SunPass

[3Unbound]

Wondering if anyone has had this happen. Ordered a SunPass from Florida that has reciprocity with EZ Pass (which handles Ohio). First time we used it was on the Ohio Turnpike, got on the turnpike at one exit traveling west then got off a few exits down the road. Later that day reversed our travel and used the same exits only traveling east. When I looked at the charges, the charge going west was $1.70, going east it was $20.00, basically they charged me from the state line to where I exited on the return trip. A call to Ohio referred me to Florida and my only option was an written appeal where I described what happened. Months went by, I contacted them several times for updates, finally received an e-mail indicating I owe the $20.00.

I think the transponder didn’t record the entrance to the turnpike correctly, but why did it open the gate and let me through? Since it was 2 states I don’t think one state could research the gate documentation thoroughly and finally after all my requests for updates they decided to just close it and not have the issue of making an accounting change to another state to deal with the refund. So I chalked it up to experience.

But my concern is using it confidently. Anyone have issues with EZ Pass in Florida or SunPass in other states? What about proper placement of the transponder- I put it to the right of the mirror and down from the top of the windshield to avoid any UV strips on the windshield- this is what is recommended on the SunPass website, and it worked on the other 3 stations where I entered and exited the Ohio turnpike. Any other reason this may have happened?

[chindog]

Some tolls are like that, with a very low cost going one way, and high cost going the opposite direction. You might want to do a search and find out the toll costs each way from the Ohio turnpike website, and take screenshots of those prices to aid in appealing the charges.

[HighDesert]

Another reason to avoid toll roads, if possible.

[BillJinOR]

Probably not the problem , but 20 bucks is the refill amount ( normally ) on the account when it get low. Seems odd it was an even 20 since tolls are normally odd amounts. I would have thought it was just refilling the “bank” .
We use an uni pass ( old E-PASS xtra ) CFX and have never had issues. Dropped dropped the sunpass

[wildmandmc]

Florida Sun Pass is a Joke. Few yrs back, notified sunpass would be unavailable to add funds as a software update would be taking place. i was low. So i added $25. used it 2x. $4.00 total . Later Fla had a Hurricaine , tolls were suspended
And their software was still out. Didn't go thru/over toll roads. Got rid of Car with transponder, It was removed from car. Later got another car, went online to see about adding that, Said i owed $1.50. Last time i checked site i had a $18 credit. Emailed them, Said to pay the $1.50 never said anything about my $18 Credit.. Never Will i Ever use that again..

[3Unbound]

Thanks for the responses and I hadn't thought about different costs for the same route but in the opposite direction. And I need to apologize, I was writing this from memory and one of the posts caused me to look at the actual charges on my account from last year, the real charge was $1.75 going west and $15.00 going east, I believe that is the charge from the state line to my exit so it was essentially a penalty charge for not having recorded the correct turnpike entrance, which I argued was not my fault.

The staff at SunPass is clearly overworked, I waited on the phone for 50 mins once and the agent seemed very rushed. A complex system like this is bound to have educational and technical glitches and I doubt the profit margin is enough to cover the necessary customer service. My only goal in the post was to see if others had similar issues technically and if I could do anything to reduce those issues, and if not, should I have less confidence in the product going forward. Thanks for helping.

[Jabber Jaw]

I would suggest a Florida "E-Pass", & get rid of the Sun Pass.

"E-Pass" works well everywhere I've been, East of the Mississippi.
I am venturing out West this summer, so will find out firsthand, if it is recognized as advertised!

Easy to "auto-fill", & I've tested it in my substantial contributions to the "toll roads" in the East!

[ArtJoyce]

I had it with the e-pass on the IN turn pike. Went 3 exits charged the longest length I could have driven. I came to the conclusion. The E-pass works fine to pay ezpass pay as you cross defined tolls. But does not work right for accumulate how much you will pay based on toll schedule.

My solution was to get a ILpass which is a ezpass. I use it for ezpass roads. It does not have anual fees. And out of the ezpass states with out a anual fee I might use their roads. Not all ezpass states give ezpass discounts to out of state ezpass's.

I now reserve my epass for FL and a couple of other states with pay as you go like NC.

[Fanukalum]

Originally Posted by BillJinOR

Probably not the problem , but 20 bucks is the refill amount ( normally ) on the account when it get low. Seems odd it was an even 20 since tolls are normally odd amounts. I would have thought it was just refilling the “bank” .
We use an uni pass ( old E-PASS xtra ) CFX and have never had issues. Dropped dropped the sunpass

X2 for Uni pass
Removable so can be placed in toad and used for local travel while RV is parked.

[NXR]

I live in Ohio and have the Uni from Florida, and had its predecessor the E-PassXtra.

The Ohio Turnpike charges the same amount in each direction. If the transponder is not read then the Ohio gate does not open. That happened to me and why my E-PassXtra was replaced with the Uni.

This was an Ohio problem for you.

Does your online bill confirm the gate number you got on at?

Ray

[3Unbound]

Thanks everyone for the info, I thought it was strange that the gate opened triggered by the Sunpass but did not record the event properly for the charges, sounds like if the unit doesn't function properly the gate doesn't open as well, and my experience with gate working but not recording the charges is very unusual.

[3Unbound]

And yes, Ray, the correct exit was recorded on the invoice, in both directions.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by 3Unbound

And yes, Ray, the correct exit was recorded on the invoice, in both directions.

And the entrance gate?

[3Unbound]

This is what happened, I got on the Ohio Turnpike at Strongsville, the gate opened, but appears the entrance code was not recorded properly, when I exited the Turnpike at Lorain, the gate opened and I was charged $15.00, the price from the state line to Lorain. On the return trip I entered the Turnpike in Lorain and the gate opened, exited at Strongsville and the gate opened and I was charged $1.75, the correct fee. It boils down to the entrance code not being recorded but the gate opening nonetheless, and Sunpass based in Florida was not able to recognize that, nor able or willing to get the information from the Ohio Turnpike database to prove that and correct my bill, so they let it stand. Appears no one else has had that experience, with any company that provides toll passes, and I'll keep my Sunpass and hope it was a rare occurrence and will not happen again.

And I wanted input to see if I was placing on the windshield properly, in a higher vehicle, because I was placing it to the right of the mirror as suggested on their website.

But it will be valuable if anyone hears of anything like that happening, because recording of gate codes is the basic business model of these companies, and if we can't trust that, well the business may lose customers.