Man fights $27K in fines for express lane violations
MENIFEE, Calif. - A California man is fighting $27,000 in fines for express lane violations -- violations he says he didn't commit -- claiming the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is wrong, reports CBS Los Angeles.
Cameron Aanestad, of Menifee, is fighting collections for more than 100 violations that took place on the 91 freeway Express Lanes over the course of more than a year.
The 31-year-old father says he knew nothing of the violations because his FasTrak Pass transponder always beeped like it going through the tolls, indicating everything was in order.
He says he only learned something was wrong when a bill showed up a few months ago.
"I'm not a crook. I had no idea there was a problem," he told the station.
Aanestad reportedly shares an Express Lanes account with his mother and says her debit card was deactivated unbeknownst to the pair and they had no idea OCTA wasn't getting paid for Aanestad's trips.
He says they never got a notice, despite the OCTA having their correct address, reports the station.
"When they wanted $27,000, they knew where I was at. When they wanted it three bucks a time, ugh, crickets," he said.
In an e-mail to the station, an OCTA spokesperson said:
"We work very hard to resolve any issues that arise with people driving on the 91 Express Lanes. For the privacy of our customers, we can't discuss individual accounts. I can say that we follow the same process for any violation that occurs. Three separate notices are sent to the account holder's address for each and every violation. The first notice is sent 10 days after a violation occurs, the second notice is sent 30 days later, and a third notice is sent 60 days after that. For example, if there are 100 violations, that person will receive 300 violation notices in the mail. That's the same address where a notice would be mailed from a collection agency. If a customer receives a violation notice or has an issue with their account, we encourage them to contact us as soon as possible so we can do our best to address it."
That would mean 300 letters were sent to Aanestad, but he says that isn't the case.
"We weren't receiving hundreds of these," he told the station. "Now what I have is a collections agency threatening to put a lien on my home."
Aanestad contacted a lawyer and says he would be happy to pay the original fees, which he estimates to be $1,000.