Beware of bogus Greenway violations

I arrived home on Friday, and was greeted with a notice in the mail from our friends at the Dulles Greenway. It included a photo of my license plate and a note informing me that I failed to pay a toll at the Greenway Toll Plaza on January 18th.

That seemed odd to me. I was the only person who had driven my car that day, my SmartTag was properly mounted, and I hadn't seen any lights or heard any alarms. So, I went online and filed a dispute. I received an e-mail back today asking me to fax a SmartTag statement covering the date of the "violation".

SmartTag has a location near my office, so I just stopped by there. When I asked for my account information, the woman said, "You're the fifth or sixth person who has stopped by today with the same problem. They all occurred around the 16th, 17th, and 18th. And, none of the violations were legit. All of you had enough money in your account."

I haven't faxed the information yet, but I found this extremely disturbing. What's even more maddening is that some people will just go ahead and send the money (they charged me the amount of the toll PLUS a $25 service charge) without disputing it. Clearly there was a problem that was the Dulles Greenway's fault, yet they're trying to stick it to the consumer, who already is being charged a king's ransom.

I assume that sending in the fax will be the end of this problem. However, I'm trying to spread the word to Greenway victims to be on the alert for these bogus violations.

 

Thanks for the heads-up!