I haven't been to Chicago in years, yet today I received a letter from the Illinois Tollway stating that I had 4 outstanding tolls of $6 and $80 in penalties. There was a photo on the letter....one photo, yet 4 violations, and no time or date on the photo. The photo was dark and I could hardly read the license plate. The photo was not my vehicle and the license plate, of course, is not registered to me. I called the phone number on the letter and was given instructions on all the hoops I was going to have to jump in order to dispute it. I asked for all the photos which they were more than happy to send to me. I should receive them in around 7 days. They claim the DMV in Indiana provided them with the information that tied my name to the vehicle in the photo, so I asked for a copy of the info the State of Indiana provided them with. They did not have it. The guy on the phone insisted it is on a website, all I have to do is look it up. I know what it says, I know what vehicles and license plate numbers are registered to me and the one in the photo is not mine.
The website I was directed to appears to be the actual Illinois Tollway official site. All the phone numbers and addresses match everything the Illinois Tollway provides. I was even sent an email by them showing my account had been updated with what apears to be all the legitimate information of the Illinois Tollway Authority.
My husband's friend, who is a State Policeman ran the license plate number from the photo and guess what, it is not registered to anyone. I don't think anything could scream "SCAM" any louder. And I believe it is coming from within the Illinois Tollway Authority itself. Just get online and watch the videos posted by others who feel they have been scammed.
Driving in Illinois for the first time in 11 yrs I was surprised to see that the toll booths had been removed. Since I was busy driving, all I could read on the sign was that I needed to pay online. Fine, they'll send me a bill and I'll go online to pay. 3 tolls up and 3 tolls back.
I waited for a month to get a bill in the mail and when I did it included $1.50 per toll ($9) AND a fee of $3 per unpaid toll ($18).
Did they expect me to stop my car on the tollway to read the sign, look for a pen, and write down the URL?
In Jan. 2021 I had purchased an ipass and it was shipped to my house ready to use. I was told to unwrap from the foil and to just place it in my window and make sure there was money on the transponder. I did so and had no issues. I did not realize that you must register the plate also on the website. My car was temporarily out of service, and I used my mom’s car in May, I placed the transponder in the window and continued refilling my money on the transponder.
It was deducting money and I had no issues. I then had an invoice from my mom in June 2021 of $78 for missing tolls for one week! The toll charge was roughly $25, they then charged me with an invoice fee of $53 I have the ipass so the tolls are $0.90, and they charged me the full amount of $1.80 also. I called numerous times and was on hold an extremely long time to have this rude individual that worked there tell me how I should have read the owner’s manual (and ok I get it but being a single mom working 12 hours a day I really didn’t have time to, so that was my fault, but we are human, I also took the ladies word for “all I have to do is place it in the window.”),and that you must have the car license plate registered and refused to help reduce my bill.
She then said that the transponders do not always register at the toll booths. I went back and forth trying to dispute and reported the rude employee to the upper management in charge because even the "supervisor" was rude. I understood where they were coming from but to an extent. I paid the invoice and I also added both cars on the online page to defuse any further issues. Well…. Over the fourth of July weekend someone vandalized my car, I called the police officers to report. Later date I realized my transponder was gone and some change.
I reported to customer service about the incident and how to proceed with canceling and me retrieving another transponder that Tuesday. In response they now tell my i have a $479.50 bill! What? how? even if I never paid it since I got an ipass it wouldn’t be that much in cost, it would be $324.00 if anything. If that’s the case where is my money? Where is all my money i put on the ipass? Where are my money from the other invoice fees then? Every time I contact them, they either call back while I’m working, or they are extremely rude. It's to the point where I can’t even deal with them to where I go into a panic attack, I already deal with my social anxiety and struggle but to add it to your day on purpose after being on hold during rush hour for an hour and to still not talk to someone again is nerve racking.
Then I finally get through after weeks and the lady is just snide, rude and loud for no reason is very unprofessional, ignorant, and stressful. I now question their management cause to me this is a scam! One of my coworkers had her car linked up to the ipass and had it for a year and suddenly just recently like myself she got double charged and they were rude to her also. Some one is getting a kick back knowing they are scamming us. They know we have to get to work so you scam the lower middle class working our butts off through this pandemic.
Sadly, I already knew before I contested Illinois Toll Way ( ITW) that I would not win but still I did it to experience it myself before I wrote a complaint here. I have read numerous complaints about ITW and I have not found a single person winning.
I received one statement from ITW in October 2019 with 4 violations and $80 for $6 unpaid toll which occurred between January and September 2019. Two violations occuring in September on the same date within 20 mins.
First of all, may be Illinois residents understand the Tollway system (Open road) very well and can avoid violations. I have traveled through other states but this was the first time I faced Open toll road and never really understood it. I am a Michigan resident and the only reason I go to Illinois is for Chicago airport.
Last year, I traveled to Chicago 3 times and randomly my GPS unit took me through Open Toll road. I had to catch a plane in January and I never even paid attention when I was on Open Tollway road and when my mind was registering the name of the road I was on, I thought at the end of the road, there will be a toll booth to pay the toll.
But it did not happen and I could not pay the toll. So, end of the open toll road does not have a toll booth to pay toll. I expected that they would send me a notice for toll violation within a month just like they sent notices to my friend's house from Ohio turn pike and to me from NY in the past. We just had to pay the unpaid toll.
I never got a notice and forgot about Open toll road completely as on my way back, I went through regular pay as you go toll booths . Then in April, I faced open toll road again and this time I thought that it could be something serious ( Open toll road).
I went online to research what it was all about and I landed on the page to pay unpaid toll if violation happened within 7 days. God knows I spent 30 mins online trying to pay the unpaid toll but I could not because I had to enter an entrance and exit point and I had no idea where that was since I am not familiar with Illinois or Chicago.
My eyes are just focused on driving safe on wintery roads. Should they not have a way to pull up the unpaid tolls just by using license plates? But unfortunately, they never kept the easy way so that they can scam out of state drivers. In September, within 20 mins, I had two violations on the same day while driving to the airport.
Surprisingly, there was no violation on the way back. So, in conclusion, why should I try to violate the rules only on the way to the airport and not coming back? That shows, how unfamiliar I am with the Toll system and toll roads. I just follow the GPS routing to be safe.
The first violation was in January and the last one in September and within that 8-9 month period, I was never contacted nor I ever received any violation notice to tell me that I was doing something wrong. After I called the tollway, when I requested the fine to be waived, it was suggested that if I had an IPASS membership, I would qualify for that.
Interesting, right? So, there is a loyalty thing and the system is not equal to all drivers. No, I did not have the IPASS membership because I don't have to travel to Chicago unless I have to pick up someone or someone is dropping me off there at O'hair. So, I decided to contest even after my research on the web suggested that nobody ever won contesting Illinois Tollway.
Everyone, always had to pay the tolls and hefty fines. Today, I have just received the decision and nothing changed. They will get your money bluntly telling you on the face that you can do nothing about how they communicate, how they charge and you have no choice really.
Why can it not be similar to Ohio Turn Pike, NY or NJ tollway? They send notice for the violation right away and there is no fine if paid on time.
My point here is that:
1. Why not sending the notice right after first violation? Why wait 9 months? Would I not learn from my first mistake or be aware if I was sent the violation notice right away?
2. Why do you charge fines without giving the option to pay it on time first? $20 fine / violation for $1.5 toll . Is that fair? Why was I not given a chance to pay the toll without fine like other Toll system.?Why is ITW unique , unfair and so hungry for unfair profit?
3. How many people can access toll violation online and why do they not have an option for pulling the violation using license plate ? If driver thinks that he has unpaid tolls, he can try to pay within 7 days but how would we know how much if he does not know entry and exit points?
If ITW already knows the violation, they also know the entry and exit points. That makes it pretty easy to post it on their site. Why can your customer service not pull up violation just using license plate if we ever suspect that we had a violation and call the customer center?
Obviously, we can not provide a violation number without receiving a violation notice and you do not send violation notice before 9 months, when we have already piled up hefty fines without having a little clue. People repeatedly complained about this toll system but why have they never corrected this old flaw or problem? Just because they want people's hard earned money in unfair way?
4. Why on my right mind, I would incur $40 fine for $3 toll within 20 mins if they have the toll system fairly clear and understandable?
I put some of my reasons for contests from above but there was no response to those questions. Just a notice saying that they reviewed my contest and evidences and I still have to pay the same fine and it would be 3 times more fine if not paid in a month. Obviously, their hearing is not done in a court because I wrote a formal contest just like we write to judges for traffic violations but obviously, ITW decisions are done by a hearing officer who never changes any decision in my opinion.
How can ITW run for so long with so many complaints without paying attention? It just feels like a cut throat system at this point to me and I believe that many other drivers feel the same way.
I am sure those that still live in chicago know to watch out for their toll system and can react in that crazy 7 day grace time but out of towners are not aware of chicago tactics. In most cases they are not aware of their mistake of going past a toll but 2 months or longer chicago lets u know with a fine of $20 on top of your $1.50 toll.
The human factor is not part of the chicago system. If it was a notice would be delivered to let another human being know a mistake was made and u must pay this toll within alloted time or be fined. The chicago system is easy to figure out with the many,many complaints. They make it look like they care with a crazy 7 day grace, the trouble with that is most out of towners have no idea of any violation.
Chicago do not act like u really care about other people other than what u can squeeze out of their pockets. Join the human race send a notice of a toll charge pending a fine. Give the human race a chance.................
So while traveling through Illinois in the evening I missed some tolls due to weather and traffic. I then logged into their site to pay and no tolls were shown. I also called them and I couldnt recall the exact road so they couldn't locate any tolls. 3 mo. later I got a bill for my $4.90 in tolls and 3x$20 late fees totalling $64.90. I tried to call and they bullied me into payiing threatening to ruin my credit and they would keep hitting me with fees. I tried the rebuttle form and wrote out the details of the situation and was denied by a guy names ZACHARY WILSON. I'm guessing most people that write these rebuttles are declined as I was. Given this is how the Tollway makes tons of $. This ZACHARY WILSON guy is a real piece of work. It's disgusting this is how things work in this state. I have had similar situations in NY, WV, SC, and numerous other places that you simply log in and pay the tolls that come up. How is the Illinois Tollway so ignorant that they can't maintain a similar system...? Well the main point of the Illinois Tollway is to take as much of peoples money as possible. Truly sad.
I received a notice of Illinois Tollway violations back in Sept 2017, I knew that these were not my tolls based on being 200+ miles away, not traveling to the area since 2003, and the vehicle pictured was not mine. I called and told customer service the vehicle was not mine, this was not enough for them, because they "only look at the license plate number and do not compare the vehicle types". I was told to fill out an Affidavite of Non-Liability, I did this and included a copy of my vehicle registration, which shows the county number, expiration date, and vehicle as not being the same as the one shown.
I though this would quickly resolve the violations that were not mine. I wait for the letter stating that the violation was released, instead I receive a letter that what I included was not enough. I call to ask what else they needed, I am told a "Query Report" from the DMV which they assured me the DMV would know what it was and would provide it. I take hours off work to go to the license branch, even the branch manager didn't know what it was and asked me to call Illinois Tollway back again for a description of what a "Query Report" was.
I call back and am told it is a list of vehicles I own and the registration info. I go back to the DMV, wait again, and describe the "Query Report" I am told by the branch manager that they cannot provide me with a copy of private records. I leave the DMV empty handed. I call the Tollway back again, and after pointing out again and say I can't get a "Query Report" they say the only thing I have left is to request an administrative hearing, so I do. I wait a week for the paper to come in the mail for the hearing date and the paper to write my tesimony.
I write out everything, from the difference in make, model, license plate location, wrong county number, wrong expiration. Include with highlighted text my registration again. I include a copy of my employer time-punch for the supposed days, a google directions map, the credit card purchase I made on one supposed day since it listed the time and location, everything I could track down to prove these were not mine. Send in a signature required envelope so there was assurance it wasn't lost. I waited 12 days after the hearing and hadn't received anything in the mail. So I call them: the violations from before are dropped and the hearing officer sided with me.
I am told that I should receive the papers in the mail. Then customer service states: "You should be receiving a notice for 5 more violations unless you choose to pay those now" !!!!!!! I say those are not mine, and I will not pay them and would like them removed now. She states I will have to wait to receive the violations in the mail and have to do the same thing all over again with these. At what point will the herassment stop for things that are not mine? We had thought about a vaction to Chicago next year, not anymore.
They charge for 5 unpaid tolls witch I paid for online in the 7 day period ,they sent me a bill of $349 , after I called them up have do there job they able to find 3 of the 5 tolls paid just by using my truck plate number ,but they still have not the other 2 that I paid for
On 1/5/17, I took a short trip down to see my family in lower Michigan from Florence, WI. I am use to traveling the Makinaw bridge normally when I go back to Michigan to visit family. I am scared to death of heights and the trip across is always white knuckled, so I thought I would try going through Illinois to avoid my fear of heights dilemma. Are there tolls to cross the bridge? Absolutely, and guess what, the toll isn't inobscure, ambiguous, nor a hazard to driver's safety! It is clearly marked and at a sole port of entry. I have traveled most of the states in the nation, and I would like to say all of them possess the same driver lane utilization, that the throughfare traffic flows in the far left 2 lanes for a safe, efficient commute.
Not only that, but the signs in the thruway didn't correlate with the information on the toll booth! I am a 51 year old well educated, grown woman with a clean driving record for 15 years now.
I have never missed a toll fee in my 35 years of driving. Driving thru Illinois was a horrible experience, driving their 8 lane or so highway. The locals do about 80 mph and will run your butt right off the road if you're not paying attention. I want to re-interate that statement. When your driving from out of state and have many freeways looping under, through and across one another, you need to be paying attention to the signs, lanes and other drivers at all times to prevent an accident and as to not end up on a mistaked destination.
I printed out a google map to route my trip. There were stated tolls included on my map, so I made sure I had $20 in cash for toll fees on my trip. While driving through, there must be about 50 exits across the state. There was signage of all sorts. IPASS clients here, another read something like test lane, no tolls needed, another said debit clients here, auto tolls here, trucks here, I think there was even dollar signs posted somewhere. Chaching, chaching, chaching. On my way there and back, I kept scratching my head wishing that their signage made some kind of sense to the drivers of America.
On my way back, it was no less confusing. And in fact, the 3 tolls I had stopped to pay at, were on the last second whim, and I had to cut over 4 lanes to get across to pay the toll-each time, I am amazed I didn't cause a major pile up and end up dead in an accident! The last toll I paid, I told the gentleman at the booth, I wasn't for sure where I had to stop and pay tolls. He just said, I was almost at the Wisconsin border now. What a nightmare!
On March 9th, 2017, I received a notice of toll violation for 5 supposed tolls I had missed. Each one was listed as to of where I missed the toll. Each toll had a charge of $1.50. Then beside the toll, there was an added on $20 fine for each. It goes on to state that negligence will get additional fines and fees assessed, meaning they are only going to s****.>
They also gave information on how to go about disputing the violation and on requesting a hearing. So I attempted to call the number given to dispute the missed tolls and request a hearing. Not only did I try to call the main line, but also the Tllway Authority. Both numbers had connected me to their automated phone system, but guess what, when I pushed the number I needed to be connected to, neither number would transfer me over. So I attempted to access their website. The website is worse. Navigation is a joke and it is quite ambiguous as well. A case in fact...Once you figure out where to try to pull up the notice #, it requests the date of the violation. I entered the date of the violation. Nothing came up.
Then I decided to pull up the date of notice, March 7, 2017-Bingo, there it was. I found this link through the pay within 7 days link. This is also ambiguous in the aspect that it doesn't specify 7 days from the date of the so-called violation or the date from which the notice was billed. So when I clicked on the violation listed, $1.50 was the fee shown-no $20 fine added. So I selected all of the 5 toll fees and paid them online, which were 2 days from the date on the notification. Normally when you are sent a bill in any circumstance, you are given a set amount of time to pay such bill before the entity starts to accrue interest and fees.
Afterwards, I wanted to make sure I was in the clear of these missed tolls and went on to submit an email stating my frustration about their confusing and proposterous system, that I had by no means even known I had past a toll required and that I paid my tolls within their 7 day deadline and that I had tried requesting a hearing at no prevail and if there was a problem to contact me. So, 3 weeks later, I get a response back from my email stating once I get a notice, I cannot only pay for the tolls billed! And to contact them at the number listed to address my violations! Unbelievable! So I called...and the number even worked. I scheduled a hearing and now am waiting for the letter I need to respond to before my hearing. I was told though, if I didn't receive the letter by April 7th, 2017 to call. My hearing is scheduled for April 18th, 2017.
Since notification of this situation, I have read pages and pages of dismay in regards to the major problem in their toll system, but I want to say, half are from the residents of Illinois. Even the residents that have the state electronic hardware installed in their autos are malfunctioned and do not work properly, charging them astranomical bogus fees and fines. After this horrible experience, I will never, ever travel Illinois again!
It doesn't need to be this difficult. Their IPASS is out of control and there aren't any regulations in place to properly enforce it. I have a perfect solution to the problem. Charge all out of state travelors a flat fee upon entry into the state, and charge all residents a flat yearly fee such as they do in a mileage until the costs are captured for their highway of hell. So did you know it costs $107.50 to tral Illinois? Well you do now, and a word of advice, whatever you do, avoid Illinois!
I find that the Illinois Tollway is the biggest ripoff in Illinois. All they do is screw people out of money and it is disgusting. Let's go back 3 years and I call 3 times gave them my dads license plate number to make sure it was correct. No it was wrong and I got fined and was told it is my job to make sure they have the right information in the system. WHen I said I had called 3 times and they said it was correct in the system how am I to know it is wrong. Then I was told that I am supposed check everything online and if you do nto have the internet you should go to the library. Basciaaly, the Illinois tollway REFUSES to hold themselves accountable for anything.
Now to last year 2016 I had called and gave the tollyway my new updated credit card. Guess what those people there did not type the correct card number in they had part of the last four digits transposed. Again my fault because I did not calll over a hundred times to make sure it was correct. I paid a huge fine on October 30 but here is the kicker a new fine came out on October 28th that I did not know about and that was not added into the what I had paid on the 30th. I had recieved the bill the same day I was calling. Again they want me to pay a fine because they did nto put thatinto the amounts. There are two reasons and the first is I did nto tell them and unless I ask them it would not have been added. The attorney General needs to look in to the Illinois tollway but they are just stealing money from people left and right.
Now when you call the number and talk to people they a freaking ingorant and if you say that they will hang up on you. I am sorry when you are in the middle of talking and you get put on hold bevcause the person does not want to talk to you is down right ignorant. When you call the 630-241-6800 and the female operator answers the phone she is even more ignorant and hangs up on you. When you go on the website for the Illinois Tollway there is no place for oyu to file a complaint.
LETS BAND TOGETHER AND GET THE ILLINOIS TOLLWAY TO STOP STEALING FROM PEOPLE.
For out of towners this tollway system is a scam! You get stuck deciding when you are to go through a tollgate or not and if you miss it, you assume that like other states, which I guess are more technologically advanced or not trying to scam riders, that you will be sent an invoice to pay in a timely manner. But NO! Illinois says you missed it so pay a usurious fine of about 20 times the toll!! You've got to be kidding. I'm not avoiding the toll, but I can't figure the system while in transit. And when we tried to contact the toll authorities, since the sign says call within 7 days, they tell you they can't tell you anything. You must tell them which toll booth you missed.....How would I know?! And they won't let you pay online. IL it's the 21st century! I've no desire to return to that pit of a state. Good luck to those that live there.
In May 2016 I used the Illinois tollway system and passed through 3 tolls. I do not have an i-pass and instead opted to pay my toll online as I had several times before. A couple weeks later I realized I had forgotten to pay for one of the tolls and awaited the inevitable notice of a toll violation. It wasn't until the start of July 2016 that I received notice of a toll violation. At this point I had relocated across the country to California with my partner for a new job she had accepted. To my shock I had been issued toll violations for all three tolls I had used in May rather than the single I knew I had missed. Living in California I was not able to appear for a hearing in person and rather instead opted to submit a request for a hearing by mail via the Tollway online submission form. I knew it took over a month for just the violation to be processed originally so I figured I would hear back after about a month. A month passed and I had not heard anything so I called the 800 number on the violation to inquire about it. I was upset hear them claim that they never received any request for a hearing from me and was told that I must have done something wrong. Furthermore I was informed that the violation had since been escalated and a request for a hearing could no longer be submitted. I am incredibly upset with the multiple failures of the Illinois Tollway systems that now insists I pay fines for tolls I had already paid and requested a hearing for. I know the fines aren't much but as I am currently unemployed and still attempting to find work, every penny counts. I can't help but think how many other people are getting ripped off in this fashion. Why is it that we must be responsible to pay the price due to failures in Illinois Tollway's systems? I feel at the very least others can be warned of this incredibly broken system
Just opened letter from illinoisToll. My wife and three girl friends went to chicago for a four day girls trip away to chicago from st. louiis. on 3-3-16 to 3-6-16 On 4-4-16 got bill my wife confessed to running one toll. We are now billed for SEVEN violations one violation billed twice. Back in june 6, 2015 i was in chicago for a week end wedding Included on the violation bill is two violations almost ten months after tells me this is total fraud i never ran any tolls
Illinois Tollway Reviews
Beware of Scam
I haven't been to Chicago in years, yet today I received a letter from the Illinois Tollway stating that I had 4 outstanding tolls of $6 and $80 in penalties. There was a photo on the letter....one photo, yet 4 violations, and no time or date on the photo. The photo was dark and I could hardly read the license plate. The photo was not my vehicle and the license plate, of course, is not registered to me. I called the phone number on the letter and was given instructions on all the hoops I was going to have to jump in order to dispute it. I asked for all the photos which they were more than happy to send to me. I should receive them in around 7 days. They claim the DMV in Indiana provided them with the information that tied my name to the vehicle in the photo, so I asked for a copy of the info the State of Indiana provided them with. They did not have it. The guy on the phone insisted it is on a website, all I have to do is look it up. I know what it says, I know what vehicles and license plate numbers are registered to me and the one in the photo is not mine.
The website I was directed to appears to be the actual Illinois Tollway official site. All the phone numbers and addresses match everything the Illinois Tollway provides. I was even sent an email by them showing my account had been updated with what apears to be all the legitimate information of the Illinois Tollway Authority.
My husband's friend, who is a State Policeman ran the license plate number from the photo and guess what, it is not registered to anyone. I don't think anything could scream "SCAM" any louder. And I believe it is coming from within the Illinois Tollway Authority itself. Just get online and watch the videos posted by others who feel they have been scammed.
Driving in Illinois for the first time in 11 yrs I was surprised to see that the toll booths had been removed. Since I was busy driving, all I could read on the sign was that I needed to pay online. Fine, they'll send me a bill and I'll go online to pay. 3 tolls up and 3 tolls back.
I waited for a month to get a bill in the mail and when I did it included $1.50 per toll ($9) AND a fee of $3 per unpaid toll ($18).
Did they expect me to stop my car on the tollway to read the sign, look for a pen, and write down the URL?
In Jan. 2021 I had purchased an ipass and it was shipped to my house ready to use. I was told to unwrap from the foil and to just place it in my window and make sure there was money on the transponder. I did so and had no issues. I did not realize that you must register the plate also on the website. My car was temporarily out of service, and I used my mom’s car in May, I placed the transponder in the window and continued refilling my money on the transponder.
It was deducting money and I had no issues. I then had an invoice from my mom in June 2021 of $78 for missing tolls for one week! The toll charge was roughly $25, they then charged me with an invoice fee of $53 I have the ipass so the tolls are $0.90, and they charged me the full amount of $1.80 also. I called numerous times and was on hold an extremely long time to have this rude individual that worked there tell me how I should have read the owner’s manual (and ok I get it but being a single mom working 12 hours a day I really didn’t have time to, so that was my fault, but we are human, I also took the ladies word for “all I have to do is place it in the window.”),and that you must have the car license plate registered and refused to help reduce my bill.
She then said that the transponders do not always register at the toll booths. I went back and forth trying to dispute and reported the rude employee to the upper management in charge because even the "supervisor" was rude. I understood where they were coming from but to an extent. I paid the invoice and I also added both cars on the online page to defuse any further issues. Well…. Over the fourth of July weekend someone vandalized my car, I called the police officers to report. Later date I realized my transponder was gone and some change.
I reported to customer service about the incident and how to proceed with canceling and me retrieving another transponder that Tuesday. In response they now tell my i have a $479.50 bill! What? how? even if I never paid it since I got an ipass it wouldn’t be that much in cost, it would be $324.00 if anything. If that’s the case where is my money? Where is all my money i put on the ipass? Where are my money from the other invoice fees then? Every time I contact them, they either call back while I’m working, or they are extremely rude. It's to the point where I can’t even deal with them to where I go into a panic attack, I already deal with my social anxiety and struggle but to add it to your day on purpose after being on hold during rush hour for an hour and to still not talk to someone again is nerve racking.
Then I finally get through after weeks and the lady is just snide, rude and loud for no reason is very unprofessional, ignorant, and stressful. I now question their management cause to me this is a scam! One of my coworkers had her car linked up to the ipass and had it for a year and suddenly just recently like myself she got double charged and they were rude to her also. Some one is getting a kick back knowing they are scamming us. They know we have to get to work so you scam the lower middle class working our butts off through this pandemic.
Sadly, I already knew before I contested Illinois Toll Way ( ITW) that I would not win but still I did it to experience it myself before I wrote a complaint here. I have read numerous complaints about ITW and I have not found a single person winning.
I received one statement from ITW in October 2019 with 4 violations and $80 for $6 unpaid toll which occurred between January and September 2019. Two violations occuring in September on the same date within 20 mins.
First of all, may be Illinois residents understand the Tollway system (Open road) very well and can avoid violations. I have traveled through other states but this was the first time I faced Open toll road and never really understood it. I am a Michigan resident and the only reason I go to Illinois is for Chicago airport.
Last year, I traveled to Chicago 3 times and randomly my GPS unit took me through Open Toll road. I had to catch a plane in January and I never even paid attention when I was on Open Tollway road and when my mind was registering the name of the road I was on, I thought at the end of the road, there will be a toll booth to pay the toll.
But it did not happen and I could not pay the toll. So, end of the open toll road does not have a toll booth to pay toll. I expected that they would send me a notice for toll violation within a month just like they sent notices to my friend's house from Ohio turn pike and to me from NY in the past. We just had to pay the unpaid toll.
I never got a notice and forgot about Open toll road completely as on my way back, I went through regular pay as you go toll booths . Then in April, I faced open toll road again and this time I thought that it could be something serious ( Open toll road).
I went online to research what it was all about and I landed on the page to pay unpaid toll if violation happened within 7 days. God knows I spent 30 mins online trying to pay the unpaid toll but I could not because I had to enter an entrance and exit point and I had no idea where that was since I am not familiar with Illinois or Chicago.
My eyes are just focused on driving safe on wintery roads. Should they not have a way to pull up the unpaid tolls just by using license plates? But unfortunately, they never kept the easy way so that they can scam out of state drivers. In September, within 20 mins, I had two violations on the same day while driving to the airport.
Surprisingly, there was no violation on the way back. So, in conclusion, why should I try to violate the rules only on the way to the airport and not coming back? That shows, how unfamiliar I am with the Toll system and toll roads. I just follow the GPS routing to be safe.
The first violation was in January and the last one in September and within that 8-9 month period, I was never contacted nor I ever received any violation notice to tell me that I was doing something wrong. After I called the tollway, when I requested the fine to be waived, it was suggested that if I had an IPASS membership, I would qualify for that.
Interesting, right? So, there is a loyalty thing and the system is not equal to all drivers. No, I did not have the IPASS membership because I don't have to travel to Chicago unless I have to pick up someone or someone is dropping me off there at O'hair. So, I decided to contest even after my research on the web suggested that nobody ever won contesting Illinois Tollway.
Everyone, always had to pay the tolls and hefty fines. Today, I have just received the decision and nothing changed. They will get your money bluntly telling you on the face that you can do nothing about how they communicate, how they charge and you have no choice really.
Why can it not be similar to Ohio Turn Pike, NY or NJ tollway? They send notice for the violation right away and there is no fine if paid on time.
My point here is that:
1. Why not sending the notice right after first violation? Why wait 9 months? Would I not learn from my first mistake or be aware if I was sent the violation notice right away?
2. Why do you charge fines without giving the option to pay it on time first? $20 fine / violation for $1.5 toll . Is that fair? Why was I not given a chance to pay the toll without fine like other Toll system.?Why is ITW unique , unfair and so hungry for unfair profit?
3. How many people can access toll violation online and why do they not have an option for pulling the violation using license plate ? If driver thinks that he has unpaid tolls, he can try to pay within 7 days but how would we know how much if he does not know entry and exit points?
If ITW already knows the violation, they also know the entry and exit points. That makes it pretty easy to post it on their site. Why can your customer service not pull up violation just using license plate if we ever suspect that we had a violation and call the customer center?
Obviously, we can not provide a violation number without receiving a violation notice and you do not send violation notice before 9 months, when we have already piled up hefty fines without having a little clue. People repeatedly complained about this toll system but why have they never corrected this old flaw or problem? Just because they want people's hard earned money in unfair way?
4. Why on my right mind, I would incur $40 fine for $3 toll within 20 mins if they have the toll system fairly clear and understandable?
I put some of my reasons for contests from above but there was no response to those questions. Just a notice saying that they reviewed my contest and evidences and I still have to pay the same fine and it would be 3 times more fine if not paid in a month. Obviously, their hearing is not done in a court because I wrote a formal contest just like we write to judges for traffic violations but obviously, ITW decisions are done by a hearing officer who never changes any decision in my opinion.
How can ITW run for so long with so many complaints without paying attention? It just feels like a cut throat system at this point to me and I believe that many other drivers feel the same way.
I am sure those that still live in chicago know to watch out for their toll system and can react in that crazy 7 day grace time but out of towners are not aware of chicago tactics. In most cases they are not aware of their mistake of going past a toll but 2 months or longer chicago lets u know with a fine of $20 on top of your $1.50 toll.
The human factor is not part of the chicago system. If it was a notice would be delivered to let another human being know a mistake was made and u must pay this toll within alloted time or be fined. The chicago system is easy to figure out with the many,many complaints. They make it look like they care with a crazy 7 day grace, the trouble with that is most out of towners have no idea of any violation.
Chicago do not act like u really care about other people other than what u can squeeze out of their pockets. Join the human race send a notice of a toll charge pending a fine. Give the human race a chance.................
So while traveling through Illinois in the evening I missed some tolls due to weather and traffic. I then logged into their site to pay and no tolls were shown. I also called them and I couldnt recall the exact road so they couldn't locate any tolls. 3 mo. later I got a bill for my $4.90 in tolls and 3x$20 late fees totalling $64.90. I tried to call and they bullied me into payiing threatening to ruin my credit and they would keep hitting me with fees. I tried the rebuttle form and wrote out the details of the situation and was denied by a guy names ZACHARY WILSON. I'm guessing most people that write these rebuttles are declined as I was. Given this is how the Tollway makes tons of $. This ZACHARY WILSON guy is a real piece of work. It's disgusting this is how things work in this state. I have had similar situations in NY, WV, SC, and numerous other places that you simply log in and pay the tolls that come up. How is the Illinois Tollway so ignorant that they can't maintain a similar system...? Well the main point of the Illinois Tollway is to take as much of peoples money as possible. Truly sad.
I received a notice of Illinois Tollway violations back in Sept 2017, I knew that these were not my tolls based on being 200+ miles away, not traveling to the area since 2003, and the vehicle pictured was not mine. I called and told customer service the vehicle was not mine, this was not enough for them, because they "only look at the license plate number and do not compare the vehicle types". I was told to fill out an Affidavite of Non-Liability, I did this and included a copy of my vehicle registration, which shows the county number, expiration date, and vehicle as not being the same as the one shown.
I though this would quickly resolve the violations that were not mine. I wait for the letter stating that the violation was released, instead I receive a letter that what I included was not enough. I call to ask what else they needed, I am told a "Query Report" from the DMV which they assured me the DMV would know what it was and would provide it. I take hours off work to go to the license branch, even the branch manager didn't know what it was and asked me to call Illinois Tollway back again for a description of what a "Query Report" was.
I call back and am told it is a list of vehicles I own and the registration info. I go back to the DMV, wait again, and describe the "Query Report" I am told by the branch manager that they cannot provide me with a copy of private records. I leave the DMV empty handed. I call the Tollway back again, and after pointing out again and say I can't get a "Query Report" they say the only thing I have left is to request an administrative hearing, so I do. I wait a week for the paper to come in the mail for the hearing date and the paper to write my tesimony.
I write out everything, from the difference in make, model, license plate location, wrong county number, wrong expiration. Include with highlighted text my registration again. I include a copy of my employer time-punch for the supposed days, a google directions map, the credit card purchase I made on one supposed day since it listed the time and location, everything I could track down to prove these were not mine. Send in a signature required envelope so there was assurance it wasn't lost. I waited 12 days after the hearing and hadn't received anything in the mail. So I call them: the violations from before are dropped and the hearing officer sided with me.
I am told that I should receive the papers in the mail. Then customer service states: "You should be receiving a notice for 5 more violations unless you choose to pay those now" !!!!!!! I say those are not mine, and I will not pay them and would like them removed now. She states I will have to wait to receive the violations in the mail and have to do the same thing all over again with these. At what point will the herassment stop for things that are not mine? We had thought about a vaction to Chicago next year, not anymore.
They charge for 5 unpaid tolls witch I paid for online in the 7 day period ,they sent me a bill of $349 , after I called them up have do there job they able to find 3 of the 5 tolls paid just by using my truck plate number ,but they still have not the other 2 that I paid for
On 1/5/17, I took a short trip down to see my family in lower Michigan from Florence, WI. I am use to traveling the Makinaw bridge normally when I go back to Michigan to visit family. I am scared to death of heights and the trip across is always white knuckled, so I thought I would try going through Illinois to avoid my fear of heights dilemma. Are there tolls to cross the bridge? Absolutely, and guess what, the toll isn't inobscure, ambiguous, nor a hazard to driver's safety! It is clearly marked and at a sole port of entry. I have traveled most of the states in the nation, and I would like to say all of them possess the same driver lane utilization, that the throughfare traffic flows in the far left 2 lanes for a safe, efficient commute.
Not only that, but the signs in the thruway didn't correlate with the information on the toll booth! I am a 51 year old well educated, grown woman with a clean driving record for 15 years now.
I have never missed a toll fee in my 35 years of driving. Driving thru Illinois was a horrible experience, driving their 8 lane or so highway. The locals do about 80 mph and will run your butt right off the road if you're not paying attention. I want to re-interate that statement. When your driving from out of state and have many freeways looping under, through and across one another, you need to be paying attention to the signs, lanes and other drivers at all times to prevent an accident and as to not end up on a mistaked destination.
I printed out a google map to route my trip. There were stated tolls included on my map, so I made sure I had $20 in cash for toll fees on my trip. While driving through, there must be about 50 exits across the state. There was signage of all sorts. IPASS clients here, another read something like test lane, no tolls needed, another said debit clients here, auto tolls here, trucks here, I think there was even dollar signs posted somewhere. Chaching, chaching, chaching. On my way there and back, I kept scratching my head wishing that their signage made some kind of sense to the drivers of America.
On my way back, it was no less confusing. And in fact, the 3 tolls I had stopped to pay at, were on the last second whim, and I had to cut over 4 lanes to get across to pay the toll-each time, I am amazed I didn't cause a major pile up and end up dead in an accident! The last toll I paid, I told the gentleman at the booth, I wasn't for sure where I had to stop and pay tolls. He just said, I was almost at the Wisconsin border now. What a nightmare!
On March 9th, 2017, I received a notice of toll violation for 5 supposed tolls I had missed. Each one was listed as to of where I missed the toll. Each toll had a charge of $1.50. Then beside the toll, there was an added on $20 fine for each. It goes on to state that negligence will get additional fines and fees assessed, meaning they are only going to s****.>
They also gave information on how to go about disputing the violation and on requesting a hearing. So I attempted to call the number given to dispute the missed tolls and request a hearing. Not only did I try to call the main line, but also the Tllway Authority. Both numbers had connected me to their automated phone system, but guess what, when I pushed the number I needed to be connected to, neither number would transfer me over. So I attempted to access their website. The website is worse. Navigation is a joke and it is quite ambiguous as well. A case in fact...Once you figure out where to try to pull up the notice #, it requests the date of the violation. I entered the date of the violation. Nothing came up.
Then I decided to pull up the date of notice, March 7, 2017-Bingo, there it was. I found this link through the pay within 7 days link. This is also ambiguous in the aspect that it doesn't specify 7 days from the date of the so-called violation or the date from which the notice was billed. So when I clicked on the violation listed, $1.50 was the fee shown-no $20 fine added. So I selected all of the 5 toll fees and paid them online, which were 2 days from the date on the notification. Normally when you are sent a bill in any circumstance, you are given a set amount of time to pay such bill before the entity starts to accrue interest and fees.
Afterwards, I wanted to make sure I was in the clear of these missed tolls and went on to submit an email stating my frustration about their confusing and proposterous system, that I had by no means even known I had past a toll required and that I paid my tolls within their 7 day deadline and that I had tried requesting a hearing at no prevail and if there was a problem to contact me. So, 3 weeks later, I get a response back from my email stating once I get a notice, I cannot only pay for the tolls billed! And to contact them at the number listed to address my violations! Unbelievable! So I called...and the number even worked. I scheduled a hearing and now am waiting for the letter I need to respond to before my hearing. I was told though, if I didn't receive the letter by April 7th, 2017 to call. My hearing is scheduled for April 18th, 2017.
Since notification of this situation, I have read pages and pages of dismay in regards to the major problem in their toll system, but I want to say, half are from the residents of Illinois. Even the residents that have the state electronic hardware installed in their autos are malfunctioned and do not work properly, charging them astranomical bogus fees and fines. After this horrible experience, I will never, ever travel Illinois again!
It doesn't need to be this difficult. Their IPASS is out of control and there aren't any regulations in place to properly enforce it. I have a perfect solution to the problem. Charge all out of state travelors a flat fee upon entry into the state, and charge all residents a flat yearly fee such as they do in a mileage until the costs are captured for their highway of hell. So did you know it costs $107.50 to tral Illinois? Well you do now, and a word of advice, whatever you do, avoid Illinois!
I find that the Illinois Tollway is the biggest ripoff in Illinois. All they do is screw people out of money and it is disgusting. Let's go back 3 years and I call 3 times gave them my dads license plate number to make sure it was correct. No it was wrong and I got fined and was told it is my job to make sure they have the right information in the system. WHen I said I had called 3 times and they said it was correct in the system how am I to know it is wrong. Then I was told that I am supposed check everything online and if you do nto have the internet you should go to the library. Basciaaly, the Illinois tollway REFUSES to hold themselves accountable for anything.
Now to last year 2016 I had called and gave the tollyway my new updated credit card. Guess what those people there did not type the correct card number in they had part of the last four digits transposed. Again my fault because I did not calll over a hundred times to make sure it was correct. I paid a huge fine on October 30 but here is the kicker a new fine came out on October 28th that I did not know about and that was not added into the what I had paid on the 30th. I had recieved the bill the same day I was calling. Again they want me to pay a fine because they did nto put thatinto the amounts. There are two reasons and the first is I did nto tell them and unless I ask them it would not have been added. The attorney General needs to look in to the Illinois tollway but they are just stealing money from people left and right.
Now when you call the number and talk to people they a freaking ingorant and if you say that they will hang up on you. I am sorry when you are in the middle of talking and you get put on hold bevcause the person does not want to talk to you is down right ignorant. When you call the 630-241-6800 and the female operator answers the phone she is even more ignorant and hangs up on you. When you go on the website for the Illinois Tollway there is no place for oyu to file a complaint.
LETS BAND TOGETHER AND GET THE ILLINOIS TOLLWAY TO STOP STEALING FROM PEOPLE.
For out of towners this tollway system is a scam! You get stuck deciding when you are to go through a tollgate or not and if you miss it, you assume that like other states, which I guess are more technologically advanced or not trying to scam riders, that you will be sent an invoice to pay in a timely manner. But NO! Illinois says you missed it so pay a usurious fine of about 20 times the toll!! You've got to be kidding. I'm not avoiding the toll, but I can't figure the system while in transit. And when we tried to contact the toll authorities, since the sign says call within 7 days, they tell you they can't tell you anything. You must tell them which toll booth you missed.....How would I know?! And they won't let you pay online. IL it's the 21st century! I've no desire to return to that pit of a state. Good luck to those that live there.
In May 2016 I used the Illinois tollway system and passed through 3 tolls. I do not have an i-pass and instead opted to pay my toll online as I had several times before. A couple weeks later I realized I had forgotten to pay for one of the tolls and awaited the inevitable notice of a toll violation. It wasn't until the start of July 2016 that I received notice of a toll violation. At this point I had relocated across the country to California with my partner for a new job she had accepted. To my shock I had been issued toll violations for all three tolls I had used in May rather than the single I knew I had missed. Living in California I was not able to appear for a hearing in person and rather instead opted to submit a request for a hearing by mail via the Tollway online submission form. I knew it took over a month for just the violation to be processed originally so I figured I would hear back after about a month. A month passed and I had not heard anything so I called the 800 number on the violation to inquire about it. I was upset hear them claim that they never received any request for a hearing from me and was told that I must have done something wrong. Furthermore I was informed that the violation had since been escalated and a request for a hearing could no longer be submitted. I am incredibly upset with the multiple failures of the Illinois Tollway systems that now insists I pay fines for tolls I had already paid and requested a hearing for. I know the fines aren't much but as I am currently unemployed and still attempting to find work, every penny counts. I can't help but think how many other people are getting ripped off in this fashion. Why is it that we must be responsible to pay the price due to failures in Illinois Tollway's systems? I feel at the very least others can be warned of this incredibly broken system
Just opened letter from illinoisToll. My wife and three girl friends went to chicago for a four day girls trip away to chicago from st. louiis. on 3-3-16 to 3-6-16 On 4-4-16 got bill my wife confessed to running one toll. We are now billed for SEVEN violations one violation billed twice. Back in june 6, 2015 i was in chicago for a week end wedding Included on the violation bill is two violations almost ten months after tells me this is total fraud i never ran any tolls