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Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, a rental car company that does business as Dollar Rent A Car, was hit with a class action lawsuit on May 16 accusing the company of charging customers inflated administrative fees for processing electronic tolls.
Florida residents Stephen and Anne Sallee allege in the Dollar Thrifty class action lawsuit that they rented a car from Dollar Rent A Car in November of last year for a trip in Texas. During the trip, the Sallees allege that they incurred four toll fees using Dollar’s e-toll service totaling $4.70 by the time they returned the vehicle.
The Sallees claim that when they returned the car, a Dollar Rent A Car agent advised them there were no additional charges. After returning home, however, they allegedly received a notice from Dollar Processing Center entitled “Dollar Rent A Car Toll Charge Notice.” The Notice instructed that each toll charge was subject to an “administrative fee” of $15.00 for a “Total Administrative Fee” charge of $60.00.
“Thus, for four tolls totaling only $4.70, Plaintiffs owed Dollar $64.70,” the class action lawsuit says.
According to the Dollar Rent A Car class action lawsuit, “Dollar’s e-toll service electronically identifies Dollar vehicles as they travel through [electronic toll collection “ETC”] sites. This is accomplished by various means depending on the vehicle’s location,” explains the complaint, “[s]ome transactions are captured and processed by recognizing license-plate numbers while others are captured through an electronic transponder device in the vehicle…[o]nce the identification is made, the e-toll service receives data identifying the Dollar vehicle and the tolls incurred on specific dates.”
The Dollar Rent A Car class action lawsuit claims that since at least 2008, Dollar has charged its customers who travel on toll roads and use its electronic toll collection (“ETC”) service a fee of $15 or $25 per toll in addition to the cost of tolls. These toll fees are described as an “administrative fee” in the materials comprising Dollar’s standardized rental contracts. However, according to the class action lawsuit, “the administrative cost of Dollar’s ETC is only a fraction of these $15 or $25 charges, and the vast bulk of the charge (and all successive $15 or $25 charges per toll) are a means to charge more for customers’ rentals without including this price increase in customers’ rental rates. This allows Dollar to represent to customers that Dollar’s rental rates are less than Dollar is actually advertising and charging.”
The Dollar Thrifty class action lawsuit alleges that thousands of people have been victims of Dollar’s increased rental costs that Dollar falsely describes as “administrative fees.” The Sallees argue that Dollar’s administrative fees amount to breach of contract, a violation of state consumer-protection law, and request damages for unjust enrichment and injunctive relief.
Over the past several years multiple class action lawsuits have been filed by rental car customers over similar allegations. Hertz reached an $11 million class action settlement over claims it conspired with an electronic toll company to charge customers excessive fees. Fox Rent A Car and Avis were also hit with class action lawsuits over their toll charges to customers.
The plaintiffs are represented by Tony M. Graham and R. Jack Freeman of Graham & Freeman PLLC, Jeffrey W. Lawrence of Lawrence Law Firm, Bruce D. Greenberg and Jeffrey A. Shooman of Lite DePalma Greenberg LLC and Daniel R. Karon and Laura K. Mummert of Goldman Scarlato Karon & Penny PC.
The Dollar Rental Car Toll Fee Class Action Lawsuit is Stephen Sallee et al. v. Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc. et al., Case No 4:14-cv-00250, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
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51 thoughts onDollar Rent A Car Toll Fees Rack Up Class Action Lawsuit
I am sickened by the way in which this company is able to operate. There is absolutely nothing different between ATS / Dollar Rental Fine an Payday Loans by taking advantage of the situation. I had $3.82 in tolls for unmanned toll booths an had to pay an additional $59.94 in Administration fee. This is outrageous. I would have gladly paid the toll. Please somebody has to do something to stop this.
Rented a vehicle from Dollar Rent a Car in Texas 9/3/22 to 9/6/21. I did not know there were toll (to say the least unmanned toll booths). Dollar rental dose not explain or offer a toll pass. I’ve received a bill from Dollar rental this week for $5.00 in tolls plus a $60. Administrative fee. Tonight I received a second notice for $11.00 in tolls with a $90.00 fee totally $110.62. Talk about a scam. I’ll be contacting ever agency that can put a stop to rental car company scam.
I rented from Dollar 7/26/22..My toll fee was $11.40.They charged me $38.96 for admin fee..Total bill 51.36.Iwant use Dollar again for sure and will add my name to the class action..
This is ri-dam-diclous, my toll fee was $2.36, and they wanna charge me 60.00 for administration fees REALLY, when I had to wait 1 1/2 hours for a rental car that I booked 1 month in advance. I will go to court if I have to before I pay this, don’t make any sense that y’all charge this much for an administration fees, whatever!!!! I WILLNEVER RENT FROM THEM AGAIN AND I WILL TELL EVERYONE I KNOW THE SAME.
Very similar story from TX Dollar Rental. It was a nightmare to begin with (reserved a Corolla in advance, by the time we got to the rental place it was quite late and no car left for us! We ended up having a Chevy pickup truck, because there was nothing else left)
We just got the same letter on 6/21/21 :( Toll amount: $0.70, Administrative fee $15! I’m not going to pay it!
I, too, was victim of this scam in NC. Dollar’s administrative fees for tolls were nearly as much as the rental car for the entirety of the trip!I
looked up the status of this case and the judge ruled in favor of Dollar, granting their Motion to Dismiss. Call me jaded, but I would someday love to live in a country that would prioritize everyday citizens over corporations…sigh.
They’re still doing it in Texas. Toll fees – $13.25 Admin fees $90
It’s disgusting. It wasn’t well explained at the counter. They just said – will you be encountering toll roads. We didn’t know. We’d never been in the Houston area. They said – you can prepay for tolls or pay when you are finished. No admin fee explained or mentioned. Just got an outrageous bill. I intent to report them everywhere I can and warn others. I wish I’d searched the company out beforehand.
same here. received a bill $ 105 bill for a less than $ toll amount. I will never use Dollar Rental again.
Well I guess it’s still going on just got one in the mail December 16, 2019 was in Chicago in November and I sent a money order and paid in time and Dollar rental still sent me a notice there cheating people out of money and I tried to pay on line and it wouldn’t let me
It appears this scam is still going on in oklahoma. its november 4th 2019 and and i just had to pay $51.74 for a $1.50 fine that dollar rent car charged my account. b miller tulsa okla. I would be willing to sign up for a class action suit.
It appears this scam is still going on in oklahoma. its november 4th 2019 and and i just had to pay $51.74 for a $1.50 fine that dollar rent car charged my account. b miller tulsa okla.
I also had $60 in admin fees added to my toll in CA in which I didn’t even know they had toll roads because it was never told to me when I rented the vehicle. I tried to go on the toll website and pay the fees when they occurred but because the car wasn’t registered to me I couldn’t do it. So that is how they get you. What ever happened to good and honest companies. It’s all about how much money they can get and don’t care how they get it. I even emailed them on there website and never got a response.