Living in and around a major metropolitan area like New York City brings many advantages, both economic and cultural. One of the biggest drawbacks, however, is traffic. Not only do commuters face ever-increasing commute times, but municipalities are faced with huge costs to maintain the highways, bridges and tunnels that allow commuters and visitors easy access to the city.
In New York and New Jersey, the Port Authority handles this responsibility, and it pays for much of the cost by collecting tolls. While no-one enjoys paying tolls, most people appreciate that they are the price of having a modern transportation system. What people don’t expect is being hit with toll violations for tolls they actually paid.
Unfortunately, many commuters complain that this happens all too often, and it appears that the Port Authority may not have the proper controls and systems in place to ensure that only people who don’t pay a toll receive a violation. In fact, numerous commuters report that E-Z Pass has fined them for toll violations on dates and times when the E-Z Pass record shows a toll properly assessed. In other words, some commuters are charged for using the E-Z Pass at a particular toll, and then they receive a fine for not paying that exact same toll. The impact on consumers who are victims of these errors can be serious. The fines themselves are quite expensive, usually $50 for each “violation.”
Many consumers pay these fines, but others might either miss the notification or refuse to pay the bogus fines. Those consumers’ accounts can be sent to collection agencies, and their credit ratings will likely suffer. We are investigating a potential class action against the Port Authority. If you or someone you know has been wrongfully fined for E-Z Pass violations, please contact us to discuss your legal options.