Alarming fees for overdue tolls

[white cloud]

Tough to enforce 4000 percent fee on late payments
Updated: Monday, 24 May 2010, 8:48 PM CDT
Published : Monday, 24 May 2010, 5:45 PM CDT

Chris Willis
AUSTIN (KXAN) - Even the steepest of fines, taxes, and credit-bureau charges have nothing on the Texas Department of Transportation.

The state of Texas is charging motorists a 4000 percent administrative fee for each toll they don’t pay after 112 days. Some motorists – even those with the proper tags – are finding themselves with thousands in fees for just a few bucks in overdue tolls.

In Central Texas, there are 150,000 motorists who owe $3 million in tolls. With that fee, the state of Texas could collect nearly $60 million from them.

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/texas/alarming-fees-for-overdue-tolls

[tammywammy]

1. Yes, this happened to me last year

I had a few dollars in tolls and they tried to charge me almost $300. I called my state rep Paula Pierson to get the matter cleared up. I rarely take the toll roads, so I wasn't some scammer that never paid. They were sending the bill to my mom's house where I used to live many years ago instead of my actual residence.

Here's the link to my thread about it http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=180&topic_id=60554

[Blue_Roses]

2. this happened to me

there is a class action law suit that is being filed against this. What a joke our tollroads are:eyes:

[sonias]

3. The Rs, they do love to "outsource" everything.

And they could give a damn if the job is done right once it gets outsourced. Public agencies would actually deliver a service that had to be done well. Private enterprise can do anything they damn well please.

And the state which is Republican controlled, keeps on giving the private companies screwing up, more business.

No matter how much the private company screwed it up.

Here's another example:

AAS 5/17/10
State to stick with IBM on data contract
(snip)
The mammoth project has been dogged by delays, equipment failures, losses of data and deep frustration among state agencies.

Since the fall, new leadership at the agency overseeing the contract, the Department of Information Resources, has been digging into the roots of the problems with the aim of turning the project around.

Amid that re-examination, it has seemed at times that ending the seven-year contract with IBM was the most likely outcome.

But Ed Swedberg, the department's deputy director of data center services, said Monday that there are no plans to terminate the contract at this point.

There would be too much to lose for all sides by unwinding the contract, and IBM is still a willing and able partner, he said.

IBM spokesman Jeff Tieszen said the company is working with the state to move the project forward. IBM has been paid more than $442 million since the contract was signed in 2006.

:eyes: