On the FasTrak

[kevin_standlee]

I use a FasTrak toll transponder. Today, while going through the San Mateo Bridge toll plaza, the sign that says it has read the transponder showed me a message I don't recall ever seeing: LOW BAL ETC.

As I drove along, I realized what was wrong. My primary credit card was reissued a few days ago with a new number for security reasons. That's the card to which toll replenishments are billed. The balance in my account had dipped below the replinishment amount but the first attempt to recharge it had failed on account of the card number on the account was no longer valid.

When I got to the office, I logged in to my FasTrak account and fixed the billing. There was a backup billing, so I wouldn't have been totally hosed, but I was down to only one more trip across one of the Bay Area bridges.

Comments

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

I had a similar problem with our FastLane (which co-exists with New York's EZPass) two years ago. My checking account had been debited in the past, but I wanted to switch over to credit card (because we closed the second checking account) transaction. FastLane, however, didn't make it easy -- we couldn't do the transaction by telephone or web, and they wouldn't accept a fax. I had to print the forms from the web site, fill them in by hand, and mail them.

And they wonder why people in a high-tech state get annoyed...