Mystery PlatePay bill cleared after News 4 steps in
OKLAHOMA CITY, Ok (KFOR) — A PlatePay bill in the mail came as a surprise for one metro family, who claim the plate charged is one they haven't had in 22 years.
Gerry and Carol Lane owned the car in the 90s and passed the car to their daughter when she went to college.
The car and license plate haven't been attached to their name in two decades, until now when the mystery fees started popping up.
"Why would it disappear for 22 years and then all of a sudden pop up this last year? That doesn't make any sense," said Gerry Lane, who got an unknown bill from PlatePay.
Gerry Lane said he first got a bill in April for $4.40. The plate and car that was charged was registered under his wife's name in the 90s.
Lane called the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to get some answers.
"They said, oh, we'll check the video or whatever. And they checked the video and they said, yep, it's not your car, whatever, and we'll take care of the problem," said Lane.
The Lane family had one problem down, or so he thought.
"A couple of months later, I get another bill, this time with a $5 late fee on it. I called them again, and went through the whole spiel with a different person. They said they'll look at it, they'll send it to their department that takes care of these problems," said Lane.
Lane said he's called OTA four times, but more fees keep getting added. Now, his original $4 bill is up to $44.
"They also said that if we don't pay the bill, they will send it to a collection agency and then I won't be able to register, I assume that car again. If they put a freeze on it, they're putting on a freeze for whoever now owns that plate," said Lane.
OTA sent News 4 a statement in regards to the fees the Lane's are facing. They apologized and got the fees cleared.
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority would like to apologize to the Lanes for the inconvenience they experienced this year with PlatePay invoices. PlatePay works by taking an image of license plates as they travel through tolling points. Those plates are then matched to the registered vehicle owner through Service Oklahoma's database and PlatePay invoices are mailed to the address associated with that vehicle registration. The circumstances that led to this are extremely unusual. When OTA checked for the registered vehicle owner, the old owner information was provided. The Authority has taken steps to ensure the Lanes' information is no longer associated with this license plate number and again, we apologize for this error. We encourage all users of the turnpike system to ensure that their license plate information is updated on their PIKEPASS toll accounts to ensure they are charged the correct toll rate for their travel and to also ensure that their address is up to date with Service Oklahoma for their vehicle registration. This will help make sure they receive any PlatePay invoices in a timely manner. If there are questions at any point about a turnpike invoice or turnpike travel, please call our Customer Service at 1-800-PIKEPASS.
Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
Service Oklahoma also sent News 4 a statement:
Plate numbers in Oklahoma are only reissued after they have been inactive for an extended period. As a "Keep Your Plate" state, Oklahomans that are opting to utilize their existing plate are required to register and transfer their license plates to their recently purchased vehicles. Any discrepancies related to fees or questions about the PlatePay system, including ensuring license plates are up-to-date within the PlatePay system, should be directed to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA). Service Oklahoma has been in contact with the OTA on behalf of the citizen to resolve this issue and will follow up with the citizen once the matter is settled.
Service Oklahoma