Maryland drivers question E-ZPass delayed billing following pandemic relief program

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (FOX 5 D.C) - Many E-ZPass users in the DMV are wondering, why are they just now starting to receive bills for toll charges from 2020.

That seems to be the case with a lot of drivers in Maryland after invoices were paused at the height of the pandemic. 

FOX 5’s Ayesha Khan spoke with some drivers after finding a discussion on the topic in the neighborhood app, Nextdoor.

Many of them said they were not expecting a bill for trips made last year.

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"My E-ZPass plan has charged my debit card over $400, $25 at a time," said Bob McHenry in an email to Khan before speaking with her on camera. "I have been tagged for over $400 since Memorial Day and as I go through their transaction logs, they are delayed. I mean I just got last week’s transaction and I go ‘Great, they are up to date now,’ but no, two more have come since then."

McHenry is one of many Maryland drivers who thought that the relief program put in place by the Maryland Transportation Authority right at the height of the pandemic last year, meant that they don’t have to pay those charges.

That was until some drivers Khan spoke with said, they called customer service who told them, they are still reading the data from last year and are just now billing for it. 

"The explanation I got was, it was a new system and that E-ZPass is updating all of their accounts and back charging anything they claim they are owed," said McHenry. "I have recent charges for tolls dating back through mid-2019."

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In another comment on the Nextdoor discussion, one user wrote that they were billed more than $350 last month and close to the same amount this month. 

According to the same E-ZPass holder, they described calling customer service about it and were told that they are still reading the data from last year and billing for it. 

Khan also spoke with Melanie Demb of Silver Spring, another MD E-ZPass user who described receiving eight replenishment charges, which is about $200. 

"I was on vacation for about seven days in California and got two replenishment charges while I didn’t even have my car and so I was like ‘Hey why am I getting charged and I’m not even driving?’" explained Demb.

Demb said she called E-ZPass customer service and was also told that they did in fact do a relief program last year but that they are currently backlogging.

"The main question is you know, why call it a relief program at the time of Covid and now kind of knock on our doors for the charges now?" said Demb. "To me, a relief program is supposed to relieve folks from payment, and just having it all come out at once is kind of counterproductive in my opinion. I’m happy to pay what I owe but it would just be nice to have it done when it is owed rather than all at one time."

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Khan inquired with MDTA about whether they are just now billing for all the tolls they recorded but didn't charge people in 2020 due to the pandemic.

In an email statement deputy director of communications Colin Sweetin said:

"At the end of April 2021, the MDTA resumed the posting of Intercounty Connector transactions to E-ZPass accounts. The MDTA has been metering the postings to control the volume of trips hitting an account at one time. However, appropriate replenishment of E-ZPass accounts is advised to maintain a positive balance, as backlogged trips continue to post to customers’ accounts. For every week of current ICC transactions processed by the MDTA, we are also processing one week of backlogged transactions. 

We strongly encourage customers to pay their Video Tolls and regularly check their balances due online at DriveEzMD.com, as additional transactions may post to the system and become available for payment."

Khan also checked in with Melodie Martin, senior communications specialist at the Virginia Department of Transportation who said that E-ZPass toll transactions from Virginia toll facilities are being generated without delay.