ABC11 Troubleshooter Diane Wilson investigates hefty tolls in rental cars
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The I-Team Troubleshooter investigates how $5 worth of toll charges turned into almost $100, and we're not talking about added late fees.
If you rent a car and pass through electronic tolls where there is no pay booth, just like the Triangle Expressway, be prepared to pay not just the toll but some extra fees you might not have expected.
Michael Daley went through $5.25 worth of tolls on a recent business trip to Virginia.
"So when I got back from town, from the trip, I got a notice in the mail saying that I was charged all of these administration fees," said Daley.
The administration fees weren't just a few bucks, but $15 for every toll he passed in his rental car from Thrifty. He went through 5 different ones.
"Ninety dollars for $5, I thought was really excessive," said Daley.
Thrifty passes not only the toll charges onto its customers, but for every electronic toll a customer goes through Thrifty adds a $15 fee per toll. For Daley, that meant an extra $90 he was forced to pay.
Daley did dispute the charges, but lost since he did sign the rental contract.
"I thought it was a little deceptive because I never knew during the rental agreement, but they said it was in the fine print," he said.
Thrifty is not the only rental car company that has the fees in the contract that you sign when you rent a car. One rental car company charges $4 a toll. Another one offer a flat fee of $24.75 a month.
They are extra fees that Daley says he had no idea about until he got the bill with the additional $90 worth of administration fees.
"I would like to see a little bit more upfront explaining to your customer when you're renting a car, that these are the fees that are going to happen," said Daley, who is not alone.
There's already been one class action settlement on the added fees for one rental company, and there's a lawsuit pending against another rental car company.
A rep for Thrifty says in their rental agreements these fees are clearly explained and when the renters sign, they're accepting these terms.
The best advice before you rent a car is to know the policy. Some do allow you to bring your own transponder, and there's also a plate-pass system many of the rental companies offer that you might want to look into. Just remember to do your research.
