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UPDATE: The Fox Rent a Car Highway Toll Class Action Lawsuit was dismissed on August 24, 2011.
A class action lawsuit filed in Seattle, Washington claims Fox Rent a Car and Violation Management Services illegally scammed rental car customers by charging them as much as 16 times the amount of automatically collected highway tolls incurred during the course of their car rental.
Fox Rent a Car vehicles are equipped with automated equipment that records the vehicle’s passage through a highway toll so that drivers can proceed non-stop without having to pay the toll at the time of use. Fox is later billed for the toll by highway authorities.
According to the Fox Rent a Car class action lawsuit, Fox and other rental car companies have several options available to ensure they do not incur toll charges in the first place and/or that they are able to recoup the actual cost of toll charges incurred by customers during the course of the rental. This includes registering their fleets’ plates with “EXpress Toll” so that their renters’ tolls will be automatically applied to the rental agreement, paying the toll and then collecting the actual cost of the toll from the customer, or responding to toll bills by providing the issuing authority information regarding the rental so that the toll can be collected by the issuing authority directly from the customer.
Fox does not use any of these options, however, and has chosen instead to conspire with Violation Management Services “to turn Fox customers’ tolls into an illegal profit center for themselves,” the class action lawsuit says.
Rather than taking advantage of any of these collection options, “Fox has retained Violation Management Services to act as its alleged ‘administrator and processor’ of such tolls. Pursuant to this arrangement, VMS unilaterally charges customers’ credit cards for the amount of the tolls, plus an exorbitant ‘service fee’ – possibly varying in amount but sometimes exceeding 1600% of the actual toll. This ‘service fee’ is not authorized by customers, is not properly disclosed to customers, far exceeds any actual cost to Fox and/or VMS for the collection of the toll, is arbitrary and unreasonable, and is accompanied by numerous false and deceptive statements about the alleged right to collect the ‘service fee.’
“The ‘service fee’ is nothing other than an illegal scam to collect from customers amounts that they do not owe. Indeed, VMS makes no bones about its practices, having indicated on its website that its business is to turn the collection of such tolls ‘into a profitable customer service solution.’ VMS further shares the spoils of its illegally-collected ‘service fees’ with the rental car companies with whom it contracts, offering to pay them a kickback in the form of a ‘summons incentive . . . for each service fee collected’ from customers,” states the class action lawsuit.
The class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of all Washington residents or entities who, within the applicable limitations period, have been charged a “service fee” by VMS in connection with the incurrence or alleged incurrence of automatic highway tolls during the course of a vehicle rental from Fox. It is asking for damages to class members, including a full refund of any money they paid for “service fees” and tolls.
A copy of the Fox Rent a Car and Violation Management Services Class Action Lawsuit can be read here. The case is Averil Rothrock, et al. v. Violation Management Services, Inc. and Fox Rent a Car, Inc., Case No. 11-2-18292-4 SEA, Superior Court of Washington for King County, Seattle Division.
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63 thoughts onFox Rent a Car Highway Toll Class Action Lawsuit
I had the same thing happen to me in Miami The gps had me go on a electronic toll highway which i had no clue there was no signs stating it was a toll highway and the toll was only for like 17cents and they charged my credit card $31.32! Totally ridiculous! You can add me to your class action suit!!
I had the same awful experience today. During COVID, San Francisco bay bridge does not have in person cash collection any more, the toll is mailed to the home of cars. When I rent from FOX, I asked about this matter, they never made it clear but only stating that “the toll will be sent to your home”. Then I found out they actually paid it along with $15 admin fee on each instance. A fast lane charge of $1.3 came with $15 admin fee. Fox is thief in this matter.
Same happened to me they charged me 108.88 in tolls for 3 days I spent in miami… they really are scamming people
Include me. This just happened to me twice with Fox in Florida. Each toll was around 75 cents and charged about $31.50.
I had the same thing happen to me in Miami The gps had me go on a electronic toll highway which i had no clue there was no signs stating it was a toll highway and the toll was only for like 17cents and they charged my credit card $31.32! Totally ridiculous! You can add me to your class action suit!!
Count me in as well for this lawsuit. $15 per toll! Our toll lanes were closed for tickets, so we had no choice but to use the express lane. We were on vacation, in a state that was unfamiliar, and as stated by others, the lady behind the desk moved us along quickly with no mention of a admin fee. Absolute SCAM!!
I’ll join. Just happen to notice a $101.26 charge from FOX a month after rental. Turns out to be for $11.26 in toll fees and $90 in admin fees. The admin fees were actually $150 in total but were capped at $90 saving me $60 that FOX calls an admin fee discount. BS. 10 toll fees between $.54 cents and $1.34 and each had a $15 admin fee tagged on. SCAM!
No way to add person to suit?
Please reach me by the email I submitted (lmelsher@gmail.com) and inform me how to join the lawsuit agains Fox Car Rental. I just got a bill for tolls through the I-99 tunnel in Seattle during the period 09/24/2020 to 10/01/2020. As I recall it, during that time period there was a sign saying there would be no tolls until a later date.
They charged me $15 3 times for tolls in a state I have never been to before.
How do you join this lawsuit? These A-holes did this to me while in chicago with “NOBODY” in the dam tollway booths. The told me that the tolls will just be charged to my card automatically. Yea RIGHT!!!!!!!! $1.50 toll and a $15 fine
$6.25÷$36.25=?
About 5 times more than the tolls.
WTF
Not fair not fair at all!!
We were never even told about a Toll or toll charge at Fox Rent-a-car.
They simply gave up papers to sign, and told us which space the car was in.
We got two different bills amounting to about $98.00+ after we returned home.
I have 5 separate bills with false toll costs and they all add up over $450 in tolls and admin fees. They are out of their mind if they think I am going to pay this.