E-ZPass Payment Deadline For Toll Violations Pushed Back: MDTA

MARYLAND — After a last-minute rush Wednesday by drivers who had video tolls to pay, the Maryland Transportation Authority board extended a customer assistance plan for two more weeks.

The Maryland Transportation Assistance Plan offered a nine-month grace period for unpaid video tolls. The program was supposed to end at 11:59 p.m. Nov. 30. But a payment rush at MDTA customer service centers and the call center led the board to push back the deadline by two weeks to 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, a news release said.

The approval comes after high participation of the program that allowed drivers to pay their outstanding video tolls without penalty.

On Thursday, Dec, 15, toll debt referrals to Central Collection Unit for collections actions and to the MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration for vehicle registration suspensions will resume.

All video tolls and civil penalties are due based on their printed due dates. If customers with outstanding video tolls fail to pay off their balances, they will be unable to register vehicles with MDOT MVA, authorities said.

The payment grace period was adopted after more than 27,000 E-ZPass customers signed an online petition calling for an investigation into billing errors. Maryland EZ-Pass users signed a Change.org petition asking Gov. Larry Hogan to investigate the billing system.

"Bills from 2020 arriving over one year later, late fees of $25 being billed without having received any notices, stacks of bills being sent with threats of withholding vehicle registrations and tax refunds, transponders not working, and the list is endless," a portion of the petition reads.

Before the grace period ends, MDTA officials encourage all E-ZPass customers who had any periods with insufficient money in their accounts to check Find My Tolls. Since video tolls are recorded to the registered vehicle owner and are separate from E-ZPass accounts, replenishing E-ZPass accounts will not pay for outstanding tolls.

As of Nov. 29, state officials said $151 million in civil penalties have been waived for about 773,000 drivers and businesses that paid their outstanding video tolls.

The customer assistance plan is not toll forgiveness, or an elimination of tolls owed. Tolling remains in effect statewide and drivers are responsible for paying the outstanding toll amount, the news release said.

• Related: Fed Up E-ZPass Users Launch Petition To Resolve Billing Issues

Need help? Reach out to MDTA before the grace period ends. During this limited time, the website also gives customers the option to convert video tolls to E-ZPass or Pay-By-Plate, when video tolls are searched through Find My Tolls.

If you cannot pay all your tolls before the Dec. 14 deadline, the MDTA says drivers should pay every outstanding toll that you can to have the associated civil penalties waived and have your toll and civil penalty debts reduced.

Customers with unpaid video tolls can pay by these methods:

• Visit Find My Tolls and find tolls using the notice mailing number(s) or by checking all license plates.
• Mail the bottom portion of the notice(s) along with your check/money order (do not send cash) payable to: Maryland Transportation Authority, P.O. Box 12853, Philadelphia, PA 19176-0853
• Use the automated call system 24/7 at 1-866-320-9995 (select Option 1 for Notice of Toll Due, then enter the mailing number on the notice when prompted).
• Visit an in-person Customer Service Center to drop off the bottom portion of the notice(s) along with your check/money order (do not send cash) in designated drop boxes.