Toll penalty problems aggravate Maryland residents as grace period for paying fines ends

BALTIMORE -- Some people are outraged by the outstanding balances associated with Maryland's toll penalties and question whether the fines truly belong to them.

One woman says she recently received an E-ZPass bill for $898. Some of those fines were associated with the wrong license plate number, she said.

Ms. Thompson—who didn't want to appear on camera—says she tried to dispute the fine at the Maryland Transportation Authority office this week.

She said she was told that if she did not pay her bill by Nov. 30 that it would jump to more than $7,000.

Thompson told WJZ that she doesn't understand why she owes so much money or why she wasn't notified of the fines sooner.

"It was just crazy to me because that's what they told me there," she said. "But when I called over the phone, they told me over nine grand."

Thompson is one of many people working to address their toll fines ahead of the end of a nine-month grace period that the Maryland Transportation Authority established that waives late fees for civil penalties.

The grace period ends at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30.

Thompson said she doesn't understand how she could have racked up so many fines.

She said she typically pays her E-ZPass tolls over the phone and early on whenever she receives a bill.

This month Thompson began receiving boxes in the mail filled with notices of unpaid E-Z pass tolls—some from 2020 and 2019.

"Ya'll are sending out mail months and months late and we're the ones that are suffering behind it," she said. "It's just not fair."

Thompson isn't alone in this struggle.

Last week, a Baltimore County family told WJZ that they received a $2,800 E-ZPass bill that said they would owe $14,000 if they didn't pay the outstanding fine before the grace period ended.

"I was working during COVID," Robert Loudermilk of Baltimore County said. "I could have paid all this throughout the time. Send me weekly bills. Not this. Not this way. Not a trap, you know?"

A spokesperson for the Maryland Transportation Authority said the agency can't comment on specific customer accounts for privacy reasons.

The spokesperson said that video toll balances delayed over the pandemic were posted online in September and that the transit authority has been sending out regular notices about the grace period.