Florida Toll Question (Fort Lauderdale, Cape Coral, Sanibel: renter, credit card, maintenance)

[Moore_887]

Hi,

I have my car out for rent on Turo.com and I got a call from one of my renters to say that he occidentally passed over the midpoint bridge into Cape Coral without paying the toll. After reading up on missed tolls on the Sunpass website, I sent a check to the FDOT turnpike enterprise with the time/date plate number and location of the toll bridge for $2.00. However, two weeks later I got a bill in from Leeway for the same missed toll which included a service fee of $3. I was thinking of putting a Sunpass in the car although my wife already has a Leeway Pass in her car (which we don't rent out) but I would be afraid of someone doing the dog on the pass and clocking up a large toll bill. However, I see some people on Turo include a toll pass in their cars. My question is, how do they monitor it? Is there anyway to get instant notifications when the toll pass is used?

Thanks

[Beak Boater]

If you go to the Sun Pass website, you can set up an account. You can then track the usage. I know when we first set up our account, I went in daily if we used the toll bridge and it would show the deduction at the end of the day. ( they require a credit card so they can maintain a minimum balance in your account.) They explain all that on the website.

[Kim in FL]

You can't just send a check to pay the missed toll...you have to include the invoice and the $3 charge.


This is something you should've thought about BEFORE you rented out your car so either get a SunPass or pass the $5 charges along to your 'renters'.


On the invoice you can choose the "I wasn't driving option" and enter the name and DL of who was and they will get the bill. I would assume you'd have this information since you're renting them the car.

[Restrain]

BTW, by October, the systems all over the US have to be able to accept all toll tags. So if you have a SunPass, it should work all over the US, same with Leeway, etc.

[NoSnow4me]

Originally Posted by Kim in FL

"This is something you should've thought about BEFORE you rented out your car..."

I'd be a little surprised if this hadn't already dawned on him.

Anyhow, I'd be interested in input on Leeway vs. Sunpass. The vast majority of the tolls I pay are on the Cape Coral bridges, but I do go over to Fort Lauderdale every couple of months for work. Is there an advantage to going with Leeway that would make the more versatile Sunpass less desirable? I don't commute daily, so the annual discount pass surely wouldn't pay off. I'm just wondering if there's some compelling reason in this case to go with one or the other.

Thanks

[PonceDeLeon]

I see no advantages of SunPass over Leeway, but I do see some advantages of Leeway over SunPass. Leeway will give you an off-peak discount of 25% during certain times. See their website for details. You can also pay a $40 annual fee to get half-priced tolls over the Cape Coral bridges, (but you'd have to make at least 40 trip to break even on that.) Tne SunPass offers no discounts.... not even the 25% at certain off-peak times. Leeway will work at all SunPass locations, so there's no need to get Sunpass.

[Moore_887]

Originally Posted by Kim in FL

You can't just send a check to pay the missed toll...you have to include the invoice and the $3 charge.

As per the Sunpass website: "If you are NOT a SunPass, E-Pass, Leeway, NC Quick Pass, or GA Peach Pass account holder and find yourself in an unattended, dedicated SunPass lane, please continue through the toll plaza. Do not stop and back up, as it is unsafe. However, payment for the toll is still required.

Please mail missed toll payments (check and money orders only, indicating vehicle plate information, date, time and location of toll plaza or mile marker) to FDOT Turnpike Enterprise....

So that's what I did. I sent them a check the same day.

I wasn't aware that SunPass allowed you to track usage. I have a sunpass sticker ready to go into the car. My wife has the Leeway pass because she is back and forward over the midpoint bridge every day. I was thinking of getting a discounted Leeway pass for the second car, but my worry would be if someone was to make trips over the Sanibel bridge (for example) and not tell me, then I would be charged and probably not know it.

[Kim in FL]

Originally Posted by Moore_887

As per the Sunpass website: "If you are NOT a SunPass, E-Pass, Leeway, NC Quick Pass, or GA Peach Pass account holder and find yourself in an unattended, dedicated SunPass lane, please continue through the toll plaza. Do not stop and back up, as it is unsafe. However, payment for the toll is still required.

Please mail missed toll payments (check and money orders only, indicating vehicle plate information, date, time and location of toll plaza or mile marker) to FDOT Turnpike Enterprise....

So that's what I did. I sent them a check the same day.

I wasn't aware that SunPass allowed you to track usage. I have a sunpass sticker ready to go into the car. My wife has the Leeway pass because she is back and forward over the midpoint bridge every day. I was thinking of getting a discounted Leeway pass for the second car, but my worry would be if someone was to make trips over the Sanibel bridge (for example) and not tell me, then I would be charged and probably not know it.

Yes, you sent them a check for the toll only, but you owed more than the just missed toll. Pay the $3, if you haven't already, because they do keep a running tab.


If you do get charged for tolls that one of your customers failed to pay, simply fill out the back of the invoice with their information and pass the buck on to them. Make sure you make it clear upon rental that you are not responsible for any tolls during the rental period. I would assume you have a copy of their DL for your records so you can include a copy with the invoice.

[Moore_887]

Originally Posted by Kim in FL

Yes, you sent them a check for the toll only, but you owed more than the just missed toll. Pay the $3, if you haven't already, because they do keep a running tab.


If you do get charged for tolls that one of your customers failed to pay, simply fill out the back of the invoice with their information and pass the buck on to them. Make sure you make it clear upon rental that you are not responsible for any tolls during the rental period. I would assume you have a copy of their DL for your records so you can include a copy with the invoice.

I went ahead and paid the $5 dollar invoice that came in from Leeway. I also got a call on Friday from FDOT whom I sent the check to for the missed toll originally to say that they had received the check but they don't handle missed tolls and the information on the SunPass site is incorrect in saying that missed tolls should pe paid directly to FDOT. Anyway, it's water under the bridge now (no pun intended).

I have a copy of the drivers licence when I rent the car but there is also a "request for reimbursement" button on my Turo dashboard that allows me to charge for missing fuel, parking fines, missed tolls etc. Unfortunately, Turo charges the renter a $15 dollar administration fee on top of whatever I request. It's a little unfair, I think, for someone who has genuinely missed the toll because in some countries you drive off to one side if you have a pass and keep straight if you need to pay cash.

For customer's convenience, I have just fitted a SunPass in the car and will check the balance at the end of each week and email the customer the day before the trip ends to let them know the balance and allow them to pay cash directly to me.

[jbraden]

Originally Posted by PonceDeLeon

I see no advantages of SunPass over Leeway, but I do see some advantages of Leeway over SunPass. Leeway will give you an off-peak discount of 25% during certain times. See their website for details. You can also pay a $40 annual fee to get half-priced tolls over the Cape Coral bridges, (but you'd have to make at least 40 trip to break even on that.) Tne SunPass offers no discounts.... not even the 25% at certain off-peak times. Leeway will work at all SunPass locations, so there's no need to get Sunpass.

SunPass DOES offer the same 25% off-peak discount. Other advantages of SunPass are the lower cost of the transponder... $4.99 with a $5 usage credit to your account for the SunPass mini-pass, vs. $10.00 with no credit for LeeWay. Also, there is no account maintenance fee, which on LeeWay sucks $.50/month out of your pre-paid balance whether you use it or not. Unless you're commuting across the bridge and making other additional trips, I'd recommend the SunPass. To the OP... unlike some Florida tolls the Midpoint bridge does have staffed booths for cash payment and clearly marked lanes for use by pre-paid passes only. Your rental driver may have been confused or just hoping to pull a fast one.