Driver slams ‘preposterously high’ $550 toll bill he received – then he learns why road signs didn’t have warning

A FAMILY’S four-day camping trip turned into a costly expense when they were hit with a $550 toll bill.

John Landry, his wife, Julia, and their six kids decided to take a road trip to Luray Caverns in Virginia in October, traveling in two separate vehicles for a more comfortable ride.

Landry and his five other kids rode in the family’s RV while his wife and their youngest child took their minivan.

The family drove off from their home in Falls Church on Thursday afternoon during rush hour and, to beat the traffic, decided to take express lanes on Interstate 66 outside of Beltway.

Landry said he noticed signs on the express lane entrance that read, “Higher Toll for Larger Vehicles.”

Landry took the chance despite the sign, saying he was expecting to pay between $20 to $30 each way.

However, a week later, he noticed outstanding charges to his credit card for his E-ZPass.

His card was hit a $105 refill fee, and then three hours later, an additional $105 was charged.

“I said, ‘What the heck is going on?'” Landry told the Washington Post.

Landry believed it must’ve been some error, but when he logged onto his E-ZPass account, he learned he had paid $569.50 in tolls.

“The amount was so preposterously high,” Landry told Fox affiliate WTTG.

“It’s outrageous. It was unbelievable,” Julia added.

Landry said it was the first time he ever drove his RV on an express lane.

“Deep down in my gut, I thought this has got to be a mistake,” Landry told WTTG.

“Maybe they, for some reason, didn’t read the transponder, and I was getting penalized for using it without it. I wasn’t sure.

“So, I wasn’t particularly heated. I figured they’d make it right, and so I just called to try and explain it.”

Despite his efforts, I-66 Express Mobility Partners, a private entity that collected the tolls, did not budge on Landry’s request for a refund.

On Express Mobility Partners’ website, it states that three-axle RVs could be charged five to seven times the amount listed in peak travel time.

The amount are in compliance with their contract with Virginia’s Department of Transportation.

“The signage on the 66 Express Outside the Beltway conforms with both VDOT and FHWA regulations, and toll factors based on vehicle classification are standards followed by all tolled express facilities in the Northern Virginia region,” Express Mobility Partners told WTTG.

The Virginia Department of Transportation also confirmed to the outlet that the current system is approved in the contact between the agency and I-66 Express Mobility Partners.

VDOT encouraged drivers to visit their website to become familiar with the toll structure.

The U.S. Sun has reached out to the VDOT for comment.

Nevertheless, the Landry family is still irate over the outrageous toll bill.

“It’s much more than we paid for the camping and everything else that we did that weekend,” John Landry told the Washington Post.

Landry filed a complaint with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office and Better Business Bureau in hopes of warning other drivers who may be unaware of the staggering toll charges.

“When you’re a customer getting on the toll road, you would assume they’d be fair in the way that they price you,” Landry told WTTH.

“You’re driving a large vehicle onto a toll road, you’re not logging onto a website to figure out what class your vehicle is and what the toll charge is going to be.”