9 Investigates

9 Investigates: SunPass wrongfully fines Cocoa man

By Christopher Heath, WFTV.com
By Christopher Heath, WFTV.com
He knew it wasn’t his vehicle and plate, and knew he didn't owe the $9. 
But, for Cocoa resident John Wolff, there seemed to be no way out, and while he protested, the tolls kept rolling in even though it wasn’t him or his vehicle.
“The picture they sent is of a Ford Excursion and you can't even read the tag and they say it's my tag,” said Wolff.  “I know it's not my temporary tag plate."
Read: Some Central Florida toll booths not registering $1 coins
Wolff’s issue started in November, when he gave his Chevrolet Trail Blazer to his son in Marion County. 
He kept his metal plates and ordered a paper temporary tag for his son. After a few weeks, his son destroyed the temporary tag in preparation of receiving his own permanent tag.   
That’s when the first bill arrived. 
The bill was for $9.20 and showed a dark SUV going through a toll plaza in South Florida. 
SunPass officials said the tag on the vehicle belonged to Wolff; something he said is impossible since his temporary tag was destroyed and both of his vehicles have a SunPass sticker on the windshield.
“I thought about paying, but I was afraid that the person down in South Florida was not going to stop using the tag," Wolff said.
For weeks, Wolff called the SunPass customer service line trying to get the issue straightened out. Meanwhile, the toll violation fines kept coming in.
“They told me I needed to file a police report,” Wolff said.
But when Wolff went to the Cocoa Police Department, he was told he couldn’t file a police report since the tag being used in South Florida was most likely a forgery and not actually stolen.
“They gave me an incident report that I sent to SunPass, but they (SunPass) said that is not what they needed, and that I still owed them the money for the tolls,” Wolff said.
With the bills rolling in, and SunPass not providing any answers, Wolff contacted 9 Investigates. 

After emails to SunPass and the Florida Department of Transportation, a supervisor finally looked at Wolff’s case and dismissed the tolls, even offering him a $10 to his Sun Pass account.
Under SunPass rules, drivers have 90 days to dispute a toll. They can do so by calling SunPass customer service at 1-888-TOLL FLA (1-888-865-5352) or a SunPass billing online.

Cox Media Group

Most Read