Do We Really Need PikePass Anymore?

[rebound]

Brings a thought into my head... car was towed by storey a few weeks ago, they apparently took my car on the Creek turnpike to the shop when I was headed west on the BA Expressway.  Only discovered this when looking at my statement this past month.  Is there any experience here with disputes or clarifications on that stuff through either storey or the turnpike authority?  Does a car on a flatbed have any expectations of toll payment?  Wouldn't that be rolled into the payment made by a the wrecker crew?  Just guessing I'm technically being double-billed for that 70cents, since they likely upcharged me for the turnpike.

70 cents?  Also, you actually read your toll tag bill?  Some things are just not worth the time spent doing...

[Hoss]

70 cents?  Also, you actually read your toll tag bill?  Some things are just not worth the time spent doing...

Really?

I hope you read your bank statement.

[rebound]

Really?

I hope you read your bank statement.

Honestly, no.  But I have someone who does it for me. 

My point though was that 70 cents is not worth messing with. We have everything set up through auto-pay, and very little is directly charged to our checking.  We route everything through CC's, and those statements we DO look at.  But even then we'd never notice a small charge.

It's kind of like people who look at the details of their phone bills to see if they actually made a specific call.  I just don't have time for it.

[patric]

It's kind of like people who look at the details of their phone bills to see if they actually made a specific call.  I just don't have time for it.

Its a tip-of-the-iceberg argument.  Noticing a small computer error might lead down the trail to a larger issue.

[Red Arrow]

We have everything set up through auto-pay, and very little is directly charged to our checking. 

I hope you never have the difficulty my father had terminating a trial subscription to the Wall Street Journal through American Express.

[cannon_fodder]

Sure, check to make sure it isn't a recurring charge.  But there is an explanation to the $0.70 charge that makes it a one time thing... and while it probably should be reversed.  But if your time is worth at least $10 an hour, you've got about 4 minutes to tackle that issue before it isn't worth bothering with.

[saintnicster]

70 cents?  Also, you actually read your toll tag bill?  Some things are just not worth the time spent doing...

Really?

I hope you read your bank statement.

Yep.  I use YouNeedABudget to do my budgeting and track my spending.  I also use a K*Tag for the turnpike rather a PikePass, since I like that they only bill my CC when I owe over $10 in a month.  I tracked the KTag account when I was doing more work travel to Wichita.

and yeah, 70cents isn't much.  I had discovered it before Christmas, but had actually just dismissed it.  If it's something as simple as a call, I might do that

It's kind of like people who look at the details of their phone bills to see if they actually made a specific call.  I just don't have time for it.

I very rarely use my pass, and when I do, it is generally the same route.  Really easy to glance and see the outlier.

Its a tip-of-the-iceberg argument.  Noticing a small computer error might lead down the trail to a larger issue.

It's really this.  The new story about license plates for tolls reminded me about a story where someone got an automatic ticket when the wrecker was speeding. There was even a picture from the traffic camera to prove that they weren't on the ground.

[saintnicster]

Sure, check to make sure it isn't a recurring charge.  But there is an explanation to the $0.70 charge that makes it a one time thing... and while it probably should be reversed.  But if your time is worth at least $10 an hour, you've got about 4 minutes to tackle that issue before it isn't worth bothering with.

The argument might make more sense if I was constantly earning money all the time.  There's plenty of the time during the day where I'm wasting time, so I could I swap this for any of those activities and I'm already doing better.  Say this even takes 10 minutes, of which 5 is spent on hold (being an optimist).  Maybe that hold time could be spent chopping vegetables or watching the pasta water boil for dinner.

There's also the theory that if people complain enough about something, they might eventually fix the issue. Optimistic, I know, but again, probably a better use of time than flipping through the same reddit articles again

[rebound]

I hope you never have the difficulty my father had terminating a trial subscription to the Wall Street Journal through American Express.

That's an interesting one.   I ran into this years ago.  Can't remember the publication or circumstances, but it was beyond frustrating.   Periodical subscriptions and similar is one area where I/we will not set up automatic recurring payments.  We generally do one year at a time, and have to manually renew.  I've dropped a few inadvertently over the years, but that's better than keeping something I don't want.

And yes, in general to this topic, I get "nickeled and dimed" (sp?) all the time on stuff like this because (to me) it's not worth the time to protest the charges.  To each his own.  I did get a chuckle out of Cannon Fodder's "chopping vegetables or watching the pasta water boil" comment.  Throw in a glass of wine, and I'd let a lot more than .70 slide just to not have to mess with it.

[cannon_fodder]

The argument might make more sense if I was constantly earning money all the time.  There's plenty of the time during the day where I'm wasting time. . .

There's also the theory that if people complain enough about something, they might eventually fix the issue. . .

Of course that's true, but free time - even wasted free time, has value too.  My time from 8pm to 10pm where I basically BS with my wife, watch something stupid, read a book, or sit in the hot tub is more valuable than $10 an hour to do something else or I'd go down the street and get an evening shift at a fast food joint.  If I had a guaranteed 70 cents for spending 15 minutes, 10, or even 5 minutes dealing with some overcharge issue... there is no way I'd invest staring at the wall time for it.

If it fixes a recurring issue on your account, or is trying to fix something for the greater good - have at it (likely Pikepass is powerless to "fix it" and Story doesn't give a damn).  Hell, if you view it as justice and need action, great.  But as an economic proposition, it isn't worth the hassle.

[Red Arrow]

There was even a picture from the traffic camera to prove that they weren't on the ground.

That doesn't matter to the fine collectors.

[patric]

They want the ability to digitally track citizens.  It makes red light cameras easier.  It makes tickets on the turnpike easier.  It makes auto-speed tickets easier.  And it makes putting up random scanners to track everyone easier.  Which is good because, you know, small government and stuff.

Why not be honest about it so we can have a real debate?

You amuse me, Mister Bond.

Driver Uses Remote-Controlled Cover To Hide License Plate At Tolls

Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrested Joshua Concepcion-West, 27, on Wednesday after a trooper noticed him in the act of hiding his license plate with a remote-controlled device, an arrest report said.

The trooper happened to be driving behind Concepcion-West when he saw a black cover come down over the suspect's license plate just before the car went through the toll plaza.

After crossing the toll, the cover raised.

Last summer, 9 Investigates highlighted the lengths some drivers go to in order to skirt cameras enforcing the tolls, including infrared lights around plates. Many devices are sold online for $50.

Troopers said they had never seen anything quite like it before and demonstrated how it worked. The device, controlling the black screen cover, hung from the key chain and used a button just like an alarm control.

"So for a $1.25 toll, he now has a felony charge."

A felony charge does seem a bit disproportionate, though.

[saintnicster]

You amuse me, Mister Bond.


A felony charge does seem a bit disproportionate, though.

Are there multiple degrees of tax evasion?

[cannon_fodder]

Sadly, I read the comments to an article about that.  25% were ripping the guy for tax evasion, not paying his fair share, and trying to cheat the system.  25% were angry with the police officer for oppressing a citizen, wasting taxpayer funds, and making a big deal out of nothing.  And 50% applauded the guy for evading taxes, talked about how stupid tolls were, and generally ranted against the government.

I sighed and returned to the land where roads pay for themselves magically and are utilized by foam hooved unicorns, thereby needing no maintenance. 

Income taxes:  unconstitutional (in spite of constitutional amendment directly on point), unfair, socialism, big government!
Sales taxes:  ineffective, encourages the black market, keeps small businesses down!
Corporate taxes:  corporations aren't people, only people really pay taxes so this doesn't really even exist!
Use taxes:  This is crap!
Bad roads:  This government sucks and can't even keep the roads nice!

[Conan71]

Sadly, I read the comments to an article about that.  25% were ripping the guy for tax evasion, not paying his fair share, and trying to cheat the system.  25% were angry with the police officer for oppressing a citizen, wasting taxpayer funds, and making a big deal out of nothing.  And 50% applauded the guy for evading taxes, talked about how stupid tolls were, and generally ranted against the government.

I sighed and returned to the land where roads pay for themselves magically and are utilized by foam hooved unicorns, thereby needing no maintenance. 

Income taxes:  unconstitutional (in spite of constitutional amendment directly on point), unfair, socialism, big government!
Sales taxes:  ineffective, encourages the black market, keeps small businesses down!
Corporate taxes:  corporations aren't people, only people really pay taxes so this doesn't really even exist!
Use taxes:  This is crap!
Bad roads:  This government sucks and can't even keep the roads nice!

I'm reading a book about the birth and death of short haul railroads in NE New Mexico around the turn of the last century.  It shows why a private free market approach to transportation is essentially impossible to sustain over the long haul.