GblTrvlr

ATS Processing Services has a contract with Hertz, which allows them to charge users a service fee each day of the car rental period. This means that they charge you for services for the entire rental period if you use it at any time during the rental, whether or not you use their service during the entire rental period. This does not seem right!

Specifically, I had a car rental for 28 days and used their automated toll charge on one day during this rental. Rather than charging me a service fee for the use of their service on that day, they charged me a service charge for each of the 28 days. Again, this does not seem appropriate to charge me for services for 28 days when I only used their service 1 day.

From my discussions with their service representative, who refused to let me speak to a supervisor, this is simply the way their system is set up and there's nothing that I can do about it. I just love when they say "Well, a supervisor would only tell you the same thing I'm telling you!"

If I were to rent a car from Hertz for 365 days (say Jan. 1 to Dec. 31) and only use their plate pass service once during this time period, say for a .25 cent toll on Jan. 1, their system would automatically bill my credit card for 365 days of use. This is absolutely highway robbery - literally!

While their argument is that they cap the total monthly charges, nonetheless, they are charging customers for services whether or NOT they are rendered. The actual dollar amounts I'm talking about here are not thousands of dollars, but I am upset about the principle of the matter.

I think they get away with it because they are skimming small amounts of money from a lot of people!

Thus, I am not pleased with their "service" as I find their fees to be unreasonably applied. If I were to charge my clients for services for the entire year, when they only used my service once during that year there is no way they would agree to payment. How can ATS Processing Services get away with this? It should not be legally allowed.

I find it disturbing that they also put roadblocks up when asking to dispute such charges, and simply allow their customer service (I'm using the term quite broadly) to be able to tell customers that this is simply the way that it is, and without any recourse or even the ability to speak to a supervisor.

I am saddened that a quality organization like Hertz is associated with an unscrupulous company like ATS Processing Services.

I just made a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in Arizona, where they are located - so we'll see if anything comes from that.

Sorry for the rant!

jasonvr

The fees suck, but they are business and you used their service. They do not charge you a fee for all 28 days. It is a maximum of 5 days in any calendar month. If you kept the car for a whole year and used PlatePass at least once every month, they would charge you 5 days out of every month for a maximum of 60 days of fee. Any month where you don't use it incurs no fee.

They get away with it because you signed a rental contract that lays out the fees thereby agreeing to be bound by those terms. You then used the service. Plain and simple. Avoid PlatePass like the plague to avoid the outrageous service fee and inflated toll amounts.

GblTrvlr

You are correct. I went back and read the mouseprint and they do only charge for the month where you use their service. Thus, in my example, they would have only charged me for one month if I'd used it only once.

I also understand what you are saying about the fact that I used it, so I am responsible for the charges as laid out in the rental agreement. However, I still hold to my argument that their fees are unfair. The fees they charge SHOULD only apply to the days/tolls where I used their service.

I dislike any company who "rounds-up" to the highest fee they can charge you, which appears to be the PlatePass philosophy.

I drive Hertz cars more days of the year that I ever drive my own car, and I am sometimes tempted to use the PlatePass in the Northeast where you have the option of sliding the device out of the carrier box mounted on the window. I really do not mind this approach, as at least it gives the driver the option to choose to use the system or not. I normally simply just stop and pay the cash toll. Given my experiences with PlatePass fees I'm inclined to avoid ever using it!

It's really too bad, as there are times when traffic is a mess and it would be so much easier to just use the PlatePass, but I don't want to be charged for a month of use for just one toll.

In Florida specifically, I recently asked the Hertz representative about the PlatePass system as I left the lot (they had a new sign up talking about it, so I assumed that there was something new) and she indicated that I would likely get charged for using PlatePass whether or not I wanted to use it (i.e., whether I stopped and paid the cash fee or not), so she suggested that I simply drive through the express lanes - since the system was automatically going to charge me for it anyway.

Given her direction, I did not stop to pay any tolls in cash. I am unsure of whether this is really true? Do I not even have the option to pay cash in Florida (there is no "device" to pull in and out as you have in the Northeast)? I seem to recall paying the cash a few months ago in Florida for a rental, but perhaps things have changed?

jasonvr

Florida is different and does not use a transponder. It is instead tied to the license plate (or maybe there is a transponder on the plate?). The best way to avoid it in Florida is the manual lanes (I know they exist on the Beeline in Orlando) and get a receipt every time (which you may need for expense reports anyways). Then if they try to charge you, you can show the receipt showing you paid it yourself and they will remove the charges. In reality, it shouldn't be a problem though since they shouldn't be reading the plate if you are paying in the manual lane

themicah

I just got back from South Florida today and saw signs saying that at least one tollway (the I-95 express lanes in Miami) no longer has any cash lanes. I set my GPS to avoid tolls and was careful not to use any toll roads since I was in a Hertz car.

I believe there is a "SunPass" transponder you can use, but if you don't have a SunPass transponder, then you'll probably get nailed by PlatePass if you take a cashless tollway. I don't know about the other tollways in South Florida (Florida's Turnpike, Sawgrass Expy, etc.).

ijgordon

So you think this business should be more heavily regulated? I guess you're a democrat? Or a socialist?

So do I, and I don't do business with them. But I like a free market.

You can get your own EZ Pass
https://www.e-zpassny.com/en/faq/account.shtmlJust make up a license plate number on the application. (I believe DUMMY and DUMMY2 are already taken ) No monthly fees for NY EZpass (the website says there is, but I've never been charged ). And I don't think you have to live in NY.

jasonvr

Or get an I-Pass from Illinois. Same thing, also no fee. I have it registered with my car in CA.

stc

I made the mistake of forgetting my ez-pass at home and was happy to see the car at LGA had platepass. I figured I would be saving some time and money.

Unfortunately: "Hertz offers this service for $2.95 per rental day, plus incurred tolls at the cash toll rate". So, rather than paying the discount ez-pass rate, I got stuck paying the the cash price plus $2.95 per day.

My total bill came to $35 and had a brought my ez-pass, it would have been about $20.

I'm chalking this up to a learning experience and thinking of ordering an extra ez-pass to keep in my luggage so this can never happen again.

N1120A

I've noticed that Plate Pass seems to be missing from the cars I have more recently rented at BUF

CrazyOne

On some short drives for business I would probably use the PlatePass, but now I'm taking such a trip tomorrow, will have tolls, no PlatePass in the car. Again. It's a few times in a row now. Heh. Not a big deal but my luck is so funny on that. The times I *do* get the PlatePass in the car are personal rentals where I'm keeping it a week with not that much toll so I wouldn't bother.

Maybe I shouldn't be so leery of using my own E-ZPass in the rentals, but I just don't want to take the chance.

stc

What is your concern about using your personal ez-pass on rentals?

jasonvr

It can get annoying.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hertz...pass-scam.html

See my posts earlier in this thread for of problems that can arise.

themicah

I've used a personal EZ Pass in dozens of rental cars (many with platepass transponders on the windshield--I'm always careful to keep that box closed) and never had an issue. Obviously my experience is no guarantee that you won't have an issue, but it seems pretty unlikely.

jasonvr

I agree that on the east coast I have had no issues (VA/DC and NY/NJ), but it seems that I have a problem every time I go to Illinois. A brief summary:
1) If even one toll is missed (due to a transponder misread), the toll authority will default to the license plate which will track back to Hertz/PlatePass. That will cause PlatePass to charge you the toll as well as the daily service fee for the entire rental.
2) You can avoid this if you add the car to your EZ-Pass/I-Pass account, but that can lead to other issues:
a) Because the toll sweeps aren't instant, you can get charged for tolls that occurred prior to your rental. The system only seems to look at what pass is registered to that license plate at the time the sweep occurs, not what pass was registered when the toll occurred
b) If you stupidly forget to remove the car from your account (like I did once) you will end up with the tolls of other people. Those people either had a misread with the transponder box open, or were trying to skirt the law by going thru a toll without the box open (thinking that they wouldn't get caught)

When I use my pass, I mount it to the windshield such that it is butted up against the PlatePass in the car, thereby ensuring the box always remains closed, but it doesn't solve all problems unfortunately.

themicah

Haven't had the pleasure of using an Illinois Tollway in many years. Good to know!