Toll Tag Amounts (Dallas: credit card, how much, live)

[foxtrot123]

Was thinking about applying for a toll tag, but I am a little leary of allowing them access to autodebit on my credit card. Has anyone had any problems with this? What happens if you want to cancel your toll tag after using it for a while? Also, initially I am not sure how much to put on it ($50, $100?) Do I just need to suck it up and not worry about it? Any opinions would be appreciated.

[shelbelle72]

I've had my tolltag for 5+ years and have not had a problem. It's really convenient for DFW Airport parking too. When my balance gets under $10, they auto charge $40. They have never taken more than that. Haven't cancelled, so I don't know how it works after cancellation.

[Handsome Stranger]

You put $40 in the account, I haven't had a problem. The toll roads save a lot of time and aggravation. You can get all your questions answered at the NTTA website https://help.ntta.org/QA/FAQs/

[kenshi]

I've heard of nothing but problems from the NTTA. How about the guy who got a new credit card and since they couldn't bill the old one, he racked up over $10,000 in fees? I try to avoid the toll roads when feasible.

Here you go: //www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...s-unaware.html

Read all that and tell me how much you want to go hit the toll roads.

[ChristieP]

There's really not an alternative to the credit card billing. Paying cash means you will have to stop at the Tolltag Store frequently, and the non-tolltag fees are a lot higher! Ive had a Tolltag for over 10 years with no billing problems.

[goodhugh]

I don't allow NTTA to pull money automatically. You can opt to just add money when it needs it. This means you need to login and "pay" NTTA before you run out of money. They do send you an email when it's getting low... so that helps.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by kenshi

I've heard of nothing but problems from the NTTA. How about the guy who got a new credit card and since they couldn't bill the old one, he racked up over $10,000 in fees? I try to avoid the toll roads when feasible.

Here you go: //www.city-data.com/forum/dalla...s-unaware.html

Read all that and tell me how much you want to go hit the toll roads.

No sympathy for "that guy." If you use the Tollroad frequently, you're used to seeing $40 charged 1-2X/month on your statement. "That guy" clearly wasn't monitoring his statements- as responsible adults do- and he could have called the NTTA in the first month vs waiting until $10k of tolls & extra charges racked up.

And, IIRC, the NTTA sends a letter or email if your card has expired and you need to change it. No fees if changed within the first month.

OP, I've done the auto charge for nearly 10 years, through 2-3 card number changes and/or expiration dates and never had a problem. It is also far cheaper than the "bill me" option of not having a tollway by about 30-50%.

[MckinneyOwnr]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

No sympathy for "that guy." If you use the Tollroad frequently, you're used to seeing $40 charged 1-2X/month on your statement. "That guy" clearly wasn't monitoring his statements- as responsible adults do- and he could have called the NTTA in the first month vs waiting until $10k of tolls & extra charges racked up.

And, IIRC, the NTTA sends a letter or email if your card has expired and you need to change it. No fees if changed within the first month.

OP, I've done the auto charge for nearly 10 years, through 2-3 card number changes and/or expiration dates and never had a problem. It is also far cheaper than the "bill me" option of not having a tollway by about 30-50%.

This. I've had my tolltags since they first became available, and held onto them all these years through a few moves out of state, etc. If you don't use them, they don't charge your card, simple as that. Once you sign up, it's easy to log in and monitor your account, update credit cards, etc.

The people who have trouble managing a tolltag are the same people that I think could/would leave their kids/dog in a hot car... They just aren't responsible.

[knotquiteawake]

I've had TollTags since I moved to Dallas 4 years ago and never had a problem. It was pretty much mandatory where I lived (right where George Bush and the DNT intersect). I couldn't go anywhere without paying tolls.
Ditto what was said about airport parking! Its a life saver when you're in a rush. When both my wife and I were commuting using the toll roads it was about $80 to $120 a month for both of us combined.

I've had friends who refused to get toll tags. Made everything more difficult to go anywhere in the DFW area with them. Always had to look of the alternate routes and such. Just get a tag, put that initial $40 on it and then you are all set. If you only use the toll road a couple times a month that $40 will last you months! A small price to pay for peace of mind that no matter where in the DFW area you are going you can take the most direct route there.

[kenshi]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

No sympathy for "that guy." If you use the Tollroad frequently, you're used to seeing $40 charged 1-2X/month on your statement. "That guy" clearly wasn't monitoring his statements- as responsible adults do- and he could have called the NTTA in the first month vs waiting until $10k of tolls & extra charges racked up.

And, IIRC, the NTTA sends a letter or email if your card has expired and you need to change it. No fees if changed within the first month.

There are dozens of people in that thread with different problems. How about the ones that moved and even informed the NTTA of their new address but since they hadn't had to renew the registration on their vehicle, it still had the old address which is what the NTTA tried to bill and then hit them with late fees when they obviously didn't receive the payments? How about the guy in the linked Observer article who drove past the toll booths because he thought they'd just bill him like on other local toll roads and then not until 18 months later after he did this a few times do they bill him for over $300?

Besides that, I don't know about you but I only get a credit card statement once a year and if I used my debit card, i'm certainly not looking at my checking account statement monthly analyzing it for everything that should be there. It would be quite difficult to remember everything that should be on there.

Additionally, where do they get off charging that high of fees anyway? I've never used any service that charges late fees that were more than 10 times the cost of the original fees. I can't imagine a judge agreeing to that either.

I'm very happy I live and work in Dallas and rarely have need to hit any tollway after all the nightmares I've read about it.