BEREA, Ohio — In late July, 11 Investigates reported that nearly 257,000 drivers missed the new Swanton toll plaza on the Ohio Turnpike in the first 70 days of operation. As a result, many people received bills for $19.25.
The secondary issue for those drivers was that they had a very difficult time getting through to customer service to contest the charge because of long wait times.
As a result, the turnpike is now suspending late fees until those customer service issues can be resolved. Many drivers reached out to 11 investigates to complain that they were put on hold for as long as six hours when contacting customer service. We initially were put on hold for two hours when trying to reach a representative. But subsequent tries resulted in being disconnected because of high call volume.
In a letter to 11 Investigates, the turnpike acknowledged the issues and announced the suspension of late fees. We were also told that no accounts will be turned over to collections until those customer service issues can be resolved.
11 Investigates will be traveling to Berea on Tuesday morning to meet with Ferzan Ahmed, the turnpike's executive director.
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