toll roads around Chicago - crazy question

kbird

Hi ladies - hoping you guys can help me.  My family flew into Chicago this past Thursday.  We headed out 90w, and during the next 24 hrs found ourselves having to run some of those 60 cent change only tolls. 

 My daughter had a medical emergency - was picked up by an ambulance near Woodstock (Huntley?) - my husband proceeded to run some tolls as he was following the ambulance.  Then in the wee hours on the way home from the ER, we had to run some more - due to being clueless about where we were, taking wrong exits, then having to get back on 90.

 So once home, DH goes to the website for toll runners.  But we were in a rental car, so we can't really use the site as it asks for info we don't know.

 So we're wondering what we can expect to happen?  I would imagine the rental car companies would love to stick it to us - of course we declined the e-z pass thing they offered us.  I'm sure this can be traced back to us, and a couple dollars in delinquent tolls will become some jacked up fee the rental care company charges us.

hoping some of you might know about this? Thank you!!

calex33

I would call the rental company and explain what happened.  Tell them that you tried to pay the tolls online, but couldn't because you didn't have the necessary info.  That way, they can either give you the info you need or you have, at least, contacted them to let them know that you are aware of the tolls and are not trying to get out of paying them.  Knowing Chicago/Illinois, they will get their money in some way, so it's better to be proactive rather than have them hunt you down 5 years from now!  Lol!

 I hope your daughter is ok!

JennyQ1985

Hope everything is alright with your daughter!

 

How many tolls did you run through?  You have like 5 free passes or something like that before they ticket you in the mail.

mbs79

The most likely result will be that the rental company will receive the ticket(s).  They will then track you down in the database and send a note to you requesting the fees owed.  Don't worry though, the toll ticket is usually just for the amount of the toll.  However, if you don't pay, they'll stick it to you for a couple hundred bucks.  Hope that helps.  More importantly, hope your daughter is well.

kbird

Thanks guys - that helps.  My daughter is doing just fine now.  Basically her bladder "froze" and she couldn't pee - she had a super full bladder - hadn't pee'd in over 24 hours - and started having severe pain.  It was awful to be in a strange city with a 3yr old who was screaming in pain.  But we went home early and seemed to conquer our fear of peeing in airports and airplanes :-)

chicagobride_07

This happened to me a few years ago, with the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco.  I had a rental car for a prolonged period while I was in grad school there- one month through Dollar and the second month through Hertz.  My transponder was not working correctly (I didn't know this at the time) and since the car was a rental, they couldn't trace the tickets back to me.

Both rental car agencies forwarded the tickets to me.  Hertz was great- they basically made me aware of the tickets and the associated charges so I could address the matter.  Dollar was awful- they charged something like a $60 service fee (for each ticket, in addition to the amount of the ticket itself!) and charged this directly to my credit card without informing me.  It was a major pain to correct this.

I would notify your rental car company as soon as you can and ask them for guidance on how to proceed. 

goldengirlsgonewild

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MrsMLRB

I may have out dated information but when I forgot to  change my IPASS to my new license plate in 2008 and the machines malfunctioned and did not take tolls from my account on one trip, they sent me a bill with the fines plus $20 per missed toll which adds up quickly. It also took them about 6 months to send it to me (though it was due in 2 weeks). When I called and explained that I had an IPASS but forgot to change the license plate, they said it was my responsibility to change the information (they are right). They only removed the fines when I pointed out it took them 6 months to figure out I hadn't changed my license plate. They still charge me to doubled price as oppose to the IPASS price. I would call the rental company ASAP and call the State of IL DOT people as well.