TX woman owes $180k in toll fines

[pixy0stix]

autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/texas-woman-accused-179-596-skipped-tolls-among-153435675.html

If you've ever driven around Dallas, chances are you've paid a vig to the North Texas Toll Authority, an agency that builds roads, tunnels and bridges using fees collected from drivers. But since the NTTA lacks police powers, it's had trouble collecting tolls that went unpaid -- and today, turned to naming and shaming 25,000 of its worst offenders. The surprise? Twenty-two drivers owe more than $100,000 in unpaid tolls and penalties -- with the list topped by a Dallas woman whose bill stands at $179,596.43. That's a Texas-sized bill in any state.

To break into the NTTA's list, one needed a minimum of 100 unpaid tolls, no response to bills and several notices after six months and at least $2,575 in back fees. The top offender, identified by the NTTA as one Amber Young of Dallas, supposedly sped through the toll booths 8,366 times without payment, with her total including some level of penalties the NTTA didn't disclose. The NTTA said last year about 3 percent of users were dodging about $13 million in tolls, and that a previous drive to publish the names of the worst offenders brought out more response than any other tactic.

NTTA drew its list by taking photos of license plates when a vehicle runs through its electronic toll gates without a valid transponder, then matches the plate to the registered owner of the vehicle. It also warns that the offenders on the list run the risk of a criminal citation -- and the NTTA now says it will start pursuing the worst offenders in civil court as well.

But the NTTA doesn't have a sterling record of matching offenders or warning those who fall behind. There's often mismatches between the address tied to a license plate or vehicle and who's actually driving; all those ex-es living in Texas don't necessarily care if the former spouse kept the toll bill up to date. The NTTA's Facebook page contains several complaints about hundreds of dollars in fees suddenly appearing on drivers' bills because the NTTA had bad contact information. Two years ago, a Fort Worth woman spent a day in jail because of a NTTA fine she didn't know about that had grown into a bench warrant for a missed court date.

The NTTA was created by Texas lawmakers to pay for roads without raising taxes by charging the people who actually used them, a system that's growing in many congested cities around the nation. If the NTTA's trick works well, expect other toll agencies to consider their own version of Texas justice.

[pixy0stix]

I find it interesting that they're authorized to collect the tolls, but have really no recourse on how to collect money owed.

[pedanticwench]

mesmerized... by... siggy... can't stop... watching...

[MrsAxilla]

This sort of happened to me. We had $8K in tolls and fees. We have the license plate thing, where you don't stop and they're supposed to send you your bill. We got a few Bills (which we paid) but apparently there were others they never sent. One day, we got a letter saying they'd forgiven our $8K debt, which included about $7990 in fees and late charges. Apparently they were doing that to lots of people and someone sued.

[pamela]

I'm still waiting for my bill from our weekend in Dallas. The rental car company said to just drive through them and we'd be billed when they got the bill based on the license plate.

[mcgee]

Jul 12, 2012 11:17:41 GMT -5 pamela said:

I'm still waiting for my bill from our weekend in Dallas. The rental car company said to just drive through them and we'd be billed when they got the bill based on the license plate.

Yes, you'll get a bill in the mail. We did this when we had a rental car in Austin when my car was in the shop. The sucky thing about it - at least here in Austin - is that they bill you extra because they had to go to the trouble of printing and mailing a bill. So you'll pay more than you would have if you had the sticker on your car. I was pissed because I actually DO have a TxTag, and they wouldn't apply it to my account because I wasn't in that vehicle.

AFAIK, the bills I've gotten - and paid - said that you'd face criminal and civil penalties for not paying. So I'm surprised that there's such a problem in Dallas.

[emisi]

Jul 12, 2012 10:31:48 GMT -5 pedanticwench said:

mesmerized... by... siggy... can't stop... watching...

Ditto this. That sig pic is mesmerizing.

[marie427]

How the hell does someone go through the tolls without paying over eight THOUSAND times without prosecution? That has to have occurred over the span of at least a few years.