‘Hope you reported the E-ZPass stolen so it flags a photo when used…Just saying.’
A Maryland man was disappointed to find that someone had broken into his car and stolen his E-ZPass tag. However, the burglary did yield a silver lining.
A TikTok user who goes by CEOofMaryland (@ceoofmaryland) posted a social media clip detailing the error his thief made, one that apparently revealed the criminal’s identity and put them in a precarious position.
At the start of his video, the TikToker looks down at a phone in his hand and reads a name from it. “All right, if your name is Billy Strickland, thanks for breaking into my car last night at Marley Station mall. You stole my E-ZPass, which is a [expletive] move, but you left your phone. Did you want that back, or what?”
The self-proclaimed CEO of Maryland ends his video with what sounds like a trade offer: his E-ZPass for the phone.
Folks who replied to the TikTok user’s video had a variety of responses. Some came up with ways for the man to get back at the crook. “Do not, and I repeat do not, use his phone to make threatening remarks towards the president,” one penned.
Someone else told the CEOofMaryland that he should look through Strickland’s contact list and give a close relative a call. “I’d use his phone to call his mother,” they wrote.
Another person came up with a different course of action: “Hope you reported the E-ZPass stolen so it flags a photo when used…. just saying.”
But others said the TikTok user may’ve jumped the gun in assuming the thief’s identity.
“I know you think you busted him, but how do you know that the perpetrator didn’t steal Billy’s phone from the mall parking lot?” one argued. And at least one other person in the comments section echoed this sentiment. “Or Billy’s phone was stolen from another car and dropped in yours. There’s never just one car break in any given area,” they wrote.
In a follow-up video, the CEO of Maryland had another message for Strickland, indicating that he still believed the person who left their phone in his car was the person who burgled his E-ZPass tag.
Unfortunately, this TikTok user’s story isn’t uncommon. There have been numerous reports from others that their toll tags have been swiped from their vehicles. One Reddit user based out of Northern New Jersey posted to the site’s r/legaladvice sub about a tag theft of their own.
They only found out about the theft after noticing toll charges on their account for areas they didn’t drive through. Unfortunately, when they contacted E-ZPass about the issue, the Redditor stated that the toll collection agency wasn’t exactly helpful. That’s because they wouldn’t refund the driver the fraudulent charges made to their account until a police report was filed. This is despite the fact that the tag was used with a car they didn’t own or had registered to the account.
Another NY E-ZPass customer shared a similar billing gripe on an Avvo legal discussion page. Like the aforementioned E-ZPass holder, they had their tag stolen, and the culprit allegedly ran up over $1,500 in toll charges. They, too, said that E-ZPass reps told them they would have to file a police report to get the fraudulent charges reversed.
On top of that, E-ZPass stated that if they wanted to try to get photos of the person using the tags, they’d need help from authorities to acquire that information. One attorney who replied to their stolen tag woes said they should file a police report. Armed with that, they could take that documentation to their credit card company and dispute the charges.
Driver gripes about the toll collection agency have been well documented. NJ.com reported on a driver who claimed E-ZPass reps purportedly ignored requests to stop sending him violation notices after he had reported a license plate stolen. One hundred forty separate notices were allegedly sent to the victim, despite informing the agency that the car tag wasn’t in his possession. The outlet ultimately said it linked the stolen tag to the owner of a contracting company who racked up tons of unpaid fines and tolls on the purportedly ill-gotten tag.
Another law firm reached a $1.35 million settlement against E-ZPass for missed toll notices. Many clients from the agency argued they had no idea they had missed a payment, as their accounts were in good standing with E-ZPass and transponders were affixed to their cars.
Motor1 has reached out to E-ZPass via email and the CEO of Maryland via TikTok direct message for further comment. We’ll update this article if either responds.
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