NJ E-Z Pass review: Tolls by mail and excessive "administrative fees"

Same complaint as noted exhaustively here by other drivers on NJ toll roads.

In my situation, my brother visited from Australia and used my 91 year old father's car during his vacation (July 1-18, 2022). My father lived in the same house in NJ for 53 years & had E-Z pass in good standing for many YEARS but two months before my brother's visit, my father moved to assisted living in MA and I returned his NJ E-Z Pass transponder and closed his account.

I cautioned my brother that many tolls no longer have cash lanes but that we would be billed by license plate and I would pay the tolls. No problem.

On 7/20/22, I received the first of 3 NJ E-Z Pass tolls by mail (Bergen, Raritan South, Toms River) “Advisory and Payment Request Violations”; each included a $50 "Administrative Fee". I understood a fee would be due if payment was not made by due date. I paid all three toll amounts on 8/8/22, well ahead of the due date(s) by one check attached to the payment stubs and completed Section B "Inadvertent Toll Violations" on the back of one of the attached.

On 8/22/22 I received “Prompt Attention” bills acknowledging I no owed $0 for unpaid tolls but each said I owed $50.00 for “Administrative Fees”. I looked through the bills I had initially received and confirmed by my posted check that I had paid and E-Z Pass had received my payment. The only flaw I found is that I neglected to sign below the explanation of dispute I had included. Is this where the problem began? I have no way of knowing

On 8/22/22 I called and called the phone number the E-Z Pass statement and online provide to me for Customer Service/violation. I could not reach a human being to discuss and resolve this problem. I pre-recorded message kept telling me how busy they were and that I could go online to pay or dispute the violation. This is not true either. When I entered the violation numbers, I got a response that it couldn’t be found.

This same day I drafted and sent copies of my original payment and violation stubs and noted again on Section B that I was submitting proof of toll payment and continue to dispute the $50/ea “Administration fee”(s). This time, I was sure to sign and date the form and directed someone to call me to discuss this since I can’t reach any E-Z Pass CS rep by phone.

On 8/29/22 I received another “Prompt Attention” bill. I called E-Z Pass again; more than once to no avail.

On 8/30/22 I sent a “fed up” letter to E-Z Pass Customer Service noting Plate and Violation Numbers and reiterating my dispute.

I went away on my own vacation from 9/29-10/10/22. I came home to mail that included a Credit Collection Services Letter generated by NJ E-Z Pass. I called the agency on 10/10/22 but was told they could not discuss this with me since it was my father’s account and I was not able to pass the phone to him for permission since he now lives in MA.

I called NJ E-Z Pass AGAIN on 10/10 and 4 times on 10/11, waiting in excess of 25 minutes for a human to take my call 2 of these times before hanging up. I looked up the nearest physical NJ E-Z Pass Customer Service location (an hour away in Newark, NJ) hoping to make an appointment. There is no phone number and I hesitate to go there only to wait in an endless line, then to be told they can’t discuss or resolve this with me since they don’t have my father’s permission to speak with me.

I am filing this complaint here, mostly to vent and intend to send this same letter to NJ E-Z Pass and Credit Collection Services, The Better Business Bureau, and am considering sending it to NJ Governor Phil Murphy.

This E-Z Pass by design is setup to produce revenue, not serve it’s tax payers and visitors. Given my personal experience, I can only imagine the exponential cost to NJ taxpayers to support NJ Administration!

Disgusted in NJ.

Susan Quitzau