A Quebecer who traveled to New York to attend an NFL Jets game in October thought he would pay C$52.90 for his highway travel. He fell off his chair when he received his bill: $451.52.
“I only received a letter. “No warning, nothing,” said the man in his 40s, who did not want to be identified because he holds a strategic position in a large company.
The New York State Thruway Authority, which manages the highways he uses, charged him $302 in late fees. The problem? The New York Jets supporter swears it was the organization's first communication with him.
If he had received a letter beforehand, he would have noticed it, emphasizes the Quebecer, who describes himself as “very good at his business”. Especially because the Thruway Authority envelopes are bright orange!
Photo Julien Mcevoy
Highway tolls in New York State are similar to those for the 25 Bridge in Quebec. If you do not have a transponder, you will receive an invoice by post.
This happened to our husband who had to pay for five trips on October 10, 2023 and October 13, 2023. Total trips: $342.08 and $451.52 respectively.
The five tolls were expected to cost $40.08 ($52.90), before fees of $302 ($398.62). Screenshot from our source
The New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) was contacted this week and declined to comment on the matter. More than 408,000 Canadians and 111,000 Quebecers had to pay to use the highways last year, a spokesman said.
“This is the first time we have heard a story like this,” the Thruway Authority also said.
Quebec lost a little
Neither the Office of Consumer Protection (OPC), CAA-Québec nor SAAQ really knew how to respond to the Journal this week.
“We did not find any similar cases in the complaint processing system, which does not certainly mean we could not have had them,” the OPC told us.
As far as debt collection activities are concerned with Quebec debtors, the law on the recovery of certain debts could apply.
CAA offers members the opportunity to purchase the transponder for them and show them how to pay in advance online. We also offer to help people put together their itinerary.
“That’s very nice,” the Jets fan replied, “but you can’t even create an account in the E-Zpass system to pay or receive notifications.”
“They offer the option for Quebecers, but it gets stuck at entering the zip code. “A beautiful cabochon system,” he exclaims.
Get the license plate
Poor payers can sleep peacefully in Quebec. They will not be harassed at home by a bailiff for their unpaid tolls in the United States.
According to the agreement between the SAAQ and NYSTA, Quebec cannot transmit information to the United States in the event of non-payment.
The American authority can only send the SAAQ a list of the license plates of vehicles for which tolls have not been paid on a highway.
The SAAQ only transmits the contact details of those people whose license plates were recorded by NYSTA during a crossing.
The SAAQ will then provide the necessary information that will allow NYSTA to claim payment and possibly take legal action.
Our Quebecer paid the $452 to put an end to the NYTSA. “Maybe I shouldn't have done it, but given their incompetence, I didn't take the risk,” he said.
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