What’s worse than getting a bill for a $54 late fee when you accidentally entered the toll road without paying?
Getting one for $110, knowing the toll was only $1.50, had you paid it.
This is exactly what happened to me a few days ago when I opened my mailbox and found a letter from the toll roads, informing me I had evaded the toll penalty and was subject to a registration lien.
While trying to make sense of a road split in front of me, split seconds decided the fate that would follow soon after I made the wrong choice. You see, I had just moved to a new town and went out to find my local Trader Joe’s location. Despite receiving guidance from a GPS device, I managed to get lost when I encountered a confusing road detour.
Ughhh … detours!
An extra two miles and one headache later I got to my destination. One and a half months later I would receive my first and only notice from the toll roads.
Feeling Upset
As you can imagine I became very upset to the point of almost crying. Spewing every cuss word imaginable, I hastily google’d for similar incidents to see if there was an easy resolution. Yelp yielded nothing but 1-star reviews from people who were ready to rip the toll roads a new one. Take a look for yourself:
The toll roads website provided an area where I could pay the violation or start a dispute. As soon as I saw a link for disputes, a post by Jason Steele at PT Money flashed in my memory. Jason detailed accounts of getting various desired results such as reduced fees and application reconsideration just by talking to the credit card companies directly.
Asking Nicely
Keeping in mind his personal experiences, I figured maybe if I explained everything that happened in a nice manner, a human being on the other end would undo the error of goofing up the first violation notice. More so, if I’m lucky enough, maybe even erase the fee entirely! Needless to say I filled out the form and waited.
The next day to my surprise an email arrived in my inbox stating that the fee has been reduced from $110 to $31!
I guess my decision to ask before acting really paid off. Even though the violation fee was not removed completely, I managed to get the error removed and even reduced the original fee down to $31. I know some of you would disagree that this is not a perfectly favorable outcome. However, it felt like a huge boulder was lifted off my shoulders, and the idea of not wasting an extra $79 made me really happy.
Jason was perfectly right, if you just reach out and ask, good things will come.
Sure, you could’ve called and maybe got it further reduced or waived. But, they already did cut it by more than 2/3. I think that I would’ve done exactly what you did. I know it sucks to pay a fine like that, but it could of been much worse.
I would have loved to pay nothing as it was an honest mistake. I actually believe they purposefully label things poorly so that people get caught up in this sort of situation. Next time I’m around that road, I’ll pull over and take photos of how they label entrances and such. Because at the time of driving in the wrong lane there was nothing to indicate that I was even using the toll road. Perhaps somewhere up the road there’s a huge sign, but not at an entrance that I took. Still happy I didn’t have to pay the full fee!
I hear ya. I would agree that many times they don’t mark things clearly, which just makes it confusing. I’ve always tended to think they do that in hopes of bringing in more revenue.
Do you live in California by chance? If so, I can relate. My wife is from San Diego and I remember the ridiculous traffic cameras they had. My mother in law got hit by that once.
John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..4 Easy Ways to Avoid Holiday Debt
Yes, Irvine.
Of the three approaches (do nothing, complain as loud as possible, and ask nicely for an adjustment) I think usually asking nicely is the best thing to do. If no adjustment is made, I would advocate voicing disagreement (though in a respectful manner). I’m glad you got the ticket reduced, that’s huge savings!
David, I’m really happy I took the approach of asking politely. Believe me… I was ready to raise hell any moment (as always), took some time to cool off and that was the result. Phew…
You did pretty well already! And usually, asking nicely or raising a claim will at least delay the payment deadline and give you more time to budget for the fine.
Thanks Pauline, I wasn’t sure if I did everything I could. I could have tried to call I suppose and talk to them… I have a feeling maybe they’d get the fee down to under $20 if I did that. But then again, maybe I piss someone off and they raise it haha.
While you many not have gotten everything refunded, at least you got something taken off. With all the talk of counties and cities having deficits, that is big you only had to pay $31 when it was originally $110.
In my business (banking…l know, I know) if someone asks politely to have an OD fee refunded, I am more than willing to go out of my way to get it done. If someone is a straight up jerk about, I won’t be so willing.
Oo, great insight there from a person in the banking industry
Thanks Seth!
Pleased to hear you got a decent reduction. I cannot believe that a toll fine can cost over $100!! Ridiculous!!
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Well, it was 50 some originally, but I never got the first notice so delinquency penalty was another 50 or so.
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Reminds me of the parking ticket I paid which turned into a double fine. I paid it and wrote the check,,,,,, but it was never received. I had no alternative as I had no proof that I wrote the check since it was not received. A pricey lesson to follow up!
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Oh, I’m sorry to hear that Barbara. A pricey lesson indeed! I’ll have to remember to use certified mail if I ever have to pay for a ticket via check. Then they can’t say, oh you didn’t send it!