Man Gets Billed for Stolen Car's Toll-Skipping
NBCDFW.com
A Dallas man is refusing to pay toll charges racked up by the thieves who stole his car in February.
February wasn't a good month for Joe Redmond.
Thieves stole his work car from his business and caused several thousands of dollars in building damage.
June and July are not turning out much better.
Redmond received a bill from the North Texas Tollway Authority for toll charges racked by the thieves after they took his Chevrolet Impala.
He said the bill wasn't for much -- only $3.79 -- so he called the NTTA to explain.
"I said I didn't have the car, I didn't own the car at that time (and) explained to them what happened," Redmond said. "They said, 'Fax us the documentation that the car was stolen.' I'm thinking, 'Send the fax, this will take care of it.'"
But it wasn't enough.
Even after sending the insurance documentation that stated that the insurance company recognized the car was stolen and that it were going to pay out, the NTTA wanted more.
Redmond also sent a piece of paper he received from Dallas police with the stolen vehicle report number.
But the NTTA said they needed the actual police report, which could cost more than the fines.
So Redmond decided to not pay, because he did all he could.
"My time has been spent," he said. "I didn't own the car. It's a waste of their time. It's a waste of my time. And out of principle, I'm not going to pay the $3.79."
"It would be easy for me to just give them a credit card, or send them 379 pennies, but I'm not going to do that," Redmond said.
But he received a letter Tuesday from the NTTA saying he's late on payment -- and now owes more than $6.
"It's 100 percent principle of this," Redmond said. "If the tollway authority wants to come after me for $6.29 and continue to do it, they're more than welcome to do that. And I'm now not going to send them 629 pennies for the $6.29 that I owe them."
Redmond said he is even willing to get a lawyer to prove his point.
Luckily, he won't have to.
When made aware of the situation, an NTTA official told NBCDFW.COM that once the agency can verify the car was stolen, it will forgive the fees.
And despite the frustration, Redmond said it won't change his driving habits.
"Even though I'm mad, I'll still drive on the tollway," he said.
Posted Tuesday, Jul 28, 2009 - 10:00 PM CST
