Toll Charge 4 months after we got back

**Frosty** · 02-05-2015, 15:52

We were over at Xmas and New year and had a car booked through here.

I just noticed on my CCard statement that there is a charge for $10.70 (£7.26) from Alamo.

I think I read somewhere else where people were getting charged after the event like this.

We only went through cash lanes so how do I dispute this, with Alamo or do I dispute this with my CCard?

When I handed in the car, they confirmed there was no charge.

**roger** · 02-05-2015, 16:17

Yes, for you to get a charge this long after, it will be that Alamo have received a citation from the authorities for your car for the dates you rented (toll, parking etc). The best thing to start with is to email us (info@uscarhire.com) with your order number and details of the Dollar amount of the charge then Roulla can take this up with Alamo. If it is a citation, they can let you know the citation reference then there is a form on the Alamo website where you can dispute this, which will get sent to the appropriate authority.

**Mo Green** · 02-05-2015, 17:27

We were there at Christmas/New year and hired a car through Alamo. We drove through 2 tolls. One came through on our January statement but the other only came through on our March statement. Seems some are coming through late from Alamo.

**Frosty** · 05-05-2015, 18:04

So I have the answer.
Turns out if you drive out of Miami International Airport onto the airport express way, this is a toll road.
However it's a toll road without toll booths, so you have no way of using a cash lane as there isn't one.

This means your forced to use the electronic transponder in the car and then get ripped off for the privilege.
2 x 70c tolls on the way out and 2 x 70c tolls on the way back.
$2.80 in total plus their add on charge for having a transponder suddenly becomes $10.70 without any notification or way of knowing.

Rip off.

**Gerry Reed** · 05-05-2015, 19:31

I may be wrong but I don't think you get charged extra for having a transponder - we have our own that we put up in the hire car and tolls are usually less than the cash price. It is the car hire company that add an admin charge as the charge goes via them if you don't pay cash or use your own transponder.

Sue

**Frosty** · 06-05-2015, 05:39

Originally Posted by Gerry Reed

I may be wrong but I don't think you get charged extra for having a transponder - we have our own that we put up in the hire car and tolls are usually less than the cash price. It is the car hire company that add an admin charge as the charge goes via them if you don't pay cash or use your own transponder.

Sue

Sue, that's my point, I wasn't aware of this and there is no way to pay a toll so you end up having to use the transponder and then they levy their charge on top for using it.

**Gerry Reed** · 06-05-2015, 06:28

Originally Posted by Frosty

Sue, that's my point, I wasn't aware of this and there is no way to pay a toll so you end up having to use the transponder and then they levy their charge on top for using it.

The transponder we use is our own - not the hire car company, we put it up in the car as soon as we pick a car up and take it back to the UK between holidays. Any tolls we go through (seen or not) then get charged direct to us, not the hire car company, so we don't pay the extra admin charge and in fact I think the tolls are less than paying cash. You can buy a transponder in Publix or on the Sunpass web site for $19 - worth the initial outlay if you go to Florida regularly even if it is just to avoid finding change all the time. If you have one in your car you can just drive through the faster lane - no need to stop at tolls.

Sue

**roger** · 06-05-2015, 12:42

I'm glad you found out what the charge was for. Of all the car hire companies, Alamo / National are pretty much the cheapest for tolls. They charge the actual toll amount, then $3.95 per day that a toll is used (up to a max of $19.75). So the amount you were charged sounds about right for 2 days of toll usage plus the tolls. It's very good value when you are using the tolls on a more regular basis sine the daily fee is capped at $19.75, but no so if you only use the tolls a couple of times. The number of cashless tolls is rapidly increasing in Florida.

**Jill** · 08-05-2015, 20:20

Originally Posted by Frosty

So I have the answer.
Turns out if you drive out of Miami International Airport onto the airport express way, this is a toll road.
However it's a toll road without toll booths, so you have no way of using a cash lane as there isn't one.

This means your forced to use the electronic transponder in the car and then get ripped off for the privilege.
2 x 70c tolls on the way out and 2 x 70c tolls on the way back.
$2.80 in total plus their add on charge for having a transponder suddenly becomes $10.70 without any notification or way of knowing.

Rip off.

If you come out of the airport and use the US27 there are not tolls so you can avoid being ripped off. We use the 27 and find it an easy route.