3/20/2023 0 Comments Tolls by mail convertCustomers, who chose not take advantage of the early payment discount, are now receiving their backlogged notices," Sale wrote in an email to Sofastaii. To date, customers have saved $1.6 million by taking advantage of the early payment discount. "The 60 days is prior to receiving the 30-day notice, providing a total of 90 days, on average, to spread out their payments. MDTA spokesperson John Sales said drivers with outstanding tolls are sent a postcard in the mail 60 days before they receive their actual bill, and are given a 15 percent discount if they pay early. “I’m not sure how they expect everyone to pay two years’ worth of tolls in less than 30 days.” It’s a lot and it’s unexpected,” Kirby said. “I’m talking to some family to get some money lined up and hopefully I can pay some, but honestly, I’m not sure. Senator McCray is now asking the MDTA Board to weigh in on the issue of waiving penalties while drivers face hard deadlines, and harder decisions. WMAR-2 News Mallory Sofastaii requested an interview with MDTA Director William Pines. READ MORE: E-ZPass frustrations: Backlogged transactions draining drivers' accounts, long call wait times continue And the customer service center continues to receive on average 19,000 calls a day with 118 agents answering phones. We couldn’t get through,” said Hood.Ĭall wait times still average over an hour at 71 minutes. Eliminating the civil penalties will encourage toll scoffing and will reduce tolling payments on valid tolls."Īnd while MDTA said it often waives late fees, customers need to first contact the agency, which has been no easy feat. Furthermore, the civil penalty is one of the strongest tools to trigger payments on the original tolling due, as the MDTA already can and often does provide courtesy waivers of civil penalties when working with customers to resolve their outstanding toll debt. If the civil penalties associated with these transactions are waived, the amount of outstanding debt owed to the MDTA would be reduced by as much as $45.7 million. "As of January 11, 2022, 1.8 million citations remain unpaid that are associated with transactions that were not processed during the mid-March 2020 to mid-October 2020 timeframe. In its response to the bill, the agency said waiving those penalties would impact their bottom line and encourage toll scoffing. ![]() “MDTA has vehemently said, ‘Cory, this is going to impact our Trust Agreement if we waive these fees for folks.’” did not choose to get their bill late,” said McCray. The MDTA has made concessions, but in a committee meeting last week, McCray said the negotiations on late fees has come to a standstill. RELATED: New legislation targets 'E-ZPass debacle,' bill waives toll penalties, allows for payment plans Senator Cory McCray (D-Baltimore City) introduced legislation that would allow for payment plans, recall debts sent to collections, and waive penalties for backlogged tolls. “Well, am I going to pay my E-ZPass bill or am I going to pay my rent and water and all that? It’s mentally stressful in addition to financially stressful,” Kirby said. “At this point, we’re not going to have a choice but to pay it and have to try and figure out which customers were in these vehicles going back that far,” Hood said. However, this doesn't apply to customers who had more than 25 notices when the agency resumed mailings.ĭespite receiving the tolls over a year after the transaction date, drivers are being told they’ll have to pay their bills within 30 days. MDTA has said it's metering toll notices to avoid sending customers large bills all at once. “If I don’t pay by the 18th, which is less than 30 days of notice, it’s $4,000 with late fees,” added Kirby. “The total amount is $1,209.36, which we have until February 14th to pay otherwise the fine goes up to $6,284.36,” Hood said. The agency is now mailing out backlogged tolls with a warning for drivers who don’t pay within the allotted timeframe. The violations date back to 2020 when the Maryland Transportation Authority paused processing toll transactions for seven months. She received 129 toll notices in one envelope. “It’s loud, there’s a lot in here,” said Grace Kirby, hitting her pile of toll violations on a table. “I was a little surprised when we opened up to find 203 citations from the E-ZPass division,” said Kathy Hood, operations manager at Bob Davidson Ford Lincoln. And if they don’t pay in full and on time, they’ll be charged an additional $25 per toll, which for some is thousands of dollars. ![]() BALTIMORE - Maryland drivers are receiving stacks of toll notices and bills for hundreds of dollars.
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