South Bay Expressway, Hwy 125 Toll Road Their pay machine malfunctioned; I appealed; Now they say "Just pay us an extra $10" San Diego, California
Their pay-by-coin machine rejected my quarters; about 10 in a row, so I gave up. Didn't have paper cash to pay. No phone number to call, so we went on. Figured they would discover their machine was malfunctioning and wouldn't do a citation. WRONG.
I mailed an appeal with a nice letter and $3 check (to pay the toll which their machine had rejected) as soon as I got the $60 citation. I said they should look at the video and see I had tried twice to pay, with two handfuls of quarters -- all rejected.
Two days later I get a response (they couldn't possibly have actually considered the facts or looked at the video), offering a "courtesy" discount; just pay another $10 for their administration and handling, and they will forget the whole thing.
Clearly, they just send out these "courtesy discount" forms every time they receive an appeal, regardless of the actual facts described in the appeal.
The alternative they offer is to pay the whole $60 fine and then wait for someone to actually consider the facts. Obviously, most people will just hold their nose and pay the $10 "courtesy fee" even though they have a legitimate beef with the toll road authority.
How many people have been ripped off in this fashion? It must be one heck of a lot. Not sure how to prove they don't actually read or consider the appeals, but it's clear that what happens.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Rick Elliott
LA MESA,California,
United States of America
South Bay Expressway Did as They Promised; case resolved
#5Author of original report
Tue, March 20, 2012
As you can see from their response above, they did as they promised and cancelled the notice of violation. Thanks to all concerned; especially Rip Off Reports. This is a valuable community service.
South Bay Expressway
San Diego,California,
USA
Violation Resolved
#5UPDATE Employee
Wed, March 14, 2012
Rick,
We apologize that youve had to take additional steps to have your violation dismissed and we do also apologize, as it seems that procedure was not followed and as a result, you received a letter requesting additional payment for the violation you received in error. We applied the $3 check you sent with your dispute and that should have taken care of payment for your trip. In these instances, when a machine malfunctions, we accept the toll only payment that would have been paid at the time of the trip. We do keep records of machine malfunctions, but in this case, your letter was rejected instead of accepted. In an effort to prevent future occurrences of this type of issue, weve retrained the full customer service team on the appropriate procedure for these types of disputes.
You can print confirmation of your closed violation on our website by visiting www.SBXthe125.com, clicking on Toll Violation and entering the violation and license plate number.
We apologize once again for any inconvenience this has caused.
South Bay Expressway
Rick Elliott
LA MESA,California,
United States of America
I will do as they suggest and report back here to Ripoff Report afterward
#5Author of original report
Tue, March 13, 2012
I must say this was a prompt and professional reply by the toll road authority. I will do as they suggest and report back here to everyone at Ripoff Report afterward. Hope I can write a glowing report with I return; but let's see.
South Bay Expressway
San Diego,California,
USA
We're happy to assist you with your citation ...
#5UPDATE Employee
Tue, March 13, 2012
Rick,
Were sorry to hear you are having trouble with a violation for a trip taken on South Bay Expressway and apologize for the extra steps you are having to take to resolve the problem. We'd be happy to research this matter further if you could provide us with a violation number so that we can look you up in our system. Please respond on this website or via e-mail at customerservice@southbayexpressway.com.
Were looking forward to helping resolve this matter.
South Bay Expressway