WSVN — For years, Howard and Patrick have helped thousands of people, and then they got a request from someone who couldn’t solve her problem… and to be blunt, neither could Howard. Who needed help? Howard’s wife. Why? Here is tonight’s Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
At work, Howard Finkelstein is a big dog. At home, not so much…
Patrick Fraser: “Who gets treated better, Howard or the dog?
Donna Chase, Howard’s better half: “Definitely Thumper back there gets treated better.”
Meet Howard’s wife Donna Chase. And I thought when she had a problem, all she would have to say is help me Howard… nope…
Donna Chase: “No, I went right to the source. I sent an email to Patrick.”
This is with Donna’s Prius Hybrid. With a car like this, the state lets you use the Express Lane for free. So Donna went to the Division of Motor Vehicles to register her car.
Donna Chase: “You can get a sticker for $5 from the Department of Motor Vehicles and then travel in the Express Lane and not pay the toll.”
Since Donna’s daughter was starting a job in Miami-Dade County, she loaned her the car to get to work from their Broward home… after making sure she would not be charged for using the Express Lane…
Donna Chase: “I asked them if there was anything else I needed to do, they said, ‘No, you are good to go.'”
Then two weeks later, Donna went on the SunPass website and discovered she was being charged around $10 each time the car went down the Express Lane.
Donna Chase: “So I called over to SunPass, and the woman was very nice and she couldn’t figure it out.”
Later, a SunPass supervisor called her back and said it was not free because not only did she have to register the car with the Division of Motor Vehicles, she also had to get a sticker with another agency called the South Florida Commuter Services…
Donna Chase: “I said, ‘I don’t know what that is.’ Nobody told me about it. There is nothing on the DMV site. There is nothing on the SunPass site.”
Donna checked the websites again to make sure she hadn’t missed the information on the websites. She had not.
Donna Chase: “They need to inform the public.”
After two weeks, the tolls for using the Express Lane had reached $200.
Patrick Fraser: “Did you ask them for the money back?”
Donna Chase: “Of course I did, and they said, ‘There are no refunds. You needed to have this.’ I said, ‘How was I suppose to find out?'”
Our interview was over, and Howard walked in… alright Howard, back to work. Does the state have to tell you the steps required to qualify for a free ride, and if they don’t, do you get a refund for the tolls?”
Howard Finkelstein: “No they don’t and no you don’t get a refund. Even though the legislator created an exemption and instructed the state agencies to implement the program, they did not require the agencies to inform the public of the two steps they have to take to get those two stickers.”
I spoke to several different people with the State of Florida and confirmed, you do have to have two stickers from two separate agencies to use the Express Lane for free in a Hybrid.
The Division of Motor Vehicles did not tell Donna that…
Chad Huff with the Florida Department of Transportation told me SunPass is not completely to blame here, but that the first SunPass representative who proactively contacted Donna made a mistake when she did not refer her to the 95 Express Team.
To make things right, Huff told me SunPass was going to credit Donna the $200 for the tolls her Hybrid incurred.
He also added South Florida Commuter Services has 4,000 Hybrids registered, and this is the first time anyone remembers something like this happening…
Donna Chase: “We were able to get the money back from SunPass.”
Donna got her money back, but she didn’t keep it for long. She donated to charity, and a first for me — she donated it in my name.
Donna Chase: “The money they got back for us, we are donating to Sylvester Cancer Center, sending it out today so everything worked out for a good cause.”
That’s nice of Donna to give that money to charity. If you have a Hybrid and want to use the Express Lanes, the two sites you have to register with are below. That $5 sticker can save you a lot of money and cut down on your travel time.
A problem driven you to express yourself? Don’t let the sun pass another day before you register with us. We are not a fancy hybrid, but you will get good mileage out of our efforts. With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
To get your DMV decal for your hybrid vehicle:
http://www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/HOV.html
To register your hybrid vehicle for the express lanes after obtaining your DMV decal:
http://www.1800234ride.com/commuter-options/registration-renewal-information/95express/95-express-hybrid-registration
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.