Bogus Rental Car Toll Transpoder Charges On The Rise

The next time you pick up a rental car, be sure to check to see if it has a toll transponder on the windshield.  Unless you plan to use the transponder, have it removed before driving the car off the lot!

Problem #1 – I’ve heard from a number of folks who have been charged daily fees for a transponder even though they did not request one in the car, did not use it,  and did not drive on a toll road.  If the transponder is in the car, you will be charged a fee for every day of your car rental.  Agencies typically charge about $2.50 per day for the transponder.

Problem #2 – Folks have experienced erroneous toll charges that have been billed to them after they returned home  (the toll fees are administered by the toll transponder company).  It turns out that disproving a toll charge is very difficult – you will be required to prove you did not go through the toll (no simple task!)

Read the comments by Geoff and Sal on our Rental Cars Get Transponders article to get all the frustrating details of their bogus fee encounters, and give careful attention the next time you rent a vehicle to determine if there is a transponder aboard or not.

Don’t Drive in Austria or Switzerland Without Your Road Tax Stamp Sticker

There are big fines for drivers in Austria and Switzerland who don’t have a Vignette Sticker (road tax stamp for driving on motorways and expressways) – so vacationers with rental cars beware!  Thanks go to Luda Kirk for sharing a painful tale of being fined in Austria for not having the proper sticker.  And you thought getting a speeding ticket was infuriating – read this:

“While driving between Germany and Italy I happened upon a service oasis outside Hohenems on the E43.  Before I was aware I was flagged down by an official looking gentlemen holding a small stop sign standing on the roadside.  He politely notified me that I was driving on Austrian roads without the proper permit.  Read more