Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday ordered the continued suspension of fees and penalties for SunPass and TOLL-BY-PLATE customers. And the Florida Department of Transportation has imposed a $4.6 million fine on Conduent, the company that oversaw last year’s botched SunPass conversion.
“Since I’ve been governor, I’ve heard the concerns from citizens and customers of SunPass and the hardships they’ve been facing related to their delayed bills and billing errors by the contractor, Conduent. I’ve directed the Florida Department of Transportation to continue suspending fees and penalties until June 1,” said DeSantis.
“This is a technology issue for Conduent, but it’s a customer service issue for citizens. I’ve been working closely with the new FDOT Secretary Kevin Thibault to ensure customers are protected and receive a premium level of service.”
While FDOT will continue to suspend penalties and fees until June 1, the final reminders are now being sent to TOLL-BY-PLATE customers that include transactions that occurred through the end of December 2018.
“From my first day on the job, correcting this has been a priority for Governor DeSantis and me,” explained Thibault. “One of the first directives I gave was to continue to withhold payments to Conduent for its performance since Go-Live in June of 2018. I’ve also instructed the Turnpike’s Executive Director to assess maximum performance penalties allowed under the contract for the Conduent’s operational and performance deficiencies, which totals $4.6 million to date.”
Thibault added, “We have made multiple personnel changes related to this problem, including appointing a new acting director of Toll Systems. We are directing Conduent to provide additional support to the customer service centers and the Department has also added resources to help better serve our customers. We are committed to fixing the issues related to Conduent’s performance and we will continue to hold them accountable.”
As FDOT continues to make customer service a priority, TOLL-BY-PLATE customers can save up to 25 percent on their invoice and future tolls by opening a SunPass® Prepaid account, says FDOT. It means, if customers convert to a SunPass account immediately, the discount will be applied retroactively to their TOLL-BY-PLATE invoice.
Customers with questions should log onto www.sunpass.com or call 1(888) TOLL-FLA (1-888-865-5352).
