Lesson learned; PLEASE check your credit card statements!

[JeffKeryk]

My Costco Citi Exec card is on auto-pay; admittedly I just let 'er rip. This is perhaps common in today's automated world. I use it for just about everything so I get a big fat annual rebate...

A few days back I glanced at my statement and noticed FasTrack for $305. FasTrack is CA service for bridge tolls, Lexus lanes, etc. I travel across the GG Bridge about twice a month, so that's $20 or so. $305 is a lotta bridge crossings! So I did a little more review and found $305 almost every month for at least a year and a half. The lowest was about $180. Close to $5K in what I looked at.

I checked my FasTrack account; it had my cars and transactions. Sure enough, generally 2 GG crossings per month, but nothing more. This is to our home in beautiful Petaluma (American Grafitti). And the billing goes to my bank account, not the Citi credit card; it is not associated with FasTrak.

FasTrak rep told me that credit card was associated with another FasTrak account, not mine. But he wouldn't tell me who; that was against policy. He would not let me stop the monthly billing charges! Against policy, but he would send the other account "a note". I cancelled my Citi card and they will send me another.

Turns out a few years back I bought and fixed up a 1998 Camry 4 banger for a needy family. The father died unexpectly; his brother took the car, even though it was meant for the Mother and 3 kids. So it's been flying on the Lexus lanes and bridges on my dime. Sheesh.

I will likely be credited; Citi has been phenominal. It is being treated as fraud. Not done yet. So I feel kinda stupid. Please review your statements. Stuff happens.

 

[dishdude]

That must have been your FastTrack account (yes misspelled) we were all getting the texts about a few months ago

 

[Nukeman7]

So how was your CC associated with the guy driving the Camry? Is the FasTrack tied to the license plate on the Camry that you donated to the family?

I am assuming that in California the license plates stay with a vehicle when ownership is transferred. If so, aren't you culpable for not removing the vehicle from your FasTrack account?

 

[oilboy123]

That is bull they can't stop the new charges......

I can see not giving out information on the guy, seeing how some people will take them out. . Even though he is scum. You have a lot higher income then me....... I would have noticed that real quick

 

[JeffKeryk]

So how was your CC associated with the guy driving the Camry? Is the FasTrack tied to the license plate on the Camry that you donated to the family?

I am assuming that in California the license plates stay with a vehicle when ownership is transferred. If so, aren't you culpable for not removing the vehicle from your FasTrack account?

Yes, it was the licence plate.
The Camry was never on my FasTrak account. However, when I bought and drove the car home across the GG Bridge, the licence plate was scanned for the toll. The previous owner called me; I'm sure I must have I paid the bill with my Citi card. That's the hook, but this was a 1 time payment.

This car was never added to my FasTrak account; I only had it for about a week. There is no history of it on my account. Other vehicles have a start and end date listed. Again, there is no record of that Camry on my account.
I don't think the Citi card was ever linked to my FasTrak account; it certainly is not now.

FasTrak told me my Citi card was currently associated with another FasTrak account, not just the car. The rep told me he could do something if I knew the account holder's name. How the heck would I know that? He agreed their policy did not make sense and that I was the victim. He did help me by saying, "I cannot confirm nor deny that sounds like the owner and the car in question." The family I gave the car to were Pacific Islanders, so their names are somewhat unique. The Camry in question was a 1998. He emphasized I was on the right track (without explicitly saying so) and advised me to cancel my card.

I am pretty sure I now have the name of the current owner; I will call FasTrak tomorrow.

Ultimately I would humbly ask that my experience not deter others from trying to help others. Stuff happens. In the big scheme of things, it ain't nuthin'.

 

[JeffKeryk]

That is bull they can't stop the new charges......

I can see not giving out information on the guy, seeing how some people will take them out. . Even though he is scum. You have a lot higher income then me....... I would have noticed that real quick

I told the rep, "This is my card! Why can't I stop the charges?" Ya gotta laugh; what's a poor boy to do?

Not sure about the income, but your accounting skills are smarter than mine. Well done!

 

[HemiBenny]

This is why I manually pay my balance in full every Saturday morning.
I’ve heard, “You’re not gaining anything by paying it early and every week, why would you do that?”
I know I’m not gaining anything, but I’m not losing anything either. It’s easier to track spending and look over a week’s worth of charges than a whole month’s worth of charges. Usually, people can remember what they spent and where they spent it over a week’s time. A whole month’s worth? Not as easy. We use the CC for everything.
We get notifications every time our card is charged, but it never hurts to make sure that everything lines up.

 

[JoelB]

I'm not sure it would be possible for me to not immediately notice a $40 bill going to $300. I watch my bank account like a hawk for this reason.

 

[Astro14]

I review every charge, on every account, on every statement. Sometimes, it takes me a few minutes to figure out what a particular charge is, and I am often shocked by my spending, but I get it resolved, or fill out the fraud form.

Every statement.

Every month.

Don’t let it go this long.

 

[Pablo]

I review every charge, on every account, on every statement. Sometimes, it takes me a few minutes to figure out what a particular charge is, and I am often shocked by my spending, but I get it resolved, or fill out the fraud form.

Every statement.

Every month.

Don’t let it go this long.

This!

And just another reason I left CA in the early 1980's.

 

[PWMDMD]

I'd be lying if I said I reconcile everything to the penny and my wife does most of the purchasing for the household. I do look daily or every other day just to see if anything looks suspicious but I wouldn't notice if a charge for $20.25 was supposed to be $18.35, unless I was the one who made the purchase. I would however notice what should be $20 is now $300.

 

[SeaJay]

I have to get out more often, I would have assumed that most everyone takes a look at the charges on their credit card statement before they pay the bill.

 

[cptbarkey]

Hopefully you saved the sales documentation. I've had this happen a few times selling vehicles in Texas, I submitted it to the state, and the toll agencies and things worked themselves out. I didnt pay a dime.

 

[thastinger]

You can set your CC to notify you of charges over an amount you preset. I have mine set this way so I can get depressed post grocery shopping etc. when it reminds me how much I spent.

 

[MaximumMini]

There's actually a lot of this going on across all kinds of entities and platforms. Look, if you get over charged or double charged, or never receive a refund and never notice it you lose they win. There is no penalty whatsoever for "accidental over charging".

Insurance companies are delaying paying claims today more than ever. When I asked my physicians about it they said it's happening across the board and the reason is that if they can hold onto a very large sum of money, even one day longer...the profits can be enormous.

How much could you make in 24 hours on a billion bucks even at 5% (5 million bucks).
But the insurance companies probably get far better than 5% return
New mansions, Jets and Yachts !

 

[JHZR2]

Hopefully you saved the sales documentation. I've had this happen a few times selling vehicles in Texas, I submitted it to the state, and the toll agencies and things worked themselves out. I didnt pay a dime.

I’ve bought a few cars in CA. I learned that the tag stays with the car, not the owner. For example, when I bought my 1985 190D, it had the original blue ca plates, so they became mine since they stay with the vehicle. Perhaps ca dmv really wants them surrendered, I don’t know, but I have a few sets now. NJ dmv almost wouldn’t take the title as it was a tiny little rectangle, literally, the “pink slip”, not the large embossed document we have around here.

Point is, tolls should have become associated with the new registration of the same tag, I would think/hope. So OP perhaps needs to check more, because the owner may be driving unregistered, and the car is still associated with OP’s short ownership.

 

[MaximumMini]

I’ve bought a few cars in CA. I learned that the tag stays with the car, not the owner. For example, when I bought my 1985 190D, it had the original blue ca plates, so they became mine since they stay with the vehicle. Perhaps ca dmv really wants them surrendered, I don’t know, but I have a few sets now. NJ dmv almost wouldn’t take the title as it was a tiny little rectangle, literally, the “pink slip”, not the large embossed document we have around here.

Point is, tolls should have become associated with the new registration of the same tag, I would think/hope. So OP perhaps needs to check more, because the owner may be driving unregistered, and the car is still associated with OP’s short ownership.

True. Is it possible that the OP could be held liable if the young driver injured or killed someone driving recklessly?
It probably depends on the lawyers involved.

 

[opus1]

... So OP perhaps needs to check more, because the owner may be driving unregistered, and the car is still associated with OP’s short ownership.

Yeah, this definitely something to check as well. I'm sure I said this before so I'll only give the Cliffs Notes version - Dad sold a car, signed over the paperwork and everything (including keeping the plates since they belong to the owner, not the car), but the buyer never went to the BMV to complete things. About a month later Dad gets a call from a neighboring town's PD asking why he abandoned his car in a store parking lot, and with no plates. Dad gave the cops the owner's name and contact info and that's the last we heard of it.

 

[loneryder]

My Costco Citi Exec card is on auto-pay; admittedly I just let 'er rip. This is perhaps common in today's automated world. I use it for just about everything so I get a big fat annual rebate...

A few days back I glanced at my statement and noticed FasTrack for $305. FasTrack is CA service for bridge tolls, Lexus lanes, etc. I travel across the GG Bridge about twice a month, so that's $20 or so. $305 is a lotta bridge crossings! So I did a little more review and found $305 almost every month for at least a year and a half. The lowest was about $180. Close to $5K in what I looked at.

I checked my FasTrack account; it had my cars and transactions. Sure enough, generally 2 GG crossings per month, but nothing more. This is to our home in beautiful Petaluma (American Grafitti). And the billing goes to my bank account, not the Citi credit card; it is not associated with FasTrak.

FasTrak rep told me that credit card was associated with another FasTrak account, not mine. But he wouldn't tell me who; that was against policy. He would not let me stop the monthly billing charges! Against policy, but he would send the other account "a note". I cancelled my Citi card and they will send me another.

Turns out a few years back I bought and fixed up a 1998 Camry 4 banger for a needy family. The father died unexpectly; his brother took the car, even though it was meant for the Mother and 3 kids. So it's been flying on the Lexus lanes and bridges on my dime. Sheesh.

I will likely be credited; Citi has been phenominal. It is being treated as fraud. Not done yet. So I feel kinda stupid. Please review your statements. Stuff happens.

I use the same card but not auto pay. I bank online with Wells Fargo and they send me a notice when my Costco Citibank bill comes in. I go to my online bank account and set up payment in advance. Of course you can go online and see your Citi purchases. They have a nice phone app. I have discovered some weird stuff and Citi was able to take care of it. I had t get a new Citi card recently. It came pretty fast. All they do is change the last 4 digits and your code on the back.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

My Capital One card sends me an email notice of any charges over $100. I think I set the trigger amnt.
Helpful to head off any shenanigans