FAIRFAX, Va. (WUSA9) -- Fines reaching into the tens of thousands on motorists with EZ Passes on the 495-Express Lanes are touching off a legal showdown.
Though Transurban, which owns the Express Lanes, capped the fines at $2,220, several drivers are refusing to pay and fighting back. One motorist from Maryland received a summons with fees and fines close to $30,000.
"I thought it was a joke," said Arthur Sobers, from Waldorf, Maryland.
It took Sobers a closer look to realize that even though he had an EZ Pass account, and EZ Pass transponders on his and his wife's cars, they had received a summons to appear in court for 29 toll violations on the 495-Express Lanes in March and May of 2013. The grand total Sobers owes for tolls as low as $1.65 and as high as $4, is $29,667.
"I was under the impression that we had a credit card on auto pay with EZ Pass that, each time the account was low, they took money out of the bank account," said Sobers, describing what he called his "original contract" with EZPass.
He says EZPass alerted him about low funds which prompted him to put more money in the account. But, Sobers says, he was never told that his account was not paying tolls for the 495-Express Lanes.
"I didn't know they were two companies until I was served," said Sobers.
"I tried to settle out of court," he says but Transurban wanted him to pay $3,000 for each vehicle for a total of $6,000. "I said, 'no way.'"
Sobers' case is one of four taken on by attorney Susan Earman.
"I thought it was remarkable that they had these EZ Passes and that they were current on their EZPasses with positive balances and they were still suffering fines of $30,000 from Transurban. It makes no sense," said Earman.
Earman says her clients thought they were doing everything right. She says when they received the summonses, it was their first notification about missing tolls from Transurban. "As far as they recall, none of them received any prior notification about not paying the tolls " she said.
The problem seems to stem from a low or negative balance on the credit card or debit card associated with EZPass. Perhaps a credit card expired or a bank changed hands and router numbers. Even though EZPass notified them of the problem when it was detected on other toll roads, and the motorists corrected the issues. But Transurban is a separate company and it did not inform the alleged violators there was a problem, according to Earman.
For every missed toll, Transurban attaches a $100 administrative fee and a $72 court cost. Then, for the first violation, it's a $50 civil penalty, for the second it's $250, the third is $500 and the fourth and every violation thereafter is $1000. With two cars, Sobers and his wife racked up 23 $1000 civil penalties in just 16 days in May of 2013. Earman finds those penalties on her clients especially wrong.
Earman said, "These people want to pay. They did not have any understanding their EZPass was not working," said Earman. She also will argue that the statute of limitations on the alleged violations has expired since the summons came more than a year afterward.
A Transurban spokesman disputes Earman's assertion that her clients were not notified. Mike McGurk says all customers are sent notices when they fail to pay. McGurk said in an email about Sobers, "After looking into their account, we have evidence that he received an invoice: his wife called us 6/17/13 after receiving the first invoice. At this stage, the fees were only $12.50 per trip. Further, the customer filed a web dispute with us on 6/28/13 after receiving the second invoice. We tried to offer a reduced amount to the customer but did not hear back.
This traveler received two invoices, and then went to collections. It was after several months of not receiving payment, that this traveler's case was turned over to Fairfax County Courts and the civil penalties and court fees were applied."
McGurk offered website to help explain the role of E-ZPass and how it applies on the Express Lanes: http://bit.ly/1Bfxz4g
Written by Peggy Fox
