New legislation seeks to protect Pennsylvania Turnpike users

(The Center Square) – State Rep. Ryan Warner has introduced legislation to force the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to notify E-ZPass customers that faulty or misplaced devices may be racking up $10 fees, an issue that is generating millions of dollars for the state.

House Bill 2139 would require the commission to notify customers when readers are unable to scan their electronic toll collection device, as well as common causes, potential solutions, and the so-called V-toll the turnpike charges when it happens.

“If the commission in unable to collect a toll from a toll collection account holder due to a malfunctioning or unreadable electronic toll collection device, the commission shall send a notice … to the account holder of the malfunctioning or unreadable electronic toll collection device,” the bill reads.

The measure requires notification within 24 hours of an uncollected toll at the email address provided for the account.

“The commission is prohibited from imposing a fee for a toll that was unable to be collected from an account holder … unless the notice requirements of this subsection are met,” according to the legislation.

The problem stems from a WPXI investigation into complaints about $10 penalty fees charged to E-ZPass customers any time readers cannot scan a device, which occurs for a variety of reasons, from improper placement to aging transponders.

A spokesperson for the turnpike initially told the TV station the agency notifies customers about the charges, but WXPI later revealed the turnpike hadn’t notified a single customer in the past five years.

Turnpike officials also initially blamed much of the problem on customers who do not properly display the transponders, but COO Stacia Ritter clarified later that aging equipment was a significant factor.

“When we looked at why those V-tolls were being generated, the majority of the customers had a transponder between 8 and 10 years old,” Ritter told WXPI. “That was showing the age of the transponder could be impacting the number of V-tolls.”

The turnpike billed nearly 250,000 customers with the $10 fees, totaling more than $5 million, this year through mid-October.

“I felt bad for the people who were charged,” Warner, R-Fayette, told WXPI. “Simply, this legislation just requires the turnpike to notify customers by email electronically that they were being issued these V-tolls.”

The Pennsylvania Turnpike allows customers to access account information online to check for the fees, but customers contend statements only go back 16 months and the agency restricts refunds to the past 90 days.

“According to them, I can only go back 90 days in fighting their V-tolls,” Delmont resident Jared Baker, who found three charges on his account in the past 16 months, told WXPI. “I’ve been traveling the turnpike for five-plus years now, so who knows how many V-tolls I potentially have on my account that I can’t even see.”

Warner initially wrote a letter to the commission when the TV station revealed the issue in September, calling on officials to notify customers about the fees and to extend the 90-day window to dispute the charges.

“Since many customers have only recently learned of the V-tolling issue, I also request that the current 90-day dispute period be extended or the dispute cutoff date be temporarily suspended,” he wrote.

HB 2139 was assigned to the House Transportation Committee, where Warner sits with the majority. The bill has 14 co-sponsors, both Republicans and Democrats, representing constituents across the state.

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