AMonger
Veteran Expediter
( voice transcription software in use)
In addition to Pennsylvania sending bills to drivers for ridiculous things, things they might not be legally allowed to bill for, Illinois is stealing from drivers on the tollway.
Last week, I went through a toll facility, one at which you toss your coins into a basket. Once you've tossed in the correct amount, the light is supposed to turn green and you're supposed to be on your way. Until you throw in the correct amount, the light will stay red, and if you proceed, you'll get a citation in the mail. If you don't send them the toll right away, they send you another bill for $20. If you ignore that, it turns into 50 dollars. Ignore too many of those citations, and your license will be suspended. And it doesn't matter why you didn't send it in, like maybe you're a truck driver and aren't home when the notice arrives...
So the other day, I go through one of these facilities and toss in the correct amount of change, but the light does not turn green. Figuring I may have miscounted, I toss in a couple more coins. Still, the light does not turn green. I toss in a couple more, and still the light doesn't turn green. Now it's becoming unacceptably expensive, more so than the original ripoff. Not sure how long this could go on, and not willing to pay more, I drove on. Of course, my picture was taken and I'll get the bill in the mail unless they admit that their equipment was malfunctioning.
I figured it would be a good idea if I called them and told them that it was malfunctioning. If they get dozens of reports that that machine is not working, that should be enough to negate the violation, right? So I called them later, and a perfectly reasonable-sounding young lady informed me that there is no procedure in place for them to document reports of malfunctioning equipment and match them against violations, but that if I wanted to be sure to not get a violation, I could go online and pay the toll again. That's right, pay the toll again to not get fined for a violation I didn't commit.
"You mean just pay the toll twice? Really? That's what you're telling me?" She assured me it was. "That's quite a nice scam you've got going there," I said. "I wish I had thought of that."
I expected her to react with offense. Actually, I was hoping to offend her, but being the professional customer service person that she was, if she was offended, she didn't let on.
On another occasion, I was traveling down 355 at 0-dark-thirty. I came upon the toll plaza and pulled in to pay the extortion fee. The booth was unmanned, and there was a note on the window saying that this was an experimental program, and that to pay the toll I should go online and pay it with my credit card or mail it in within 7 days, or it would be a violation costing me $20-$50. Well, among Illinois residents, it's common knowledge that the tollway authority is akin to organized crime, and there's no way I'm giving these *******s my credit card number. Nor should I have to add the cost of a stamp and envelope to my toll. Being that I was in the area anyway, I decided to make a special trip to their headquarters in Downer's Grove to pay the toll in person. Yes, I know there's added expense involved in that, too, but I decided it was the least painful of the options.
When you go there to pay a missed toll, there's a card you fill out with your license plate number, the location of the toll plaza, and the date and time of the "violation." You put it in an envelope, and drop it in the box they have in the lobby. There's no way to pay an actual person and get a receipt. So I did all that, all for 2 dollars, and not having a receipt, and knowing what criminals these people are, I thought, "Even money this doesn't get credited and I get a violation notice." Sure enough, a short time later, I got a violation notice. Being that I was under the threshold of violations for which you can get your license suspended, I threw the notice away, and they will never collect. But it sure does show a pattern, doesn't it? Collect money from you, not credit you with it, and then send you a bill for several times the amount.
A couple weeks ago, there was a storm that rolled through the Chicago area. It was during the heart of the horrid heatwave there during which temperatures reached triple digits several days in a row. My sister lives up there, and told me how bad it was. So this storm rolls through, and knocks power out to hundreds of thousands of residents. I went to my sister's to help her salvage the food in her freezers. She lives right off the tollway, and I could hit this toll plaza with the rock from her backyard. Well, maybe not that close, but pretty darn close. The whole neighborhood is dark, and yet guess what Com-Ed restored power to first... people suffering in their homes in 100 degree heat, and yet the tollway plaza's power was restored.
We're going to see more of this as states become more starved for cash.
In addition to Pennsylvania sending bills to drivers for ridiculous things, things they might not be legally allowed to bill for, Illinois is stealing from drivers on the tollway.
Last week, I went through a toll facility, one at which you toss your coins into a basket. Once you've tossed in the correct amount, the light is supposed to turn green and you're supposed to be on your way. Until you throw in the correct amount, the light will stay red, and if you proceed, you'll get a citation in the mail. If you don't send them the toll right away, they send you another bill for $20. If you ignore that, it turns into 50 dollars. Ignore too many of those citations, and your license will be suspended. And it doesn't matter why you didn't send it in, like maybe you're a truck driver and aren't home when the notice arrives...
So the other day, I go through one of these facilities and toss in the correct amount of change, but the light does not turn green. Figuring I may have miscounted, I toss in a couple more coins. Still, the light does not turn green. I toss in a couple more, and still the light doesn't turn green. Now it's becoming unacceptably expensive, more so than the original ripoff. Not sure how long this could go on, and not willing to pay more, I drove on. Of course, my picture was taken and I'll get the bill in the mail unless they admit that their equipment was malfunctioning.
I figured it would be a good idea if I called them and told them that it was malfunctioning. If they get dozens of reports that that machine is not working, that should be enough to negate the violation, right? So I called them later, and a perfectly reasonable-sounding young lady informed me that there is no procedure in place for them to document reports of malfunctioning equipment and match them against violations, but that if I wanted to be sure to not get a violation, I could go online and pay the toll again. That's right, pay the toll again to not get fined for a violation I didn't commit.
"You mean just pay the toll twice? Really? That's what you're telling me?" She assured me it was. "That's quite a nice scam you've got going there," I said. "I wish I had thought of that."
I expected her to react with offense. Actually, I was hoping to offend her, but being the professional customer service person that she was, if she was offended, she didn't let on.
On another occasion, I was traveling down 355 at 0-dark-thirty. I came upon the toll plaza and pulled in to pay the extortion fee. The booth was unmanned, and there was a note on the window saying that this was an experimental program, and that to pay the toll I should go online and pay it with my credit card or mail it in within 7 days, or it would be a violation costing me $20-$50. Well, among Illinois residents, it's common knowledge that the tollway authority is akin to organized crime, and there's no way I'm giving these *******s my credit card number. Nor should I have to add the cost of a stamp and envelope to my toll. Being that I was in the area anyway, I decided to make a special trip to their headquarters in Downer's Grove to pay the toll in person. Yes, I know there's added expense involved in that, too, but I decided it was the least painful of the options.
When you go there to pay a missed toll, there's a card you fill out with your license plate number, the location of the toll plaza, and the date and time of the "violation." You put it in an envelope, and drop it in the box they have in the lobby. There's no way to pay an actual person and get a receipt. So I did all that, all for 2 dollars, and not having a receipt, and knowing what criminals these people are, I thought, "Even money this doesn't get credited and I get a violation notice." Sure enough, a short time later, I got a violation notice. Being that I was under the threshold of violations for which you can get your license suspended, I threw the notice away, and they will never collect. But it sure does show a pattern, doesn't it? Collect money from you, not credit you with it, and then send you a bill for several times the amount.
A couple weeks ago, there was a storm that rolled through the Chicago area. It was during the heart of the horrid heatwave there during which temperatures reached triple digits several days in a row. My sister lives up there, and told me how bad it was. So this storm rolls through, and knocks power out to hundreds of thousands of residents. I went to my sister's to help her salvage the food in her freezers. She lives right off the tollway, and I could hit this toll plaza with the rock from her backyard. Well, maybe not that close, but pretty darn close. The whole neighborhood is dark, and yet guess what Com-Ed restored power to first... people suffering in their homes in 100 degree heat, and yet the tollway plaza's power was restored.
We're going to see more of this as states become more starved for cash.
