A class action lawsuit has been filed in New York federal court against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and other entities, alleging that consumers are facing exorbitant penalties from tolls.
Plaintiff Jason Farina of Westchester County, N.Y., filed the MTA class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and others who have been charged $100 fees from using New York’s cashless toll systems: EZ Pass and Tolls-By-Mail.
According to the New York toll fees class action lawsuit, all MTA bridges and tunnels switched to cashless toll collecting in 2017. Because of this change, drivers are no longer able to pay cash as toll booths have been dismantled. Instead, tolls are charged using EZ Pass or Tolls-By-Mail.
The EZ Pass tag is a transponder which communicates with the system’s antenna to record information and process a charge for the toll, which is charged to the vehicle owner’s EZ Pass account. If a vehicle is not linked to an EZ Pass account, the Tolls-By-Mail system collects the toll by taking a picture of the vehicle and its license plate, which is used to identify the vehicle owner. A bill for the toll is subsequently mailed to the vehicle owner.
The cashless toll system was meant to eliminate traffic congestion in toll booth lines and allow MTA to shift its employees from collecting tolls into roles focused on the safety and security of motorists.
“However, Defendants — who operate those systems and collect tolls from drivers — have used the cashless toll system to line their own pockets at the expense of drivers, primarily by collecting improper fees and penalties in addition to collecting the tolls,” the MTA toll fee class action lawsuit says.
Farina claims that the penalties faced by drivers who do not pay the toll are often substantially higher than the actual toll and may result in drivers being charged more than $100 to cross a bridge or tunnel. Even worse, the defendants impose these fines without giving prior notice to the drivers and wait weeks before notifying them about the penalties. In the meantime, drivers may unknowingly rack up more charges.
“Defendants also aggressively pursue collection efforts against motorists, threatening them with adverse credit reports, suspension of the driver’s license, revocation of their vehicle registration, and seizure of their tax refunds if they do not immediately pay the fees,” Farina alleges in the MTA toll fee class action lawsuit.
Farina claims that he has been charged more than $6,000 from October 2017 to January 2018 by using his EZ Pass on New York’s bridges and tunnels. He claims he never had any significant problems with his EZ Pass tags or account before experiencing these penalties.
Farina says the defendants’ equipment routinely fails to recognize EZ Pass even when a driver has a fully-funded EZ Pass account. He notes that EZ Pass readings can fail for a variety of reasons, such as window tinting, the position of the vehicle, or a dead EZ Pass battery. EZ Pass users are unable to know when the defendants’ equipment fails to read the EZ Pass.
The MTA class action lawsuit says the toll fees are unconstitutional.
Farina is represented by Stephen J. Fearon Jr. of Squitieri & Fearon LLP.
The MTA Toll Fee Class Action Lawsuit is Jason Farina v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority, et al., Case No. 1:18-cv-01433, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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370 thoughts onEZ Pass Class Action Alleges N.Y. Consumers Face Unconstitutional Toll Fees
Ezpass claims I owe them over $2k in violations for tolls that were processed with a suspensed Ezpass. My ezpass was suspended for speeding through a toll and I was told I could not use the ezpass and they sent me a pouch to keep the Ezpass in. My ezpass was in this pouch for several months during my suspension and I paid every toll by mail. Months later I was told every time I went through the toll my ezpass was read and charged and then I recieved a $100 violation fee each time.
Now my ezpass is current and I asked them to lower my threshold balance over the phone and they agreed. Now they are claiming I a not keeping sufficent funds in my account and I am getting $100 violations each toll pass. when I went onto the website to pay my tolls there were no violations listed and then weeks later substantial fees fro violations appear in my mail.
its impossible to stay ontop of.
Count me in! I moved twice and have lost mail with toll invoices. 8.50 becomes $108.50 when you dont even know you received the notice in the mail. I have dished out almost $7000 because I have my kids on my insurance who also use my cars.
This is ubsurd and unreasonable. This forces consumers to use ezpass and takes away control of financial decisions and disciplines.
Where is the accountability on their part? Where does this revenue go? Our bridges and tunnels are still in disrepair. People have lost their jobs as a result of these tolls. Insurance through the roof. They’ve made it too expensive to be mobile we might as well go back to riding horses and bartering farm goods to survive.
I call bullshit!!!
I never receive a bill and keep calling them giving them my address in which I have been here for 3yrs. My drivers lic and all documents have my correct address and they keep saying I owe when. I call them to pay a 9 dollar toll they telling me I owe over ten thousand dollars. Every month I get hit with a violation before I get a bill or the month is over. It’s a government scam.
I’ve also been charged a couple hundred dollars for a $2 toll. They sent me papers from a lawyers office after two months of calling to complain about my first notice accompanying a fine. I’ll join
I would like to be a part of this class action lawsuit. I drove to New York 1 time and there were plenty of cash tolls along the way. I paid them all. Apparently, they charged me a 1.00 for driving but they eliminated the toll so it was by a camera. They then sent me a bill. I ignored it thinking it was a sham because I don’t do an e-z pass and the other notices made it seem like I went through an E-ZPass when I know I didn’t. There was no way I didn’t pay a toll along the way. Then they charged me a 50.00 fee on 1.00 with threats to send to collections. 50. on 1.00 is beyond excessive. This practice should be illegal. They are targetting drivers who are unaware of this practice. This is a deliberate attempt to extort money from tourists.
I would like to join as well. I just paid 2500 for 19- $8 tolls. This is insane. Also I never received the bills I just happen to update our address
How can I join in on this class action suit? I am desperate! They are looking for $35000 from me.
How can i get in on this class action. They are stealing from us. Ridiculous fees that are 10x more than the actual toll. This is highway robbery no pun intended
I am being charged about 15,000.00 in excess fees even after tolls have been paid.
They are charging my husband nearly $5000 although we keep replenishing the account. After going to the office, I was informed that it is not EZ Pass responsibility to keep track of your usage but the user although the supervisor informed me that sometimes the charge can be THREE months late. This is absurd, they have literally taken 120$ Three times in one week, where is this money going, we are only using 61$ a week….someone please help us we cannot afford this. Unfortunately my husband has to commute from Brooklyn to Staten Island for work, he is seriously thinking about quitting the job at this point.