During the Mid-August 2011, I traveled through the entire United State from New York to California. My method of traveling was driving. Therefore, I unfortunately passed the State of Illinois. Despite the beautiful night light in Chicago, three month later, all the memory of Illinois has left me is unjust and deceiving. Even though my intension was to paid the full correct amount of toll fee from the day I missed the toll plazas, the $3.20 toll fee has added up as a violation of $283.20, and mischarged as $566.40. I wrote this story with the intension of warning other drivers who might travel through Illinois, expressing the injustice and awful experience, and questioning the operating of Illinois governing system. I swear every detail in the following story will knowledge the most accurate quotations, dates, and other factual information within my ability and memory, while the story will be subjective from my side.
The day I arrived in Chicago was August 14th. After staying in Chicago for one night, I left the city and head towards Denver on August 15th. As an East Coast driver, I was not familiar with the toll plazas in Illinois. I assumed that all the toll plazas in the United States are regulated to one single standard of system. This is why I did not notice the toll plazas, which are set to the side of the road on August 14th. Not until August 15th, I started to notice, and realize I might have pass the toll plazas without paying the proper toll. I therefore stopped in every single toll plazas that I encountered in Illinois. Unfortunately, at the time I have passed a few toll plazas, which I did not knowledge at the time. I was not sure if I indeed passed any toll plazas before I started noticing the signs of toll plazas. So I consulted a toll plaza worker. The worker gave me the Illinois Tollway Customer Service’s number and stated I will be able to figure out whether or not that I have passed the toll plazas without paying.
On August 15th, after I received the Illinois Tollway Customer Service’s number from the toll plaza worker, I called the Illinois Tollway Customer Service. I successfully got a hold with one of the representative. After being given my license plate number, the representative stated, “Sir, I see no record of your plate here. I don’t think that you have any violations.” Consequently, I assumed that I did not pass any toll plazas without paying.
A month later, during the late September or early October, I received a house mail from Illinois Tollway Authority. The mail was a violation ticket for four violations that I have made in Illinois during August, one during August 14th, and three during August 15th. The fine was $83.20. I am not sure when the mail was sent out from Illinois Tollway Authority, because I was a registered Pennsylvania driver. The mail was sent to my old address in Pennsylvania, and then forwarded to my address in New York, and then finally forwarded to my current California address. I was upset with the violation because I had tried to pay the toll on August 15th and was told that there was no violation. Therefore, I contacted Illinois Tollway Customer Service Center. The representative I spoke to this time was polite and helpful. Although she claimed she was not able to help me to deduct the fine, she suggested me to please not guilty and write a letter to the judge to explain the details of this case. I agreed. Few days later, I received the mail from Illinois Tollway Authority about the case, I therefore carefully stated the facts and follow the instruction and replied.
I am not sure if the mail ever went through to the judge, or if the judge had carefully examined the facts in my case. I received a mail during Mid-October and the letter in the mail stated I lost the case without any written information from the judge. Therefore, I will have to pay for the fine, $83.20, and if I passed the due date of November 2nd, the fine will escalate to $283.20. Shortly after I received the mail, I filled my credit card numbers and all other information that was asked on the return coupon that was also in the mail. I returned the coupon at the same day.
Three weeks later, on November 5th, I received a mail from Illinois Tollway Customer Service Center. The letter in the mail stated my credit card number is invalid, and “If you wish to remit funds to us, please correct the problem noted above and return your payment to us as soon as possible at the address above so that your I-PASS account balance does not turn negative or your violation, if any, does not escalate. Then I double checked the credit card number, and I confirmed it was the correct number of my currently valid credit card. On November 6th, I called the Illinois Tollway Customer Service Center. The representative I spoke to this time was a male who was very inpatient and rude. He questioned why I did not pay for the violation before due date. I said, “I tried to pay for it and I returned the correct credit card number in the mail. However, maybe there was a mistake, that someone on your site did not charge me.” He then replied, “Okay Sir, I am going to take care of this.” Then I asked, “So are you going to deduct the $200 escalation fee?” He said, “Yes.” I asked again, “So you are going to charge me $83.20?” He said, “Yes.” After his confirmation, I told him my credit information, and hanged up the phone.
After hanging up the phone, I went online and checked my credit card online statement. It stated that I was charged $283.20. I was angry because I felt I was lied to. So I called back to Illinois Tollway Customer Service Center. Before I said anything to the representative, who was a female, she seemed to already know what I had to say, and claimed impatiently and rude, that there is no way someone could deduct the escalation fee for my case, and asked, “Is there anything I can help you with other than this?” I said, “No, but can you give me your supervisor?” I went through her to her supervisor, who was a female, and the supervisor was not able to help. I asked if I could speak to a higher authority, and she gave me her supervisor, who is a male, Brian T, the Special Project Coordinator. Brian T stated that he is the highest authority in this office, which he did not specify which office it was, and he claimed, “Although I have the authority to deduct your escalation fee, I am not going to do that, because it is not our policy.” I asked if I could speak to a higher authority for this case, and he said no. So I said, “I will try to find someone that I can speak to for this, and you will be quoted.”
On November 7th, I received a voicemail from Illinois Tollway Customer Service Center, the voice was a female, who stated that because I did not authorize the transaction of $283.20 that I was charged on my credit card on November 6th, she reversed the payment for me, but I then owe the Illinois Tollway for $283.20. I checked the credit card statement online after I received the voice mail, and the $283.20 payment is still pending. So I called my bank and asked if there is a reverse of my payment, the representative from the bank claimed they did not receive any notice. After I hang up, I called the Illinois Tollway Customer Service Center, and asked for the solution. The representative, who was a female, stated that the payment was definitely reversed, and she suggested if I was not comfortable about making another payment to pay off the violation, I could wait until next day and if they payment was still pending, it would suggest that it is reversed, and after making sure of that, I could go on their website or call them to pay for the violation.
On November 8th, I checked my online statement, and the payment to the violation was pending. So I assumed that it was reversed. I then went online and paid for the violation. However, later in the day, when I checked the online statement again, I found out that the pending payment was posted. Therefore, I was actually charged twice for the same payment of $283.20. I called the Illinois Tollway Customer Service Center again on November 9th, and the representative, who was a female, claimed that the payment was indeed reversed. She didn’t know why it was posted on my bank statement. She could not help me.
So here I am, on November 10th, writing down all the details of this case. There are three main traces that indicate this case could suggest a conspiracy of Illinois Tollway Customer Center is using and manipulating the laws to make money.
One, the representative who answered my phone on August 15th stated there was no violation on my record. Although his statement could be understood as truthful because only 7 days after I passed the toll plazas without paying, the violations would be formed and recorded, his statement was misleading and helping me and possibly other victims to ignore the unpaid toll.
Two, it took the Illinois Tollway Customer Service Center three weeks to contact me after I mailed in the credit card information to pay for the $83.20 violation during the Mid-Octorber. Most importantly, the credit card information I provided at the first place was indeed correct and valid. This certainly suggests the low efficiency of Illinois Tollway Customer Service Center, and also suggests that they might have waited until my violation was escalated to return my mail for the extra $200.
Three, there is no confirmation for the mails that I potentially would not receive. Since I have moved many times after living in Pennsylvania, there is chance that I will never get the mail. In that case, I would be very likely receive letters from a collection agency for a high volume of escalation fee after many months.
I am not sure how much the higher authority or the board members are involved in this case. I have looked up for similar cases on Internet. It shows that there are many other victims suffered from the similar situation. I am not sure why Illinois government has set up such a system that can easily deceive drivers from other states to pay for a very high fine. It suggests that it could be an intension of Illinois government to make money from other states’ residents. I believe the laws of Illinois Tollway are violating the U.S. Constitution and certainly the moral justice. The goal of Illinois Tollway laws should be used to prevent and warn drivers from passing through toll plazas without paying, instead of embezzling. For a driver, who intended to pay for the toll, and later the proper violation, Illinois Tollway Customer Service Center did not try to help, but to create difficulties. There are multiple dishonest actions, such as claiming to charge $83.20, but charging $283.20 without authorization. After all, this is a government agency, I hope that it is not making Illinois people ashamed by its dishonest acts and doubtful interactions with victims, and at the end, reduce the attraction of the state.
