Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
SunPass firm faces federal review
A company under fire after a botched upgrade to the SunPass system that left some customers irate could face a federal investigation into its business practices.
Democratic U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson of Florida and Gary Peters of Michigan sent a letter Monday to FTC Chairman Joseph Simons requesting the New Jersey-
based vendor Conduent be examined for “unfair and deceptive trade practices,” including inaccurate toll charges, late fees and penalties.
“Conduent’s pattern of mismanaging cashless toll systems is deeply troubling and warrants further scrutiny,” the senators wrote. “If drivers are being hurt financially, the FTC should hold the company accountable and prevent it from doing further harm.”
Frank Dorman, a Federal Trade Commission spokesman, said the agency is reviewing the letter, but the existence of an investigation is typically not made public. The FTC has broad powers to enforce consumer-protection laws, including levying civil penalties and fines.
Conduent also has been scrutinized in other states, including Michigan, California, Texas, New York, New Hampshire and Maryland, the senators wrote.
Sean Collins, a company spokesman, said Conduent’s contract with Florida prohibits him from discussing “client-specific matters.”
“We’re working diligently to address Florida’s SunPass tolling system issues,” he said in a prepared statement. “We have dedicated additional resources to improve the system’s performance and the customer experience.”
Issues with Florida’s toll-collection system have turned political with Nelson facing a re-election challenge from Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott. Democrats have sought to highlight Scott’s ties to the company.
In May, Darwin Deason, one of Conduent’s major shareholders, co-hosted a fundraiser for Scott in Dallas, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Brian Ballard, a lobbyist representing Conduent, also has raised funds for Scott’s campaign, bundling $97,200 in campaign contributions, according to a filing this month with the Federal Election Commission.
The Scott campaign fired back, saying that the governor has worked to address backlogged tolls and other issues with the SunPass system.
“Millions of transactions are being processed every day and late fees have been waived to keep this from impacting drivers on their daily commutes,” said Lauren Schenone, a spokeswoman for the Scott campaign.
McKinley Lewis, a spokesman for the governor’s office, said Scott did not play a role in the Florida Department of Transportation’s procurement process.
FDOT officials have blamed Conduent for botching a $287 million upgrade to the system that took weeks longer than expected, producing frustrations for customers whose accounts didn't accurately show charges.
On June 1, SunPass suspended posting toll charges for an upgrade that was supposed to take about a week. Instead, it didn’t resume posting charges until about a month later, meaning customers couldn’t check the balance of their accounts or file expense reports.
State officials said on July 16 they would suspend payments to the vendor until the issue is resolved. Records, though, show the vendor received a roughly $265,000 payment the following day, according to the state’s chief financial officer website. That payment was refunded a few days later, according to the website.
More than 158 million transactions have been processed, and another 152 million backlogged tolls will be posted to accounts in coming weeks, said Kim Poulton, an FDOT spokeswoman. The charges are being gradually added to accounts to avoid draining customers’ balances with large, unexpected bills, she said.
The state signed a $343 million, seven-year contract with Conduent in November 2015, according to the chief financial officer’s website. To date, the company has been paid nearly $77 million.