NC driver charged for taking the NC Tollway despite not driving it

CLAYTON, N.C. (WTVD) — Every time a car passes through these North Carolina toll collection sites while driving the NC Expressway, a camera takes a picture of your license plate and the state sends you a bill.

Mona Raymond’s husband got one of these bills.

Raymond says, “He’s like, I don’t think I take the tollway.” Living in Clayton, and not remembering driving the expressway, the Raymond’s called NC Quick Pass customer service and disputed the charges.

“They pulled the license plate and it said, the Nissan, but when they looked at the picture of where they captured, it was a whole different vehicle like a white SUV,” added Raymond.

It was a completely different car than Raymond’s own.

From the picture on the toll bill, at first glance, it may appear to be their license plate, but a bike rack is blocking the full view of the plate.

Raymond said customer service refunded what they paid in tolls since it was not their vehicle.

However, the next month another bill came in the mail and it wasn’t so easy this time when they called customer service.

Raymond said, “You’ll have to wait. It’ll be reviewed, but a manager never reached back out to us.”

A representative with the NC Quick Pass confirmed the Raymond’s aren’t responsible for the charges, but instead another car with a similar license plate with a bike rack that is obstructing the full plate, causing it to be misread.

The representative added that they’ve flagged both license plates in the system to require a manual review of all future transactions, so the Raymond’s will not receive someone else’s bill.

This is a good reminder to always check your bills, you don’t just want to pay them before making sure you’re responsible for all of the charges.