Canada Billing New York CU Members For Highway Tolls

LATHAM, N.Y. – New York’s credit unions are receiving incomplete bills for tolls incurred by members in the western part of the state who travel in Canada. The New York State Credit Union League said credit union members traveling on Route 407 ETR (Express Toll Route) near Toronto are assessed a toll. Because there are no actual toll collectors here, the toll authority snaps a picture of the license plate and sends that information electronically to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. The DMV then responds to the request for information regarding the license plate by sending the requested data to the 407 ETR. Ideally, the 407 ETR then knows who owns the vehicle and to whom the bill should be sent, but the 407 ETR has been receiving only lienholder information from the DMV, not owner info, said Donna Chardeen, NYSCUL director of compliance. New York CUs are receiving the toll bills, which contain the license plate number but no other data to determine the plate’s owners. The credit union must either ignore the bill or become the collection agent for the 407 ETR, Chardeen said. A representative from Route 407 ETR said the highway authority has no intention of stopping the mailings to CUs or attempting to obtain plate owner information, Chardeen said. The league has mailed questionnaires to nearly 400 credit unions asking for the total number of bills they’ve received in 2003 to gather more details for a full investigation. “We hope credit unions help the league to resolve this issue once and for all,” Chardeen said. “A high response rate is essential.” [email protected]