Lawyers That Defend Failure To Pay Tollway Tickets
214-321-4105
If you are having issues with the North Texas Tollway Authority it is good to have a general understanding of the complexities that are at play. NTTA ticket lawyers will be the first to tell you that there are many moving parts to a failure to pay tollway ticket. If an attorney does not understand or comprehend all of the various angles of a failure to pay tollway ticket, then it can cause big trouble to the clients that they intend to help. This article is a general outline of some of the main issues our NTTA ticket attorneys deal with on a daily basis. If you would like to talk with a failure to pay tollway ticket defense lawyer after reading this article, feel free to contact our office at 214-321-4105.
The Invoices For Tollway Runs
The invoices are the first collection action that the NTTA will take against a driver. They start off friendly enough by listing the toll runs alleged and the amount that was accrued as a result of the runs. The official statement on invoices from the NTTA website on invoices is as follows:
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A TollTag customer will receive an invoice for tolls at the higher ZipCash rate if:(1) the customer fails to update the account with correct vehicle or credit card information,(2) the customer does not maintain enough funds in the account to pay the applicable tolls.If you received new license plates or if you moved your hard-case TollTag to a different car, the NTTA’s tolling systems may not be able to post tolls to your TollTag account. Instead, ZipCash invoices are mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle according to Texas Department of Motor Vehicles records.
Administrative Fees For Unpaid Invoices
The administrative fees and the assessment of those fees have been highly disputed for years. In some cases the NTTA was alleged to have charged as much as $20,000.00 in administrative fees. However, they were sued in federal court over the issue and have now fallen into line with the spirit of the law that allows for these types of administrative fees. Normally the fees can be around 10% to 20% of the total amount of the invoices alleged. This can be excessive in some cases however. It is always good to consult a lawyer about the amount of administrative fees alleged to be owed and what is proper under the law.
Habitual Violator Notices
The official statement of habitual violator notices from the NTTA website is as follows:
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Each year, millions of North Texans and visitors travel on NTTA toll roads. About 92 percent of them pay for their use of toll roads and the maintenance, safety, monitoring, and reliable travel that come with it. But a small percentage does not pay their share. Instead, these drivers routinely ignore multiple invoices, disregard summons to appear at hearings, and refuse to pay what they owe for using the toll road.
In 2013, NTTA began implementing new penalties for habitual violators (defined as registered vehicle owners who have 100 or more unpaid tolls in a year and have been issued two nonpayment notices) that include:
- Requiring all tolls at the higher ZipCash rate plus all incurred administrative fees
- A vehicle registration block
- An order prohibiting the operation of a vehicle owned by a habitual toll violator on NTTA toll roads
- A violation citation – Class C misdemeanor
- Vehicle impoundment upon proof of repeated violation of the order of prohibition.
A person can dispute the declaration of habitual violator however. So if you get a habitual violator notice, make sure you consult an attorney immediately.
Registration Blocks On Vehicles For Unpaid Tolls
The official statement from the NTTA on registration blocks can be found by clicking this link. The bottom line is that a registration block cannot occur without first being designated as a habitual violator. If you have already been designated as a habitual violator, then you are going to have to negotiate with the NTTA to have the registration block removed. An attorney can assist you with the negotiation process to make sure you are not being overcharged in an attempt to take advantage of you because of the registration block.
Hire A Lawyer To Help Deal With The NTTA
As you can see from reading this article, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to defending NTTA cases. It is imperative that you defend your case properly to avoid having registration blocks or warrants issued for your arrest in relation to failure to pay tollway tickets. Take the time to contact an NTTA lawyer to discuss your matter further. If you would like to talk with our NTTA ticket attorneys regarding your case, feel free to call us at 214-321-4105.