California driver charged for driving on NC toll road despite never being in North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A California driver was charged for driving on the North Carolina Tollway, despite never having been to the state.

After months of trying to prove he was not responsible for the bills, the driver turned to Troubleshooter Diane Wilson for help.

Matt Caraway lives in California. He said he was confused about how he could get bills for allegedly driving on a road thousands of miles away.

"I started getting NC Quick Pass notifications saying that I was getting charged for the North Carolina turnpike; (I've) never been to North Carolina my life," Caraway said. He tried to resolve the problem on his own. "I called them and said, 'Hey, this is not my vehicle,' and they said, 'This is your vehicle, and it's registered to you. You're the person driving it,' and I said, 'No.'"

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Caraway eventually figured out the plate registered by NC Quick Pass was one he had previously. He said those plates were on a car that he turned in to the dealership two years ago.

Caraway went to the California DMV and got paperwork to prove he no longer owned the car with the plate in question.

"I sent the paperwork to them that they requested and NC Quick Pass said that wasn't the correct paperwork, so I had to go back a second time and wait in line for another three hours," he said.

The California DMV then reached out to NC Tollway, and Caraway thought that was the end of that. However, he was wrong.

Suddenly, he got a notice from collections.

"That's when I finally reached out to you guys and called you and said, 'Hey, is there any possibility you can help me?' And then, lo and behold as soon as you guys reached out about a week later, I got a letter: nope everything's good to go. Thank you so much. Have a great day," Caraway said to Wilson.

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Caraway got a letter from NC Quick Pass saying it determined he's not responsible for the charges. Caraway is relieved this is over and says to Wilson, "Thank you so much for doing what you guys do. Thank you very much for your help."

A representative for the Triangle Expressway said this mix-up happened due to whoever had the license plate that Caraway returned did not update the registered owner associated with that plate, which is why he received the bills. They confirm, that all the charges have been removed and Caraway should not get any further bills.