Other Car Rental Programs (ie. Alamo, Enterprise) - Payless: double fined for one violation?

Hi,
I was in California in september and rented a car from Payless car company. After about a month got letter from VMS Car Rental Parking that I didnt pay a road toll and they charged from my credit card 40$ - 5$ fine and 35$ fee. After another month I got letter from The toll Roads company in which they are obliging me to pay 100$ for the same violation! I emailed them that I already payed this to VMS, but they said they have nothing to do with VMS and now I can pay discounted fee 30$. Can somebody tell me please whats wrong with these companies? Do I have to take it like VMS just kept money for themselves and didnt payed the 5$ fine? And what happens if I wont pay the fine, could be my visa rejected next time I go to US? Thanks Jakub

Hi,
I was in California in september and rented a car from Payless car company. After about a month got letter from VMS Car Rental Parking that I didnt pay a road toll and they charged from my credit card 40$ - 5$ fine and 35$ fee. After another month I got letter from The toll Roads company in which they are obliging me to pay 100$ for the same violation! I emailed them that I already payed this to VMS, but they said they have nothing to do with VMS and now I can pay discounted fee 30$. Can somebody tell me please whats wrong with these companies? Do I have to take it like VMS just kept money for themselves and didnt payed the 5$ fine? And what happens if I wont pay the fine, could be my visa rejected next time I go to US? Thanks Jakub
Sounds as though you ran a toll and an automated system at the toll captured the plate, ran it back to Payless and charged them. Payless (VMS) ran it back to you, but apparently didn't pay the toll either.

While the problem starts and ends with you because you ran a toll, your intermediate beef is likely with VMS which didn't pay the toll on your behalf and also apparently provided your ID information to the toll authority (or more likely, its contractor).

Given that the toll authority is only seeking $30, your best bet is to pay that and then seek reimbursement from Payless/VMS because you paid them and they apparently didn't pay. But, not paying the toll authority isn't an option because the fines keep multiplying.

While its extraordinarily unlikely that non-payment of a toll will affect your US immigration status, it's not inconceiveable. Much more likely is that this messes up your ability to rent in the USA and that the toll authority turns the debt over to a collections agency.

Unless you have a lot of free time on your hands, chalk this up to an expensive mistake on your part ($75 vs. the $5 toll you owed) and be done with it.

I had something like this happen to me. I got a parking ticket at a meter on the street in the city of Philadelphia. I paid the parking ticket. Then the rental car agency tried to fine me for the ticket after I had already returned the car. I told them that I had already taken care of the ticket, and they required me to fax them a copy or some proof that I had paid the ticket. So then I had to get the city of Philadelphia to mail me something that stated that I paid the ticket in order for the car rental agency to stop harrassing me for the fine. It took a lot of phone calls and time to get this straightened out, but any violation with a rental car is a headache. Be careful when you rent.

Don't pay the rental agency anything until you take care of the fine through the proper channels rather than through the car rental agency. I won't put my trust or money on them to do what's needed.

Sorry this information is after the fact, but if this sort of thing happens again--let's hope it doesn't--I would wait for the actual fine from the toll road agency before dealing with the car agency.