NYS EZPass Violations/Collections

[TonyD]

Seems that NYS EZPass has been given the OK to go after all old EZpass violations.

I received a call from a collections agency stating that I have a 2005 violation of an unpaid toll crossing the TappanZee bridge. They are trying to collect $29 for a $4 toll.

NY EZpass misread the PA plate they had a photo of and did a lookup of the long expired NJ plate number (yes my NJ and PA plates have the same letters). They sent a violation notice to the old NJ address which I never received (I moved to PA over 2 years prior to the violation date).

At this point EZPass states I must deal with the collections agency - it's out of their hands. The collections agency states I must pay and gave me no option to dispute. They only offered to put the collections file on "HOLD" which was explained would result in transferring the case to some other collections agency.

Seems like a catch 22 - this could be in limbo for eternity

Customer service at NY EZpass said that if I was to get a violation and call them, they would have accepted the Toll and not the violations fee.

So in summary, they sent a violation notice with my name on it to the wrong address for a toll violation by a vehicle that didn't have the license plate that is listed on the violation notice at the time of the violation.

Anyone else have run-arounds with NY Ezpass and collections agencies?

At this point I guess I'll simply ignore any future calls from collections agencies...

 

[Acura NsX Pilot]

That sucks big time Tony .... I would consult someone with more legal experience.

 

[LJSB]

That sucks big time Tony .... I would consult someone with more legal experience.

Yeah but who........?:biggrin:

 

[RPM217]

His rates for Tony would be more than the fine + penalty. Tony will probably just raid Bag's piggy bank anyway!:wink:

 

[TonyD]

His rates for Tony would be more than the fine + penalty. Tony will probably just raid Bag's piggy bank anyway!:wink:

There won't be any attorney fees, they won't be getting $29 from me, even though it is a relatively small amount. I wasn't even driving the car as they describe it on that day in 2005!

P.S. I never raid others piggy banks! I have my own:smile:

 

[docjohn]

Tony plead your case with the collections agency,If they turn a deaf ear,from my experience the meager sum vs possible credit score lowering due to the collections agency report may justify paying the "fine".

 

[DocL]

If you can't afford to pay the fine, start a thread about having a $hitty day and maybe someone will pay it for you. Heck, why don't you just PM JustinButts and ask him to send you a check.

 

[docjohn]

lol....

 

[TonyD]

Tony plead your case with the collections agency,If they turn a deaf ear,from my experience the meager sum vs possible credit score lowering due to the collections agency report may justify paying the "fine".

I once sent a letter to all three credit agencies to have a invalid negative record purged with success. I can do that again if needed. I've not received any written notifications from any collections agency nor EZPass and I believe a collections agency is required to provide a written claim.

 

[syam]

every time we got one of those, we just sent back a letter saying "it wasn't us" or "i was going the correct speed and the machine malfunctioned"...just send a check for the amount of the toll...

 

[TonyD]

every time we got one of those, we just sent back a letter saying "it wasn't us" or "i was going the correct speed and the machine malfunctioned"...just send a check for the amount of the toll...

The problem with this one is that it happened in 2005 and NYEZpass sent the letter to the wrong address - so I never knew there was any violation until when a collections agency called this year.

I received one of those letters that you mentioned for a 35 cent NJ toll - they were content taking the 35 cents

 

[Patdeisa]

IIRC from my financial management course, you have the option of telling (by certified mail) the collection agency that you will deal only with the original debtor (i.e. EZ Pass). Under federal law, they may no longer go after you and can be fined if they further pursue any communication with the exception of them telling you there will be no communication or a notification of a lawsuit. Check with an attorney, of course!

Within 5 days of original contact, you should be provided information on how to dispute the collection too. See below for more details:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm

 

[TonyD]

IIRC from my financial management course, you have the option of telling (by certified mail) the collection agency that you will deal only with the original debtor (i.e. EZ Pass). Under federal law, they may no longer go after you and can be fined if they further pursue any communication with the exception of them telling you there will be no communication or a notification of a lawsuit. Check with an attorney, of course!

Within 5 days of original contact, you should be provided information on how to dispute the collection too. See below for more details:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm

Thanks for the FTC link. I'll send them a certified letter when/if I ever get anything in the mail. Not that it means anything, but I had already filed a complaint with the FTC against both EZPass and the collections agency based on the uncooperative responses received from them.

 

[Tytus]

I found a "Pay Fine" on my online EZpass statement. Called them and they told me it was for a violation in 2003 and got the same story that it is now in collections, $31. They said I will be contacted by the collection agency but nobody has called yet. I remember this issue in the past and I thought I resolved it and lo and behold here it is again. I can't find any payment records that far back so I am going to let this ride for a while and see what happens.

Tytus

 

[TonyD]

I found a "Pay Fine" on my online EZpass statement. Called them and they told me it was for a violation in 2003 and got the same story that it is now in collections, $31. They said I will be contacted by the collection agency but nobody has called yet. I remember this issue in the past and I thought I resolved it and lo and behold here it is again. I can't find any payment records that far back so I am going to let this ride for a while and see what happens.

Tytus

I've not received any written notification, and no more calls. Going back 6-9 months I recall getting occasional phone messages asking that I return a call to a collections agency - which I've always ignored until the last one in December... (I called them since I know my sister is over $100k in debt and wanted to see if that call was related to her)

If I get any more calls, I'll simply ignore them as in the past - that seemed to work best. :smile: