A driver says a toll road bill she received for someone else became an ‘ongoing stressor’ (2024)

Year after year, I keep asking versions of the same question to the North Texas Tollway Authority, so much so that longtime NTTA spokesman Michael Rey is tired of me.

Some people get toll bills that aren’t meant for them. The bills go to a listed vehicle owner, according to state records. Those records must be kept up to date, and I’ll show you how to do that.

The other day I sent two of the same complaints to Rey.

“Same song, difference verse,” he humorously responded.

If there’s one thing Rey would like for me to tell you it’s that NTTA doesn’t use its own database to send toll bills. NTTA uses the official Texas Department of Motor Vehicles database.

If your vehicle’s information is wrong with DMV, it’s wrong with NTTA, too.

Sometimes this happens because of clerical errors. Somebody types in a wrong digit. Very rarely, though, does a license plate reader get it wrong. The cameras may not be 100 percent accurate, but those complaints are rare.

It’s the mystery scenarios such as the pair I’m going to show you that are baffling.

Incorrect toll road billing

Linda Rawlings of Lakeway received a $60 toll road bill, which has grown to $80.

“The license shown in the picture is not a license for any vehicle we have or have ever had,” she says.

She learned the car was a Nissan. “We have never owned a Nissan.”

She says she called NTTA and supervisors promised to research her problem and get back to her. When they didn’t, she contacted me.

“It’s such a run-around,” she says. “I bet most people give up and pay the bill.”

“Do you have any suggestions?” she asked. “We are beyond frustrated as we pay our bills on time and have excellent credit. We are tempted to just pay it. But then do they keep sending bills because they now believe that is our vehicle?”

NTTA’s Rey looked into this. He learned the dealer’s license plate that is tied to Rawlings is actually registered to Grubbs Nissan.

She told me she doesn’t have time to visit a DMV office to clear this, but she can do it with paper forms or with a phone call.

A mystery

“Did they take a test drive” with Nissan? Rey asked me.

No.

“Did they transfer a vehicle to Grubbs Nissan and the plate was reused?”

No.

“Only Grubbs Nissan could have added the Rawlings’ data to the plate registration file in TXDMV,” he added

I called Grubbs several times but the dealership didn’t respond.

NTTA is transferring the Rawlings’ toll bill to Grubbs’ account, Rey said.

The aggravation factor here is high. Rawlings calls it “an ongoing stressor.”

“We pay mailed toll charges all the time, but this one completely perplexed me as there is no tangible connection with us.

“This albatross has been hung around our necks.”

Same song, different verse

Keith Burrus of Irving received a $9.20 toll bill. The bill showed a photo of a temporary license plate.

He discovered the plate was assigned to a dealership.

Once he found out, he called the dealership and asked a rep to reassign the tag back to them. He’s hoping it works.

His suggestion to NTTA, “While I understand NTTA is kind of caught in the middle here with bad information they got from the DMV, they could train their customer service people to be a little more empathetic.”

What can you do?

Call the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to quickly double check your car’s registration at 888-368-4689.

Selling or trading in a car? Don’t forget to remove the license plates before it leaves your possession.

If the address tied to your vehicle is wrong, Texas DMV says a change of address form for a vehicle owner is online (VTR-146). Submit it to your local tax office or send it to Texas DMV, Vehicle Titles and Registration Division, P.O. Box 26417, Austin, TX 78755-0417.

When selling a vehicle, submit a “Vehicle Transfer Notification” (VTR-346) within 30 days. This absolves them of any parking tickets or TollTags tied to the vehicle.

To keep a record of the transfer submitted to the DMV, file a “Request for Texas Motor Vehicle Information” form (VTR-275) to obtain title and registration verification.

There’s also an address change form online.

Finally, make sure when you sell a vehicle to remove your TollTag and call the NTTA to discontinue that vehicle on your account.