When was the last time you got a ticket?

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For me it was about three yarrs ago, I was clocked doing 85 in a 55, ouch!

Now, my saying is if you're going to get a speeding ticket, at least make it worth it.

In that instance I was running pretty late for work, and legitimately thought the speed limit was 70 MPH, so the officer was pretty lenient with me.

That being said, it sill prompted my mom to tape this to my dashboard the next time I went to visit.

Credit: Buehler
Credit: Buehler
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I got my first ticket in New Jersey last week, and maybe you've gotten this one too.

In the mail, I received a letter from EZ Pass saying that I blew through a toll, and that the normal one dollar charge would now cost me Fifty one dollars instead.

That's one dollar for the toll, and fifty dollars in administrative fees.

WHAT!

I've been an EZ Pass user since the mid 2000's and always have it prominently displayed on my dash while driving.

But back in July, going down the Parkway, the EZ Pass booth for whatever reason didn't pick it up.

Photo by Red John on Unsplash
Photo by Red John on Unsplash
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Now, according to the letter I had several options; I could pay the fifty one dollars, report my EZ pass or vehicle as stolen, or dispute the charges.

It's time to fight The Man.

Cue The Clash's 1979 punk rock anthem I Fought The Law.

I was ready to fight tooth and nail to make sure I didn't have to pay a ridiculous cost for such a small toll.

I had my license plate number, EZ Pass transponder number, violation number as well as driver license set and ready to go.

I called the number on the letter to fight for my case and after going through the automated portion of the phone call finally got transferred to an EZ pass customer service rep.

Did I mention the 54 minutes and 27 seconds I spent on hold?

Photo by Djim Loic on Unsplash
Photo by Djim Loic on Unsplash
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It felt like a lifetime.

Finally a woman picked up on the other end and after providing my EZ Pass badge (transponder) number as well as confirming my address my fight came to an anticlimactic end.

"Alright, we've charged a dollar to your EZ Pass account, your ticket is closed."

That's it, it was that simple.

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I was dreading the mountain of either paper work, or people I was going to have to go through in order to not pay an outrageous fee.

The woman also said there's an option on the main phone menu to enter your EZ Pass number and just take care of it with their automated system.

Live and learn right?

So next time you blow through an EZ Pass toll and get this notice, avoiding that astronomical charge is so much easier than you may think!

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