Dallas / Fort Worth Local News

NORTH TEXAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ― Drivers say they didn't see it coming. Arrest warrants, possible jail time, collection agencies, all because they didn't have a toll tag and the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) says they never paid the toll.

Dallas Broughton says he paid the toll in cash at a booth. But he claims the NTTA linked his license plate to an expired TollTag and called it a violation. Broughton says despite his best efforts, the NTTA told him, "We have no proof of you paying the toll."

Dallas owed $4.20 in tolls but the NTTA tacked on another $25 per violation. Dallas paid the total fine of $279, but he says a warrant was still issued, costing him more money. "Each time it is $380 for those warrants."

Last year, Robert Tilka used the President George Bush Turnpike for a few months to see his doctor. The NTTA tagged him with a $416 bill. "For every dollar toll I missed there was a $25 administration fee and a letter that said if I didn't pay I would be assessed $275 additional for every toll." That would make Tilka's bill $4,950 for just $16 in tolls.

Tilka doesn't have a TollTag and says he paid when he got on and got off the turnpike. He passed through TollTag lanes only on the turnpike, but thought the NTTA would bill him using his license plate, because that is what they did when he drove on Highway 121. Instead, he says the NTTA demanded its money, telling him, "We can cut these down to $160." But that was still too much for Tilka. He told them, "I'm not going to pay those bogus fees." Tilka says the response was, "basically, tough".

CBS 11 News called around to other major tollways and turnpikes around the country. The NTTA charges some of the highest fees for a violation, $25, plus the toll for each one. Of the agencies CBS 11 spoke with, the NTTA is the only one that has a police agency issue a citation and if a driver doesn't pay, an arrest warrant can be issued.

State Senator Jane Nelson of Flower Mound is very familiar with the problem. "This has gotten out of hand and we need to do something about it," she said. Nelson says she has received calls and emails from constituents with similar complaints and has asked the NTTA to make changes. "They're telling me that they're working on it. I don't think they're working quickly enough."

Allen Clemson is the executive director of the NTTA. CBS 11 News wanted to know why the agency doesn't cut drivers a break. Clemson points out the NTTA needs to stop scofflaws from abusing the system and that it's unfair to everyone who does pay.

The $25 administrative fee is something NTTA is reviewing, but Clemson says the agency needs the additional administrative fee to pay the cost of going after toll violators.

Records show, since 2008, the NTTA has collected more than $11 million in administrative fees. In an email to CBS 11 the agency claims all that money is, "additional revenue and used to cover operations and maintenance costs of the NTTA." But Texas law says administrative fees are to "Recover the cost of collecting the unpaid toll."

State Senator Nelson was clear that the fees should not be relied on "…as a revenue stream. That was never the intention. It's the wrong way to look at this," she said.

CBS 11 found the NTTA administration sometimes makes up rules to suit its own needs. In Dallas Brougton's case, he had 11 violations from May to July 2008. The NTTA waited until September to notify him of the first violation, apparently breaking its own rule. According to Clemson, "In a 30 day period, if you have four transactions you get a bill, but it's not standard but that is the rule."

Tilka says the NTTA waited six weeks to bill him and his case went to collections. When told of the issues Clemson said, "I see the problem. We are looking at it."

The NTTA states 92-percent of drivers pay on time. Under certain circumstances the NTTA will forgive part of the $25 administrative fee. The agency says it will revisit the policy for charging fees during October's board meeting.

Click here to see a breakdown of NTTA toll collection expenses.

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