ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. (WKBW) — Dozens of Southtowns drivers are warning others to check their E-Z Pass bills because they may be getting overcharged while traveling on the New York State thruway.
"They're ripping us off and people don't know it!" Lisa Kraft, who lives in Derby, said.
A Facebook post about E-Z Pass overcharging caused Kraft to take a closer look at her bill.
"I was lucky to hear about it so I was able to do something about it, but what about all these hundreds of thousands of people that go through that toll booth and they're being taken advantage of?" Kraft said.
Kraft says she found she had been overcharged by a lot.
"I backtracked through March and we were overcharged $35," Kraft said.
A copy of Kraft's bill shows she was charged $3.87 five times for what she said is normally a $0.13 toll.
"I think it's awful. They're taking enough money from us. But to go on a $0.13 normal toll and we're getting charged over $4 for it," Kraft said.
According to posts on social media, the issue seems to be happening on the thruway specifically in the Southtowns.
"My husband travels every day. He gets on in Blasdell and gets off once he goes through the Lackawanna toll booths," Kraft said.
A post on Nextdoor shows dozens are having the same exact issue.
"I put it on Facebook. My one cousin, who lives up in North Collins, said he was overcharged $50. A friend of ours says he was overcharged $40," Kraft said.
The New York State Thruway Authority issued this statement on Thursday:
“A technical issue was detected on an E-ZPass reader at the exit 55 (Lackawanna) cashless tolling gantry in April. As soon as we were made aware of this, the equipment was immediately repaired. The Thruway Authority is working with the E-ZPass Customer Service Center to identify and correct any charges to impacted customers. We encourage all E-ZPass and Tolls by Mail customers to check their bills and contact the E-ZPass customer service center at 800-333-8655 if they notice any discrepancies.”
The Thruway Authority encourages anyone encountering problems with their E-Z Pass to contact them at 518-471-5300.
Kraft said she did just that, but was only refunded half of the charges.
"Anyone that was drastically charged, correct it. Correct it. We shouldn't have to be looking for all this stuff ourselves and going through all the transactions for the last three months and having to fight for it," Kraft said.
