Billing hiccup hits toll accounts after state system switch
More than 2.2 million toll road users in Texas should take a look at their credit cards or bank statements closely, as a backlog related to changing billing systems is poised to cause some surprises.
TxTag users, the toll tags issued by the Texas Department of Transportation, stopped being charged for tolls in mid-October, as the state transitioned to an IBM subsidiary for all its billing systems. While the systems on the roads were taking in the tolls, officials said the billing stopped. They now are catching up on both assessing charges to existing accounts, and sending out invoices to drivers who owe tolls from the winter.
The billing issue could extend to EZ Tag customers with accounts with the Harris County Toll Road Authority who use the Grand Parkway, which is maintained by TxDOT. That could add thousands more local drivers that could be affected.
Officials warned TxTag holders of the flurry of charges last week, noting some frequent users could see repeated replenishments of their toll balances charged to credit or debit cards. EZ Tag users have not been warned of the pending charges, which would apply only to any unbilled trips along the Grand Parkway.
TxDOT has not responded to questions submitted midday Monday. In a statement, HCTRA spokeswoman Roxana Sibrian said the agency is urging drivers to monitor their accounts so they know when transactions begin posting.
“EZ Tag customers may also
pre-fund their account, in order to minimize the number of rebills needed upon TxDOT’s posting of the transactions,” Sibrian wrote. “Due to the ongoing delays, we will continue to update all customer account messaging on this matter.”
She deferred to state officials in terms of when most of the charges are expected to post, but said HCTRA “will work with customers to address concerns as well as resolve any account related issues.”
Officials Monday struggled to even categorize the extent of the problem or how much in tolls could be outstanding. TxDOT officials said they could not provide an up-to-date count of TxTag users in the Houston area, but said most holders of the TxDOT-issued tags are in central Texas, primarily in the Austin area.
Meanwhile, drivers said that toll use from November and December started trickling in this month.
“I had noticed that tolls weren’t posting and tried to keep up with tracking it, but at some point I lost track,” Adam Parker wrote on Twitter.
Parker, 38, has an EZ Tag and uses the Grand Parkway frequently to and from his Cypress-area home. He said he expects about $100 in tolls from December to show up on his account soon.
“Mostly, it’s an annoyance, but depending on when and for how much it hits me when they finally post, it could be bad,” Parker said, noting he has been furloughed twice from his restaurant job.
“I’m not recovered from the last time,” Parker said. “To top it off, I called EZTag, and they didn’t provide any answers and directed me to TXTag. I called them, and they said that tolls would be waived until the end of the month. Of course, the tolls started posting a couple days later, so I think she just wanted to get me off the phone.”
The switch in billing and subsequent confusion and outcry is not new. IBM is replacing Xerox as the manager of the tolling systems TXDOT maintains and that process also was wrought with billing confusion. Problems with billing in 2015 reached such a level that TxDOT suspended late fees for 18 months.
Both agencies often are criticized for billing and charges incurred to credit and debit cards. Though people rarely dispute tolls — transponders and by-mail billing has cured some earlier problems — drivers often grow frustrated when the agencies fail to inform them of billing issues or customer service problems related to moving vehicles on or off accounts.