Alamo and ny ez pass/ still getting charged

[GDUL]

Does the system really charge you for a car with plates in your account even if you remove the transponder?

It did for me. Honestly don't know if the transponder ever got "hit" or if it just used the license plate when I went through tolls.

It did for me too. I assumed that the rental car plate was still associated with my EZ transponder which was linked to my EZ account so I was charged when the car was being used by another renter. I knew that the charges weren't mine as the time stamp on my account was after I had turned the car in.

 

[Brian Noble]

Does the system really charge you for a car with plates in your account even if you remove the transponder? I presume in the absence of a transponder it scans the plate and then issues the bill based on EZPass records even though the car and plates are registered to a rental agency?

Apparently. IMO, that's not a terrible thing. The turnpike authority does not know when I am done with my rental. If I am still renting the car, and for some reason my transponder is not recognized, I would very much rather they bill my toll account rather than use toll-by-plate to the rental car agency (which would tack on their nuisance fees.)

I have on occasion neglected to add a rental car to my account even though I use the transponder. I see no difference in how well the transponder works while on vacation based on whether or not I add the rental car to my account.

Sure. But, again, if for some reason the transponder isn't read properly, they can (and apparently do) use toll-by-plate as a backup.

 

[mgarbowski]

Apparently. IMO, that's not a terrible thing. The turnpike authority does not know when I am done with my rental. If I am still renting the car, and for some reason my transponder is not recognized, I would very much rather they bill my toll account rather than use toll-by-plate to the rental car agency (which would tack on their nuisance fees.)

Definitely a point I had not considered.
Frankly, I'm impressed at the efficiency. For the last 30 or so years I've had every impulse to say "but the computers should handle this [whatever thing] easily" beaten out of me. When a system can actually connect my NY EZPass account and device with a car registered in and with Florida, and apparently turn it on and off accurately in real time based on my input, that's a level of capability I did not expect.

 

[EACarlson]

Wait. Does the system really charge you for a car with plates in your account even if you remove the transponder? I presume in the absence of a transponder it scans the plate and then issues the bill based on EZPass records even though the car and plates are registered to a rental agency?

FWIW, I have never forgotten to remove a rental car from my account if I add it for a vacation, but I have on occasion neglected to add a rental car to my account even though I use the transponder. I see no difference in how well the transponder works while on vacation based on whether or not I add the rental car to my account. YMMY and indeed My MMV next time, but that's my data point so far.

Yes, the way the toll systems work in the following order. Transponder first, if it reads a valid transponder nothing else happens. The plate is run through the local tolling authority to check for a match, Visitor Toll Pass, SunPass or E-Pass in Florida. Still if no hit, the plate is run through EZ-Pass. If still nothing, the plate is run through PlatePass. As a last resort the plate is run through the state's DMV and most but not all states will give FL the owner's information. MN and a few others will not.
I've never had an issue with my transponder not reading, but I always mount it exactly where I do in my own vehicle. Could be an issue with newer vehicles or people mounting it differently.

 

[mgarbowski]

Yes, the way the toll systems work in the following order. Transponder first, if it reads a valid transponder nothing else happens. The plate is run through the local tolling authority to check for a match, Visitor Toll Pass, SunPass or E-Pass in Florida. Still if no hit, the plate is run through EZ-Pass. If still nothing, the plate is run through PlatePass. As a last resort the plate is run through the state's DMV and most but not all states will give FL the owner's information. MN and a few others will not.
I've never had an issue with my transponder not reading, but I always mount it exactly where I do in my own vehicle. Could be an issue with newer vehicles or people mounting it differently.

Thanks for the deeper explanation. My working assumption, obviously wrong, was that toll plate readers were only connected to the state registration databases.

 

[LAX]

Don't most rental cars have an EZPass assigned already? I guess if it's not activated at the rental counter, then it won't be associated with the rental car license plate? I agree with another poster that I would rather the toll be billed to my EZPass account via license plate than to the rental car agency in the event of transponder failure.

LAX

 

[Lewisc]

I've never had an issue with my transponder not reading, but I always mount it exactly where I do in my own vehicle. Could be an issue with newer vehicles or people mounting it differently

Posters with issues tend to lay the transponder on the dash or the passenger holds it.

Bring velcro or a suction cup mount.

 

[EACarlson]

Don't most rental cars have an EZPass assigned already? I guess if it's not activated at the rental counter, then it won't be associated with the rental car license plate? I agree with another poster that I would rather the toll be billed to my EZPass account via license plate than to the rental car agency in the event of transponder failure.

LAX

No, the Avis group has a toll transponder in the car, but does not have the license plate registered with the account so that they can charge you the extra fees if the transponder is closed and you still get a toll. Hertz and National both only use PlatePass in FL. As I explained above the transponder plate lists are checked before PlatePass.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Hi, we used our ny ez pass a few weeks ago while in Orlando. We had our ez pass in the windshield, right where we keep it at home on our car. We still got charged a toll. It almost seems like the toll plaza is picking up the license plate before the ez pass. Anyone else have this, or suggestions of how to avoid it? It actually happened last summer as well, ez pass was placed right on the dashboard.
Thanks,

Why did you put it on the dashboard. Its suppose to go on the windshield. No wonder it was not picked up by the camera.

 

[lynnfitz]

Because at home it’s been on my dashboard of my Hyundai 2020 Tucson and it works fine. I drive from Ny to NJ everyday. It sits right behind the screen of my touchpad. That’s why I put it there.

 

[erionm]

Why did you put it on the dashboard. Its suppose to go on the windshield. No wonder it was not picked up by the camera.

Cameras are not used to read physical transponders. The cameras take pictures of license plates (and possibly the driver) and those images are only used if a physical transponder was not read (either physically not present or equipment issue).

 

[MikeF;NJ]

Because at home it’s been on my dashboard of my Hyundai 2020 Tucson and it works fine. I drive from Ny to NJ everyday. It sits right behind the screen of my touchpad. That’s why I put it there.

If that has been your experience, that is great. When EZ-Pass first went in in NJ, there were many, many complaints by people who left the transponder on their dashboards about the transponder not being picked up and people getting violations because of it. Eventually, NJ had to change the company they used to provide EZ-Pass service and they also made a push to get people to put the transponders on their windshields where they were a lot easier for the system to read.

 

[leebee]

I take my EZPass every time we go to FL and mount it with velcro (Maine sends extra strips, free, if you ask). The only times it hasn't been read is when I've passed through unmanned toll stations (where there is no other toll booth, no way to choose to pay cash). Three separate trips, three different locations, all 3 were the only unmanned booths along our route. Not sure why this happened. It's annoying to have to pay the additional surcharge to the rental company, but is also the reason I only choose companies that charge the surcharge on the day the toll occurs. I believe Dollar will charge you $13 per day of the rental, not just on the day of the charge, if their transponder picks up your toll charge.
Personally, I prefer to use the Florida Visitor Toll Pass.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

I've been charged twice in the last 6 months for tolls in NJ even though I had my EZ Pass in my car with my registered license plate. Both times at the same toll. It's doubly weird because my EZ Pass is issued out of NJ and other tolls on the same trip/same days were charged to the EZ Pass with no problem. They kindly charged a $50 service fee for each of the "fines".

I have to say when we called to dispute it they couldn't have been nicer (after about a 15-20 wait on hold to get a person) and just charged our EZ Pass the less than $3 tolls for the two trips and dispensed with the fines. I was actually pretty pleased with their customer service since I procrastinated a bit in dealing with it.

 

[WDW Traveler]

This happened to us in March. We had a NH EZPass and it registered all the tolls except one for some reason

Ended up being like a $13 charge, $3 for the toll and $10 for the rental car company.

 

[holyrita]

Been there, forgotten to do that, paid about $20 in tolls for some lucky rental car customer.

Interesting.. we used our ezpass for the first time in FL a few months ago and tried to add the rental license plate to our account but said it was already registered. We still mounted our ezpass and were charged correctly. Hopefully whoever rented before us realized they could still be getting charged!

 

[LAX]

This happened to us in March. We had a NH EZPass and it registered all the tolls except one for some reason

Ended up being like a $13 charge, $3 for the toll and $10 for the rental car company.

For some, it may not be worth the effort & time, I have had success calling the entity responsible to charging the toll and requesting the missed charge to "move" to my EZ Pass account. The processing itself didn't take long, but the wait time to talk to someone was much longer though.

LAX

 

[Disneykingofkings]

the last 2 trips we took i used our ezpass from home at hertz and mounted it correctly on the car windshield with the suction cup thingy but didnt register the plate with ezpass; anyway, both times we were double charged; the first time after contacting platepass and emailing them my ezpass statement, they removed all toll charges and the convenience charge; this last time when i did the same thing, they only removed the convenience fee and not the $4 in tolls because he told me there were different times, not dates, on my ezpass account for the tolls and their plate pass account; i guess they go by microseconds and the plate and ezpass are read just microseconds apart so............................i think from now on i will just use their stuff since we only use it to go back and forth from mco to wdw and then around the resort; tolls are $4 either method and convenience fee is $9.95; so since wdw is 8-10 grand a stay i will eat the 10 for the fee instead of the frustration of dealing with platepass;

 

[MarieLM]

If you check your EZ pass account and find you were double charged, they will reverse it (if it's worth the hassle).