MASTERNC

You can search and pay for tolls based on your license plate - but do it quickly before they can generate a bill

Tolls by Mail New York (tollsbymailny.com)

kda0000

Hi there, I just rent you the car from Hertz at Logan International Airport in Boston. As we were leaving Boston and heading up to Maine, we went through one or two cashless tolls where there was no cash option. There was a transponder in the vehicle, but I had not added it on to my booking and was fearful that they're charge an insane price if it was activated and used. My girlfriend did open the box, but I immediately closed it back up before we got to the toll reader.

Can someone tell me what I should expect from Hertz? There was nothing on the bill I was emailed, and it's now a full day after I dropped the car off on Sunday, and I still haven't seen anything else come through.

What should I be expecting to see from Hertz because of this? I looked up the toll rates on the Massachusetts website, and they aren't that bad. Will a bill for the amount (which seems to be south of $10 total) just be sent to me? I have been searching and there are some pretty scary reports of ~$90 charges on top of those fees, which is nearly 70% of what I paid for the rental itself.

AutoSlash

The "insane price" would probably be if you didn't activate the transponder in the car and Hertz was charged directly and then they passed on the cost to you plus a hefty "convenience" fee. It probably would have been far cheaper to just use the provided transponder.

Then again, we've found that in a lot of these cases, the vehicle's license plate is registered to the toll transponder, so even if you had it closed, it's very possible that the tolls will get charged to the transponder account and passes along to you. There's a good chance you'll see a separate charge for tolls on your credit card in 7-10 days.

kda0000

Yes, I think you're right, and unfortunately that's what we did. The trip was one that was planned very last minute, and as a brand new renter, I only had so much time to scramble and try to figure out a ton of different rental variables. Your site was extremely helpful, but unfortunately I did have to do a lot of figuring for some unique things I encountered, and somehow I forgot about toll planning. I'll know better going forward.

I'm somewhat hopeful that because my girlfriend opened-then-closed the transponder perhaps that triggered something that activated it, as that seems like the far less pricey route. I guess I'm just assuming though that the little box it's in deactivates it and/or blocks all signals, so my presumption is that unless it somehow has a history of the box being opened that Hertz electronically accesses and considers to be an addition to my rental, then it would likely be a plate-associated matter. Still, I think I'll give Hertz a call and see if it's too late to tack on the box, and then have any charges I incurred directed through the transponder. Guess we'll see what happens.

By the way, I did use your website to find and book the best price, so thank you. It's possible that I missed something, but I do have a few suggestions to help others who inexperienced avoid a few pitfalls.

1. I've seen some posts indicating that rental companies did not honor a booking b/c the individual did not "confirm" the booking, and they are then left rebooking at the counter at a much higher rate. To someone who's new to this, the need to confirm after reserving isn't really very apparent, and the only reason I did so was because (1) it didn't show up on my Hertz account, and (2) I was lucky to read that horror-story post I mentioned. A big red reminder to confirm would be a very helpful thing if you can put it somewhere for people using your service.

2. I do have status with Hertz, and part of the reason I figured out that I need to "confirm" was because I couldn't see the booking in my profile, and was concerned that my status wouldn't be applied to the booking. It seems that I was correct, and would've been left waiting in line and then finding out the booking and my status were not attached. Since your site directed me to Priceline, that was why it didn't populate naturally into my profile, I guess. This sorta goes with #1, but a notice to users that third-party bookings won't associate with their status unless they confirm is probably a good idea too (though this obviously falls into the category of #1.)

3. Because I booked with Priceline, I couldn't confirm with my Priceline code using the Hertz website. When I called, they were able to pull it up, confirm it and attach it to my profile without any issue. The recording prior to talking to a rep indicated that a 5% phone confirmation charge would apply, but the rep indicated that wasn't the case, and was only for phone bookings -- my bill reflects no additional 5% fee, so it seems this was correct. I suspect that the inability to confirm a booking online, and the need to call is something that will be encountered by many who book through a third party site, so perhaps a heads up from AutoSlash that this may be very helpful.

Anyway, I want to thank you again for the great resource (and it's pretty cool to see you on this forum too.) Thanks again.

guv1976

OP: I expect that the transponder can only be "read" when the box is slid to the open position. I doubt that the box is anything more than a device to prevent the transponder from being read in those cases where the renter can:

1. pay the tolls in cash;

2. pay the tolls directly to the toll authority after the fact by going to the toll authority's website; or

3. pay the tolls with his own personal E-Z Pass transponder.

I don't think that MA offers option #2, but they certainly offer option #3. So if you do plan to rent cars with some frequency in the future, I suggest that you get your own E-Z Pass transponder. If you still reside in Western NY as your FT profile indicates, you can probably obtain one at the customer-service counter of your local Wegmans supermarket. (That's where I got mine.)

Do you own a car? If not, and you don't want to pay the daily liability insurance supplement fee when you rent, you might consider pricing a personal, non-owner automobile-liability policy. Mine is issued by Travelers Insurance; you should be able to find a Travelers agent near you.

kda0000

Frustratingly, I do already own an EasyPass, and would've brought it had we considered this part of the equation prior to departing. Live and learn, I suppose.

guv1976

Very good. If you plan to use your personal transponder for future rentals, you will need a supply of the adhesive Velcro® strips to attach your transponder to the rental car's windshield. You can order free strips by calling the E-Z Pass Service Center, or by going online and logging in to your account.

kda0000

That's a great tip - I probably would've been doing the "hold it up to the glass" thing if you hadn't mentioned that. While my rentals may not be frequent, I'm going to go ahead and order some right now so that I have it the next time I do rent. Thanks!

SCEflyer

I use an EZ Pass issued by the PA Turnpike Commission, and they are adamant that the transponder is linked to the license plate number on one's vehicle. They suggest that if you wish to use it for a second vehicle, the user should notify them with the details, including plate number in advance. Not easily done when renting a car at an airport. YMMV

guv1976

Fortunately for the OP, New York has a more liberal policy:

https://www.e-zpassny.com/en/faq/rentalcars.shtml

What's the penalty for using a PA E-Z Pass transponder in a rental car without first notifying the Turnpike Commission?

guv1976

Actually, it looks like it's not that difficult to temporarily add a rental vehicle to a PA E-Z Pass account via the app:

"To add the rental vehicle to your personal account, login on the website or app and provide the start and end dates you plan to use it."

Source: https://www.paturnpike.com/rampup/before-road

jackal

AFAIK, the fee is the cash rate of the toll plus a $25 administrative fee for each toll. So if you hit two tolls, you'll probably be looking at $50 in administrative fees plus whatever the tolls are. An expensive lesson, but it could be worse.

You could try calling the toll authority and providing them the license plate number of the vehicle and seeing if there's a way to pay the tolls that way. YMMV.

Simply opening and closing the transponder box doesn't do anything to "activate" the transponder. It's a basic E-ZPass transponder inside a basic lead-lined box. All the box does is prevent the toll gantry from reading the transponder when you go through it. Having the box open when you're not driving under a toll gantry has no effect.

It's unlikely Hertz would retroactively add their toll pass service to your account. If the toll authority won't let you pay them directly, it can't hurt to ask Hertz, but don't get your hopes up.

Absolutely nothing. One time, I was in a rental car and accidentally went through a toll gantry on the PA Turnpike without holding my E-ZPass up to the window, so it didn't get read, and Hertz got the bill instead, even though I had added the vehicle's license plate to my account. I called the PA Turnpike Commission to inquire/complain, and the agent told me that the way the E-ZPass computer systems worked, it only paid attention to the very first entity (i.e. the lowest sequential registration number) to register the vehicle's license plate in the system. Since Hertz registered the plate when they bought/titled/registered the vehicle, they were the owner of record inside E-ZPass's systems and would get the bill for any video tolls. She said it basically doesn't matter at all if I add the plate to my account, because the system ignores any subsequent registrations.

Just be sure to hold your transponder up to the window (velcro/tape is even better) so it gets read. The E-ZPass system completely ignores license plates as long as the transponder gets properly read.

FWIW, the toll system in the southeast (FL/GA/etc.) works the opposite way--their system pays attention to the most recent entity to register the plate, so if you add a rental car plate to your SunPass account and your transponder doesn't get read, they'll still bill your account for a video toll. Of course, this makes more sense, but SunPass is a newer system, and good luck getting the huge E-ZPass consortium (which probably still runs their systems on an AS400) to change ways.

m907

Even better, get yourself one of these portable EZPass mounts. I've used it on dozens of rentals and it's much easier than applying adhesives.

kda0000

Jackal thanks for the expensive write-up (and to the rest of you chiming in with great info.) I appreciate it! I'm going to make some calls today and see where I get. I will post back with anything I find out so that others who find themselves in this unfortunate situation might be able to benefit from my findings. I think l will try Hertz, the toll authority, and maybe Amex to see if there's anything they can do to help (don't ask, don't receive, right?) Thanks again, all.

FlyinHawaiian

Curious to know if other NYC-area renters who own/use their personal EZ-Pass transponders are having the same problem as the one I've been experiencing. In short, after many years of use without issue, my transponder mainly stopped reading at the cashless toll gates I use (primarily the GWB and the Lincoln) and I started getting dinged for PlatePass charges. Thinking my transponder was defective, I ordered a new one a few months ago and while it worked for a bit, my last few crossings didn't read. Most recently, I drove down the NJ Turnpike to the Lincoln and while the Turnpike toll posted to my account, the Lincoln didn't. I've been driving a variety of different cars and trying several locations of my transponder (short of holding in my hand with my arm sticking out of the window) and going very slowly through the toll plazas and nothing seems to work. I'm wondering if the new cash free toll gates are somehow reading plates before transponders and messing me up.

Anyone else having similar issues?

[Edited to add] in October and November of this year I drove through the Midtown Tunnel, GWB (mostly lower) and Lincoln Tunnel with my personal EZ-Pass without issue and last week I drive through toll plazas on the NY Throughway, Garden State Plaza, and NJ Turnpike where everything worked. Despite crawling through the Holland, my transponder didn't read. I don't think I've had a successful toll collected at the Holland since they went cashless. So frustrating!