At 11:01 pm on July 25 I approached the toll booth at the George Washington Bridge. I recently moved here and don't have an easy pass. I pulled up to the booth, stopped, and the attendant said "just go ahead." I thought perhaps they stop collecting the toll at 11 pm or something. I thought it was strange, but went. What he DIDN'T tell me was that a picture was taken of my license plate, and sent in, as if I hadn't paid the toll. Fast-forward three months and I receive a letter from Allied Interstate, a collection agency, with a reference number. I had to ask what the $58 charge was in reference to. The agent said that the Port Authority reported attempting to contact me about the toll, and, hearing nothing, forwarded my account to collections. The amount due is the $8 bridge toll plus a $50 administrative fee.
I of course have not been contacted by the Port Authority; no efforts were made to collect the $8, and no notice was given to me. The first I have heard about this is the collection letter. The agent tells me toll collectors are funny; he was probably just in a rush to end his shift, and there’s really nothing I can do. The agent summons his manager, who says they cannot waive the entire administrative fee, but they can cut it in half, so I would “just” pay $33 instead of $58. In any other circumstance I would report this behavior to the Better Business Bureau. However, one cannot report the government. So I ask the agent how I can protest the $50 administrative fee. He lets me know that there is not a phone number; I must write a letter to a P. O. box in Ohio, but the likely outcome is that, since they have a picture of my license plate, the finding will stand. “It would be easier, ma’am, if you just pay the $33 and take care of this today.”
Yes, it WOULD be easier for them. It would have been EASIEST if the toll collector took my $8 at the bridge, whether or not his shift was over, or directed me to another booth. However, with the state of the economy, perhaps it is EASIER for the Port Authority to let an $8 toll notice lapse and just send my account to collections, where they can make an extra $50 for their trouble. I have no proof that I spoke to a toll collector, and didn’t just blow the toll. There is no video evidence; there is just a picture of my license plate. I have no recourse, and they know it. Incidentally, the collection agency let me know that THEY are not the ones charging the $50 administrative fee; they see none of that. It is the Port Authority that earns the extra fee.
Please share my story so others are not raked over the coals. I’m writing the letter to the Port Authority, but anticipate only correspondence from the collection agency that as time goes by, the fine has increased.
Sincerely,
EL
White Plains, NY
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