re: Beating Absurd toll fees

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Am I going to get like a $500 one in a couple of years for a bunch of penalties and late fees? What can they do to me?

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Yes, I got hit with a years worth of tolls from my old commute, two years after the fact.

$100 penalty added on seems pretty excessive.

I accidentally went through a toll in Houston visiting a while back and got a bill in the mail for it. It was like a $1 toll with a $20 fee added on, but the letter said since I was a first time offender the fee would be waived as long as I paid the $1 toll by the due date.

Several years ago, I made a fishing trip to Grand Isle. I paid GeauxPass the night before I left, as I have done many times. Fast forward two years. I get a notice in the mail that I didn't pay my toll and there was a $100 fine they were tacking on.
I knew that I always paid the night before a trip down there by credit card, so I went into my files for that year and managed to find the itemized bill from that card. I sent Geaux Pass a copy and they eventually sent a letter back saying "You have satisfied our criteria. No further action on your part is necessary." I thought that was pretty cold. Not a "sorry for any inconvenience" or anything.
Last year I went to Destin by the toll road. Apparently they have a booth for one part of the toll, and a camera for a separate toll. The camera took the picture and the bill came to my house. I paid it within two days of receiving it. A couple of months later I get a bill for not having paid the toll and a fine tacked on.
It took over an hour on hold for me to speak to a real person, who checked on my check number and my toll payment. Her lame excuse was "It must have crossed in the mail".
Give me an old fashioned toll booth any day. The camera game is apparently full of "mistakes". I wonder how many people just pay it or expense these bogus fines.

I always take my plates off when I drive through Texas, the tolls can't catch me and they're more likely to pull you over for having Louisiana plates

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Lol you dont accidentally get on a toll road in Dallas

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If you aren't familiar with the area you can most certainly get on a toll road by mistake.

To the OP, I know the Dallas toll company is pretty fair of you are not from the area. Before moving to the metroplex I interned for a summer so I still had an LA license plate. I got my bill in the mail, but it says if you aren't from the area call us to pay what you owe, but no fees will be assessed. I don't know about Ca, but it may be worth it to give them a call.

call them and explain the story, they may be willing to waive the penalty if you are a first-time offender and pay the toll.

With more and more systems moving away from cash tolling this is more of an issue.

frick em, it's california. just don't pay. what are they going to do about it?

Tell them you're an undocumented immigrant. They will waive the fees and apologize for being intolerant.

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What entity is the ticket from? Is it a civil or criminal violation? Any more details about the ticket itself and what they demand.

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The bill is from "The Toll Roads," which apparently is the toll road company operating the toll road in Orange County. It's not a ticket.

It was a 6 lane highway with a massive wreck in the center lanes. I went to the left to avoid it and went in the HOV I guess for a brief time. I didn't pass any noticeable camera points.


It's $3.61 in tolls plus the $100 penalty. I'm fine with the $3 but they can eat my arse if they want $100.

I'm going to call the rental company and do some more research at lunch today.