How to dispute a Toll Charge - I sold the car that aquired the fee. (credit report, loan)

[Therblig]

Tolls belong to the vehicle and its owner. At the time the tolls were incurred, you still owned it per public record and the license plate. The buyer/driver was a jerk to run up some $48 in tolls on your plate, but it's your obligation unless you get them to politely pay or take them to something like small claims court.

That said, I have complained bitterly about the sh*tty E-470 toll system many times. Drivers passing through, and especially drivers renting cars at DIA, are often clueless about the tagging/payment system and end up not just with whopping toll bills weeks after the fact, but (from car rental agencies) disproportionate "admin" fees on each toll incurred. (It's that, bring your own toll transponder, or pay an inflated fee for tolls in advance. Or be smart enough and inconvenienced by not taking the tollway at all... if you know not to.)

The bottom line/main problem is that even those who see the TOLL indicator are unaware, until too late, that there is absolutely no way to manually or individually pay tolls... it's billed by license plate capture and I think there is one complex way to pay them more or less as incurred (you have to go visit a remote admin office to do so).

It's a crappy, deceptive, revenue-enhancing system, especially with the active participation of the tens of thousands of car rentals from DIA, technically covered by notices on the walls but again, easy to miss and easy to misunderstand that there's no tollbooths, as there are on even the most modernized other toll roads (Mass Pike, New Jersey, New Hampshire) most are familiar with.

Natives think I am a clueless wuss for my rage on this point, because most of them have never experienced any other system and just think it's the way it is.

I would question, though, how a transit from AZ to NE [not NB, idiot me] racked up $48 in tolls. The convenient loop of E-470 on that path should not have exceeded more than about $25. I conclude they looped around and back into Denver, then back out E-470 to head home. I'd contact them with a polite request to pay.

[AndroidAZ]

In Arizona you are never allowed to let the buyer take your plate when selling. So you broke a rule in Arizona in the first place.

Pay the fine and consider it a lesson learned. If the buyers later decide to pay you back for the fine, consider that a bonus.

[Therblig]

Originally Posted by AndroidAZ

In Arizona you are never allowed to let the buyer take your plate when selling. So you broke a rule in Arizona in the first place.

It varies by state. In many (CA for example) the plates go with the car; they aren't a unique owner ID.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by AndroidAZ

In Arizona you are never allowed to let the buyer take your plate when selling. So you broke a rule in Arizona in the first place.

Pay the fine and consider it a lesson learned. If the buyers later decide to pay you back for the fine, consider that a bonus.

Same rule in Colorado.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

The point is that we are NOT being negative. We are being realistic. The OP sold the car, and kindly let the purchasers drive it from Colorado to Arizona with his plates on it. Unfortunately, it is not up to the toll collecting company to prove who was driving the car; the bill goes to the address of where the plate is registered. Perhaps the OP should have been less trusting or perhaps the OP should have had a better agreement with the purchaser, but at this point it has to be chalked up as “lesson learned”. That charge from the toll company has to be paid before more late fees mount up.

Personally, I would have never left my plates on a car that I sold to someone else, especially knowing that they would be driving to another state. Who knows what kinds of things could have happened to that car with MY plates on it?

[Therblig]

So, just as an exercise, what would a reasonable toll, crossing from the start at I-25 and E-470 to 470 and 70 (the short route to Neeeebraska)... and how long of a loop up to... Denver? I-25 on the north side? and back out does it take to run it up to about $45?

I'd guess about $10-12 minimum, and two or three passes back and forth for motel? dining? whatever runs on the overnight.

[reed303]

According to https://www.e-470.com/Pages/TollCalculator.aspx the Lic Plate toll from the I-25 junction on the south (coming up from AZ/NM) to the I-76 junction on the north (I-76 leads to i-80 in Nebraska) is $17.90

If a second statement is sent they add "The unpaid tolls, the $5 late fee, and a one-time $20 collection fee are due at this time." Additional fees of $20 and $25 can be levied.

See https://www.e-470.com/Pages/PayingTo...iolations.aspx

As shown by https://goo.gl/maps/BDusCNydqhFdWACr7

The E-470 route is 38 miles and about 40 minutes

Staying on I-25 thru Denver to I-76 is about the same, with no tolls (except Express lanes)

As always, YMMV ;-)

[Therblig]

Thanks. It looks like the total is mostly fines and fees.

Proof again that such things are best dealt with immediately, instead of shelved hoping something magical might happen... two statements mean it sat for at least 30+ days.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by RMillerIdidNotDriveInCO

Why shouldn't the Toll Company have to prove it was "you" after you have told them the car sold?

Because it's the VEHICLE that is being tolled, not the driver. The vehicle is creating wear and tear on the roadway, and tolls usually are based on the number of axles and weight of the vehicle.

Without an electronic transponder, states use the license plate number to send the toll to the vehicle owner. At the time of the toll, the vehicle was wearing your plates, and therefore was still technically your vehicle, therefor your responsibility. The buyers could have crashed it into a building and set it ablaze and ran, and the responsibility would fall back to you. It's your car until they title/register and plate it in their name/state.

Your only option is to pay the toll, and then try and get the buyer to reimburse you.

[StealthRabbit]

If the seller filed "Report of sale" with AZ on a date prior to the tolls. The tolls are the burden of whoever owned the car on the date of tolls. (regardless of registration / license plates).

For liability reasons, it is advised to file the "Report of sale" before the vehicle leaves your possession.