I was opening the mail yesterday (a habit I'm strongly considering quitting!) and came across a piece of correspondence from The Toll Roads, the CA toll authority.

Inside was a bill for $86.50! Apparently there was a toll violation recorded for DH's rental car when he was in Orange County on business in June.

He called The Toll Roads to see what was going on, only to find out that their records show that when he went through their toll booth it recorded $1.25 instead of $1.50! The other quarter must have either fallen or just not gotten counted by the machine.

She said that he had the option of either paying the fine, or flying out to CA and requesting an administrative hearing in person (it can ONLY be requested in person, and of course the hearing can only be conducted in person)!!!

All of this over a quarter!

The whole thing just infuriates me. They're making this whole big deal over exactly 25 cents. I'm sure just the mailing alone cost more than that! Plus it was an honest mistake--it's not like he's a habitual toll runner. It may have even been a problem with THEIR machine! For crying out loud, he was driving around that day helping out their local government!

They're making it impossible to contest this, and impossible for an actual real person with a bit of discretion to take a look at it. We'll be in LA next month, but of course they can't actually give you a date for a hearing until you request one, and it won't be during the 5 days we're in town.

What a horrible way to treat people!