Who to pay if you run a toll road with no window toll tag?

It's $10 for a tag.  And it's $10 min that you have to put on. So up front $20 . However when I first got a car here it had a tag on it and I didn't realize it ran out and they want $100 .  I had bought toll cards but they don't work on the upper half of the island and I had no cash on me.  So currently a year later I still owe $100.
The problem is if you don't know your low and you get a yellow light. That means you have $5 left. But sometimes there is no one attending the tolls and you have no choice but to go through the auto pass. And be changed $100. Other times I had to wait at a man both for more then an hour to get funds on my account.   Go to the autoexpress website the have a phone #  however I have called many times where all you get is ringing and ringing for hours and no one ever answers.  You can also create an account online with your tag # however if you have problems with you tag like we did you have to buy another tag and you have to go through all kinds of hoops to get that new tag# transfer from the old tag to the new tag. So for the last 6 months I have $30 still in my old account but can't but funds in my new account online. So I have to go to a man booth. Glad I am now in Rincon and don't have to worry about tolls .But when we travel to San Juan we will have to make sure we have money by going to a man toll. And we still have 2 toll cards that we can use for the tolls in the south part of the island .  If you can't find the autoexpresso phone number let me know. I will find it for you

The fines get place on your registration. You will need to pay them on time if you don't want to have late charges attached.

So its best to wait until I get the bill in the mail, then mail in a check?   Or is it better to be pro-active and go to the office and pay; or would that be a waste of time if I can mail it in after getting the notice in the mail?

I see the Autoexpress website, but its only in Spanish and I dont know Spanish.  Why not get some of the employees to put it in English also?

https://www.autoexpreso.com

The thing about Puerto Rico; there's a lot of "I heard" going around, oftentimes very little truth to the things being heard... that being said, in my experience (having been .90 shy of my very last toll, on my way home, some months back), the only two places one can pay the overage, is Obras Publicas (DMV to us Gringos), or Banco Popular. I am unsure if the bank paying option is "normal" as my bank teller told me that they did it for a short time, then stopped. My .90 turned into $15.90, because I did not pay it within 48hrs. I also "heard" that the fine now goes up to $100 or $150, if not paid in a certain amount of time... but I tend not to believe things I hear, unless I can verify rumors as fact.

There's no completely clear(as a lot of things in the island), my suggestion will be to go directly to the CESCO or Hacienda office and take care of it as soon as you are aware. One of the first things we did when purchasing our car was to get a sticker and install it on. They're promoting that you register the sticker with your car on their webside.

Think about this: If you do not have enough money in your DTOP account, a photo of the front of your car is taken automatically.
Your license plate is only on the back of your car.

You said you don't have an Autoexpresso tag so If you run a toll with out a tag what you do is stop at the rest stops on the side of the road...normally right after the toll booths are the rest stops and they have offices there. You have only so long to pay it before the price goes up. I don't remember how long I think only 24 hours otherwise you will be charged the full amount. That's what the Toll person told me to do in the past and it worked.

The toll tag doesn't expire...you do have to register the tag with your car. Then just keep a balance on it. No it doesn't charge a monthly fee. I do have mine set to automatically add $10 from my Bank when it gets low and that way I avoid Tickets. You can also go online and add money.  Also if the light turns red as long as you put money on the card right away you won't get a ticket.

frogrock wrote:

Think about this: If you do not have enough money in your DTOP account, a photo of the front of your car is taken automatically.
Your license plate is only on the back of your car.

What good is it for them to take a photo of the FRONT if the license plate is on the back?

In my experience, they photograph the plate, of the vehicle that tripped the red light (failed to have funds to pay the toll). I tried to pay at the toll, on my next trip through, and they indicated that my payment goes only towards the toll advance, not towards any fines.

If you've got time and money for a lawyer, you can make a stand on principle; what gives a private entity, the right to demand money, for use of public roads? This legal battle has been fought in some mainland states, and won... I heard...

There's a flash in the front, but the photo is from behind... I received a clear photo of my license plate, along with a $15 fine, for being short on my toll. You've got 48hrs to pay the exact amount, or (as in my case) a $15 fine if not paid in 48hrs. As I stated in an earlier post, I "heard", from a friend in Humacao, that they are changing, or have changed, that fine to $150. That seems excessive, in an economy as troubled as ours.

AHA! Another mystery solved.  One time I mistakenly went over that expensive bridge across the lagoon, but I did not have enough money in my account.  I stopped at the next toll booth and added $20.  So, I paid 'after the fact'.  It worked.  Everything was OK. 

Another time (actually happened twice) I went to the staffed toll booth near me on my way to Fajardo with the intention of putting money in to my account and there was no one at the booth.  The car-monitoring device thing was not turned on, so I did not have to pay the toll. 

My advice: just get the d*mn pass, put it on the car.

http://www.abroaddreams.com/2015/07/14/ … erto-rico/

Above is a good link all about tolls in PR. List of toll booths, map of toll roads, etc. Good stuff

Hey bonu,
First, don't sweat it. Things happen like it did me twice early 2015.  Unaware some of the southern towns of the island have "unmanned" toll plazas and driving back to the northwest in total darkness I too ended up with 2 $100 fines plus actual toll fees.  I received notices from owner months after I returned stateside. It was cheaper for me to pay them then to return and faster to handle and relieve any stress to my relative.  Also you should keep in mind that these toll fines if protested in a " timely" manner with a reasonable excuse can be reduced by more than half.  Told to me by a DTop employee when registering my own car late 2015. But it's best to pay before owner needs to renew his yearly marbete/licencia. He/she won't be able to do so until all fines cleared. Once cleared either now or renewal time would I buy a new tag. This Tag is now mandatory to be registered to vehicle's plate number for it to be considered valid.  Unvalidated tags will result a FINE to whoever owns the car. New Tags can be bought for $20 at any "Manned" toll booth or at some pharmacies, where I happened to buy mind. Btw $20 pays for $10 tag fee & $10 balance.  It does not expire and can be replenish at any toll plz with live person, phone call or Online.  All possible only when tag registered & you create a User/Password acct.  I did mind Online and replenish at the comfort of my sofa or if found with a low balance, at the shoulder of a road using my cellphone.  Hate dealing with poor customer service.  Hope I covered everything and remember, all things are possible and with stress  free planning..Good Luck

Hey bonu,
Forgot to mention you can have plate run at DTop and paid there.. Remember to get proof of payment and save until it's time to renew vehicle papers. Since this was posted on the 28th and I'm assuming it occurred somewhere close to this date give it til Tues so the violation can show up in system and safe you another ride to DTop.