10 months later, still some confusion over 520 toll bills
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SEATTLE -- It's been 10 months since tolling began on the 520 Bridge, and there is still confusion and complaining.
A recent Good To Go bill befuddled Bruce Ferry.
"I was expecting something like a phone bill where you see your prior payments and your current charges and what you owe," Ferry said.
Instead, Ferry says only a partial past payment was noted and he says a call to customer service for clarification left him even more confused.
"OK, if I pay my current bill of $40 and some, will I have any more late charges next month?" Ferry says he asked the customer service representative. "And he said yes, and I said OK, hold it. And he said to avoid it I have to pay $44.50," Ferry said, adding the extra amount needed to avoid the late charge was not on the bill.
The 520 Bridge has prompted 30 million transactions in its 10 months of tolling, but many of the billing complaints come from the 20 percent of customers who don't own a pass and opt to pay by mail. Some have complained that they didn't get a bill in the mail but still faced a $40 penalty.
"If you got a parking ticket in Downtown Seattle you're still responsible for that parking ticket whether you saw it on your windshield or not," said Craig Stone, the director of the WSDOT Toll Division.
The DOT sends a bill two weeks after you drive the bridge.
"If we haven't seen you for a month or you haven't paid the bill we'll send you a second bill," Stone said.
After 80 days, 520 drivers might receive a $40 fine in the mail, and it's still your responsibility to pay it even if you don't see it.
"Mail is returned to us if your mailbox is full or if you haven't picked up your mail," Stone said.
But if you did get Good To Go mail and don't like what you see, Stone says that's why they have customer service.
Another way to avoid any late fee surprises in the mail is to make sure your vehicle registration is up to date. The DOT uses Department of Licensing information to mail you bills.
A recent Good To Go bill befuddled Bruce Ferry.
"I was expecting something like a phone bill where you see your prior payments and your current charges and what you owe," Ferry said.
Instead, Ferry says only a partial past payment was noted and he says a call to customer service for clarification left him even more confused.
"OK, if I pay my current bill of $40 and some, will I have any more late charges next month?" Ferry says he asked the customer service representative. "And he said yes, and I said OK, hold it. And he said to avoid it I have to pay $44.50," Ferry said, adding the extra amount needed to avoid the late charge was not on the bill.
The 520 Bridge has prompted 30 million transactions in its 10 months of tolling, but many of the billing complaints come from the 20 percent of customers who don't own a pass and opt to pay by mail. Some have complained that they didn't get a bill in the mail but still faced a $40 penalty.
"If you got a parking ticket in Downtown Seattle you're still responsible for that parking ticket whether you saw it on your windshield or not," said Craig Stone, the director of the WSDOT Toll Division.
The DOT sends a bill two weeks after you drive the bridge.
"If we haven't seen you for a month or you haven't paid the bill we'll send you a second bill," Stone said.
After 80 days, 520 drivers might receive a $40 fine in the mail, and it's still your responsibility to pay it even if you don't see it.
"Mail is returned to us if your mailbox is full or if you haven't picked up your mail," Stone said.
But if you did get Good To Go mail and don't like what you see, Stone says that's why they have customer service.
Another way to avoid any late fee surprises in the mail is to make sure your vehicle registration is up to date. The DOT uses Department of Licensing information to mail you bills.
One more reason to avoid going to Seattle.
Craig Stone, If I am correct the burden of proof is on the state to prove that the motorist or owner of the vehicle drove across the bridge on that particular date and time. Same goes for a parking ticket; the city cannot arbitrarily cite someone without leaving or providing proof that their vehicle was the one that was being cited for parking infraction.
Interesting research on the electronic toll collection systems...under the auspice of the DOT, but they are a privatized industry  making money hand over fist; software and cameras, transponders and readers.
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Washington citizens should vote the parasites out of our state and find another means of voluntarily supporting our DOT.
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Regarding the last sentence in this article: "The DOT uses Department of Licensing information to mail you bills". As a Dept. of Licensing employee who receives many 'Good To Go' complaints, the article fails to mention DOT does not use DOL's most current records and /or doesn't know how to read those records. Therefore, even if your records are up to date with DOL, DOT may still use old records, which means if you've changed your address with DOL recently it doesn't mean DOT will have that information. Also, if you've sold a vehicle, but the buyer has failed to transfer ownership into their name, you will still be listed as the last known registered owner and will therefore receive the bill (DO YOUR REPORT OF SALES ONLINE WITH DOL!). You will then have to prove to DOT that there was a vehicle sale. Your bill may even go into collections because you never received it due to changing addresses, which is even more of headache for customers. I highly suggest getting a Good To Go pass and keeping all your records up to date!!!
I will never, I repeat never, cross the 520 while tolls are being collected and this story is one of the reasons why.
I pay my taxes and buy lottery tickets so believe the money is there if the government would stop wasting it. If it's not I can think of all kinds of income generating opportunities to fund this project... For starters -- hard core enforcement of the no cell phone law instituted June 10, 2010. At $124 a pop the fines would add up quick based on what I see while on the road every day. <sorry just venting and this is the wrong venue>
 @Brewin4u "...I repeat never, cross the 520..."
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THE 520? What are you, from California? No native uses "the" before a highway number.
 @Furd  @Brewin4u Raised on the Eastside my entire life. Just travel a lot. :-)
@Brewin4u boy you sure showed them
If you have a Good To Go pass you can check your bill on line anytime and it will display the history of use.
ooops........ Plate flipper anyone?.. haha! Â Â http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LcoB-ovrt6Q
This is why, if I ever change jobs and wind up working in Redmond, that I will MOVE to Redmond.
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And if I need to head over right now, I-90 or 405 work for me!
I will never use the 520 bridge under tolling. Simple. 405 or 90, I can do that.
Just makes me more glad I don't have to go that way!
This is so interesting because I have been dealing with Good To Go issues in the last days, and the KOMO article and all the comments here ring a familiar bell to me.
I crossed the 520 bridge in August and received a toll bill AFTER I left to Europe. I stopped my mail delivery so the bill set in the post office until my return 5 weeks later on Oct.6. Upon picking up my mail from the post poffice I saw that there were 2 bills from Good To Go: the original bill and a second one with a  $5.00 extra for penalty. I called Good To Go, explained the fact that I was overseas and I would like to pay the toll fee but not the extra $5.00. I offered to send my boarding passes for proof and documentation. The gentleman on the phone took my original payment (minus the $5.00 penaly) and advised me to write a letter and enclose my boarding passes. I proceeded to do that and sent my letter with my itineraries and boarding passes to both the "pay your bill" address and to Customer service address of Good To Go.
Saturday I received a reply informing me that my dispute is denied. Monday I called Good to Go and asked for explanation of the decision. I was told by the original associate and her supervisor that the $5.00 will stay on my account, no excuse. I asked for a logical explanation, what was I supposed to do differently to avoid the $5.00 penalty but we did not get anywhere with each other. Next I called "Jessie" of King TV. They informed me that he already dealt with 4 other Good To Go issues on air and chances are that they would not be able to deal with my case.Â
Today I looked up my state legistlators and contacted one of them. I was called back within a couple of hours by someone named Jed (?) who already done his homework on my case. He explained to me that the $5.00 is actually not a penalty but an administrative cost that is added on to the original bill if a second notice has to be mailed. (Finally somene took his time to explain things to me in plain English.) I also find out from both Jessie's office and the representative's assistant that if I don't pay the $5.00 the next notice will probably include a $40.00 penalty.
Now I have a choice: Give up this fight for my principles and pay the $5.00 or take Good To Go to Small Claims Court. I have one vote for it and one vote against it.Â
What do you all think? Is there anybody out there who sees things my way and feels that I should not be penalized for a bill that I couldn't possibly paid 1. while I was overseas and 2. while the bill was sitting in the post office. Finally, to chuckh0308: I did not "cause" this myself. And to DudeIncognito: You are a rare bird if you go after your bills. I just wait for mines and they do come fast enough. @
What do you all think?
Well, given the rigid treatment you've received from the Good to Go people, I'd say that you're better off paying the $5 fee, then NEVER cross the 520 bridge again while it is a toll bridge.  Â
Take 405 or I-90
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I get how frustrating it is to deal with a greedy, petty company like this - the fact that they are holding you hostage to a $5 added fee by the threat of being charged an additional $40 is crazy.  Small claims will be a waste of your time and money, and a source of added frustration.
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The best revenge is living well - pay the creeps their $5, then never owe them again by avoiding 520.
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 @Marta Horvath Well I think you should pay the 5.00 you knew how long you were going to be gone before you crossed the bridge before you left. Its a price of letting some bills sit. I agree you shouldn't have to pay it. But at least you got back before they sent out the third notice and charged you the 40.00 fine. I' know its the principal of things and you don't feel you own the 5.00 but you knew about the bill before you left.
 @Marta Horvath I had the same song-and-dance from Good To Go last month. I crossed the bridge once in late July and never received a bill for it, so the first bill I got from them was in September. That one had my crossing in July, plus the two additional crossings I had in August, and the $5.00 "second notice" fee tacked on to July's crossing. I called the customer service line and complained, telling them I had never received July's bill and I didn't see a way to pay my bill online without a notice number.
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The response I got was "Well, we sent you a bill and it wasn't returned to us, so you have to pay the $5 fee. Or you could file a written complaint, but I doubt they'll accept it." The guy also told me I could have called at any time and had them look up my license plate number to get my current charges and pay over the phone.
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I went ahead and just paid the extra $5, making sure he knew I was doing so "under protest". I didn't feel it was worth my time and potentially more penalties to argue with them over it.
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But yeah, I get the feeling Good to Go is making a LOT of extra money off of these so-called "administrative fees" that they don't deserve when their system is fundamentally flawed like that. Sure, your system may SAY that you sent me a bill. But can you prove it made it out of your mail center?
Not that I am a big fan of their system or anything, BUT I do have a G2G pass and I have not had any problems. I'm sure there are some legitimate problems that people are having (because the system is a bit whacked), but I suspect most people with problems are probably causing them themselves. No doubt the system needs work and simplification though.
 @chuckh0308 People like me don't cause problems with undelivered mail.
I used to cross the bridge about once a month but since the toll went up I now pretend that bridge doesn't even exist. I refuse to go through the crap necessary for the "good to go" pass, especially since it has a high failure rate. What REALLY frosts my rear is that eastern states have been tolling forever and THEY don't have a fraction of the problems that exist with our effed up system.
It's ridiculous that you have to fork over $30 to set up an account. Â Why can't you just link a credit card to you account and pay as you go? Â There is no way that having a computer auto-set-up your account costs $30. Â Thousands of companies large and small don't ask for money up front, why do you have to do this for the tolls? Â Because of this stupid requirement, I won't set up an account, and won't ever drive over 520.
 @hsk It doesn't cost $30 to setup an account. When you open an account, you pay $30 to setup your opening balance. That money is then used for crossing the bridge.
We own 4 cars. We don't "normally" drive over any bridge, but sometimes we do. I am not going to "track" when and where I took 520 as opposed to I90. When they send me a bill, I pay it. I do not keep track of which bills get here or not - not my job. And for the $5 or so it costs to cross the bridge, I'm not making a note of it.
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But - I wish they would make the font bigger. I paid 2 cents too little on the last bill. A month later, I got another bill - for $5.02. Are you effing kidding me? How much did it cost to SEND me that bill - then deal with me calling customer service?
I'm so glad I don't have to deal with any of the nonsense!
I hope no one steals my car and drives back and forth over the bridge just for fun. It would be a year of headaches trying to get that cleared up with their "customer service," assuming it ever gets cleared up.
I guess this is what happens when the company that oversees the billing is not based in Washington state. Â I haven't driven across the bridge since tolling began, and I'm able to get where I need to go just fine. Â Of course, when the state starts charging tolls on the rest of our roads, I suppose I'll just have to suck it up like everyone else.Â
 @Michael Merry Where are they based out of? I was suppose to work in their call center last winter but it never panned out. They were closed the day I was suppose to come in due to a recent snow fall that kept a lot of people at home. I was suppose to get a drug test that day as well but they were closed. The office manager at G2G all but said it was my fault it snowed. They suck and I refuse to give them any business. The state needs to step in and fix this bullsnit. Like someone above stated... this doesn't happen in the eastern states!
October 23, 2022 headline: "10 years later, still some confusion over 520 toll bills." Â Wanna bet?
"still some confusion"...that has got to be the biggest understatement of the year.
so what happens to some poor out of state schmuck who drives over the bridge in a rental car? it's bad enough that you can't buy a 'good to go' pass if you're only going to use the bridge occasionally because the money on taht pass expires if you don't use it within a certain amount of time. i think i'm going to simply stick with never using the 520 bridge. ever.
@jerseygirl I think the rental company gets the bill and charges like $80.00.......
For the first time in about 2 years we had to take the 520 bridge yesterday. Â I wonder when/if we'll get the bill?
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Also, I am curious why it's the person on the receiving end's responsibility to pay even if they don't know they have a bill? Â If the GOVERNMENT run toll bridge fails to submit a bill OR the bill gets lost in the GOVERNMENT run postal service, who's fault is that? Â Don't we pay the government to have those services working FOR us? And yet we get penalized when they don't work?
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 @Landshark I crossed the bridge back in August and I've yet to receive a bill. O_O
 @Landshark They won't send you a bill until you owe late charges.
 @Landshark Better pay up pal, or next step will be the jackbooted thugs will show up at your door & take your license, or take away your 1st born...or something like that.
 @Landshark Forget the fact that it's the 520 bill. Pretend it's a utility bill, your cell phone bill, credit card bill, or a bill for some sort of service or product. When you make use of that product or service, and you agree to be billed for it, you should be aware that you owe money to someone or some company. Just because the bill was lost in the mail or you never received it doesn't negate the fact that you had previously agreed to be billed within a certain amount time and remit payment within a certain amount of time. Although the postal system usually works fine, there's always a chance things could get lost in the mail and you should be aware of this.
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As part of responsible financial management, I do keep track of things I will owe money on later so I can anticipate the bill and budget accordingly. If I don't receive a bill within an expected timeframe, Â I reach out to the payee.
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P.S. You should get your 520 bill anytime between 2-4 weeks. It is mailed to the address listed on your vehicle's registration.
Yes if you use the service you owe the charge, but if you don't get the bill then you don't owe, or shouldn't owe, late charges.   Yes, I've had bills not arrive and get a phone call. If it's the first time it's happened they almost always take the late charge off.  That's good business. Â
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PS do they mail the bill to the address ON your driver's license or to the mailing address given to the DoL?
@stamperzann
" I don't see why the 520 bills would be any different except they are greedy."
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Really, the only reason the fee is on there is the billing company, which is not the state but the idiots contracted by them.
 @Murigen Exactly.  Unless you are a deadbeat, if you miss a payment on a utility bill (not counting cell phone bills but we won't go there), usually they give you the benefit of the doubt.  We didn't get a bill from Tacoma Utilities one month and about a week and a half later, we got another one with a warning that if we didn't pay it by X date, there would be a late fee.  I don't see why the 520 bills would be any different except they are lazy.
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Thankfully, I have absolutely no reason to cross that bridge but if I did, I'd be wishing for old fashioned toll booths like they have at the Narrows.
 @Murigen It can't involve your driver's license - they have no way of getting your license information, just the vehicle registration information. So whatever mailing address is attached to your vehicle registration.
 @DudeIncognito  @Landshark not everyone has 30 minutes in a day to think, "hey, i wonder if i got that bill yet from driving over the damn bridge". The first time I used it was 2 weeks ago... I hope i get it because if i don't, im too damn busy to remember about something that I dont care about
 @DylanJ  @Landshark Not sure why it would take someone 30 minutes to process the thought "I wonder if I ever paid that person/company that I owe money to?" More like a few seconds to me, and maybe 3-5 minutes to followup.
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I'm sorry you don't care about honoring your debts.
 @DudeIncognito I'm the owner of the vehicle, but wasn't in the car when it drove across the bridge. Â
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Yes, I will pay the bill, it's just the idea behind it seems off. Â Even though I wasn't in my own car when it crossed the bridge, I will still get the bill. Â It feels like they are charging mechanical objects not people. Â Let's say I had no idea someone drove my car across the bridge, then I received a bill (or it got lost in the mail). Â What happens then? Â
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 @Landshark Then you should blame the driver of the vehicle for failing to inform you "hey, I racked up a charge on an account tied to your vehicle registration". That's who I'd be yelling at if I was in that scenario.
@Landshark @DudeIncognito
ignorance of use is not an acceptable justification for non-payment. This is the same as if some was using your car and ran a red light or was speeding in an area that is monitored by camera supported services. As the owner of the vehicle you are the responsible party for these types of civil payments.
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Does it suck, yes. However, since all vehicle owners are being treated in the same way, it is also fair.
I went over the bridge a few months ago. haven't gotten a bill in the mail. Not all the confusion is bad!
 @jakerepp I also went over the bridge a couple months ago... just got a bill in the mail with the $40 late fee.Â
@Amanda Nelson @jakerepp Thats one expensive bridge crossing!
 @jakerepp You will and it will be with late charges. My daughter had the same thing. Went over the bridge and 5 months later got a bill with a bunch of late fees. This whole thing is a failure. No one knows who is checking who, it is just a debacle.
 @Grumpa  @jakerepp I really, *really* hope issues like your daughter's lead to a class-action lawsuit. It sounds like there have been enough billing failures in this system that many of the late charges and administrative fees are demonstrably bogus.