Plaintiffs Claim Collection Notices for Unpaid Tolls Don’t Jibe with Federal, State Laws

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Two plaintiffs have filed a proposed class action in California against toll road operator Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) and its debt collector, Faneuil, Inc.

One plaintiff’s allegations stem from a fine incurred on or about August 20, 2017. The man claims he received a “Notice of Toll Evasion” from Faneuil in September 2017 seeking $12.44 for two unpaid tolls, plus a $115 penalty to be paid by October 6. The man would be subject to a vehicle registration lien should he not repay his obligation by November 6, 2017, the lawsuit adds.

According to the plaintiff, Faneuil failed to provide a legally required notification informing him that unless he disputes the debt within 30 days of receipt of the notice, it would be considered valid. Faneuil also unlawfully failed to communicate in the same notice that it was attempting to collect a debt, the lawsuit later says.

The second plaintiff’s claims are similar to those of the first in that she incurred a toll road fine for which she received a collection notice from Faneuil. In that communication, the lawsuit says, the defendant also failed to state that unless the plaintiff disputed the debt within 30 days, it would be considered valid.

The plaintiffs’ charges aside, the lawsuit picks at the method by which TCA and Faneuil attempt to collect supposedly unpaid tolls from drivers, focusing in particular on the entities’ assumptions regarding drivers’ access to the Internet:

Under the system that TCA and/or Faneuil have developed, vehicle owners must pay their tolls through TCA’s website within five days of passing through the toll zone. This applies to drivers regardless of whether the driver knows that he or she is driving on a toll road or whether the driver knows how to pay the toll.

If a consumer does not have access to the Internet, perhaps because of a lack of money, or lack of sophistication, it is unlikely that the consumer will ever be aware of what is alleged to be owed by the consumer; what is expected to be paid by the consumer; or where the consumer is expected to make payment.”