 for a transponder seemed worth it.

I wonder how many others have "overdue" bills, it seems like that would be a good racket for them.

12/6/2012 12:26:40 PM

i have been on the toll road many times with my work van. i wonder if they got paid

12/6/2012 12:50:05 PM

Quote :

"There is a toll dispute form on the NC Quick Pass website Maybe fill that out to try and expedite getting your money back?"

covered that in the OP, guess I wasn't explicit. But yeah, that's what I did

12/6/2012 2:07:45 PM

Quote :

"a lot of their revenue is generated by the cops that are out on the new stretch of 540 every morning and evening. "

So thats where cary police has been lately. They used to sit constantly on NC55, but I havnt seen them at all lately.

Quote :

"Has anyone with a pickup truck tried driving up and down the toll road with their tailgate down? "

Please someone report back on this. Im highly interested myself in this.

12/6/2012 10:57:16 PM

Quote :

"Has anyone with a pickup truck tried driving up and down the toll road with their tailgate down?"

this works

also

towing a trailer

12/6/2012 11:08:29 PM

Ha wonder how it would handle my car with (legal) vintage plates that aren't really tied to my name

12/7/2012 12:51:56 AM

How the hell is that legal?

12/7/2012 12:53:52 AM

Cars >35 years old can run model year plates as long as you have the real tag in the car with you

ncgs 20-63d



[Edited on December 7, 2012 at 1:05 AM. Reason : Statute.]

12/7/2012 12:55:18 AM

Quote :

"Re: Not getting the bill This is just like the fucking DMV and local tax collectors. I never receive a tax bill for my vehicles until they send the 60 days past due notice."

Pretty sure this is just how they operate. Has happened to me at least 4 times.

12/7/2012 4:42:37 AM

i went and test drove a car and took it down the turnpike the other day

and then i didnt buy the car

12/7/2012 4:45:12 AM

Quote :

"also towing a trailer"

wouldn't they just run the trailer tag? if you had one

any bets on how long before a regulatory change that eliminates the advantage of tailgates/trailers? any way they can get mo' money, right?

[Edited on December 7, 2012 at 8:01 AM. Reason : .]

12/7/2012 8:01:12 AM

I have a buddy who got his <$1 bill in an appropriate timeframe, alas he is an idiot and threw it away.

Then got the bill with +$25 civil penalty, +$6 "processing fee." Because he is an idiot he threw that one away.

When he got the next bill, it tacked another thirty-one dollar bucks to it. He called and they told him that the fees were non-negotiable, and he needed to pay or his registration would be blocked.

The best part is that when the bill was <$1, I offered to pay it because my girlfriend was DD'ing us on St. Patty's night. He insisted on trashing it though...

12/7/2012 8:13:25 AM

why don't you guys just buy the damn window sticker and not worry about it.

12/7/2012 8:17:21 AM