Rental Car Customer Mistakenly Fined For Toll Violations
February 16, 2010
DECATUR, Ga. -- Dottie Merlin said she will not be renting a car from Enterprise
anytime soon. This comes after she received a violation notice for failure to pay
tolls.
"I tried to explain to them that I didn't do it," said Merlin.
Merlin was fined $51 by the state for driving through the Georgia 400 toll in a
rental car not once, but twice.
"It's not the money. If I did it I would pay it, but I didn't do it," said Merlin.
Not only did she say she didn't do it, Merlin had the paperwork to prove it. She
returned the rental car on Nov. 11, 2009 at 12:28 p.m. According to the State Road
and Tollway Authority, the first toll violation occurred at 5:05 p.m. the same day.
That's nearly five hours after Merlin returned the car. The second violation occurred
a day after that on Nov. 12, 2009.
"Someone has taken the car after I returned it and used it," said Merlin.
Merlin turned to CBS Atlanta news for help after she said she tried unsuccessfully
for three months to resolve the issue.
"I'm surprised Enterprise didn't take care of this. They created the problem. I
didn't," said Merlin.
The State Road and Tollway Authority sent Merlin a notice today after CBS Atlanta
exposed the problem. The notice said, "After receiving the required information
from you, it has been determined that you are not responsible for this toll violation
notice. We were given incorrect information from the car rental company."
"CBS Atlanta gets action, right?" asked CBS Atlanta Reporter Adam Murphy. "Yes,
I've seen it done before and that's the reason we called you," said Merlin.
The State Road and Tollway Authority said they will work with Enterprise to determine
who is responsible for the toll violations. Meanwhile, Enterprise told CBS Atlanta
Monday they are sorry for the mistake.
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