DENVER — A Colorado woman suffered sticker shock when she discovered her ExpressToll bill was more than $5,000.
Genna Ryan-Piasecki emailed Denver7 Investigates, saying, "I am asking Denver7 to help me expose how E-470’s flawed sticker system is failing drivers. I want to pay what I truly owe, but I also want other drivers to know this could happen to them."
Ryan-Piasecki commutes from Louisville to the Denver Tech Center every day for work. To save time, she uses the express lane. To save money, she uses an ExpressToll transponder.
"I drive a lot," she said. "I have the toll sticker. Every time I took the toll road, it would charge my card."
The confusion began when her license plate was stolen this summer. The Colorado DMV informed Ryan-Piasecki that there was a hold on her account due to unpaid tolls, totaling more than $5,000.
"I thought I was in good standing," she told Denver7 Investigates. "Having to pay an extra $5,000 or more would cause a pretty big financial disaster for me. I probably wouldn't be able to make rent for at least a month. I don't just have $5,000 lying around."
After multiple calls to E-470, which handles ExpressToll's payment system, she said she discovered that her transponder sticker tag wasn’t working consistently, and tolls were being charged to a separate License Plate Toll account. That balance was not on her online account because it was tied to an incorrect license plate number.
Additionally, Ryan-Piasecki had moved in that period, so she did not receive the physical bill from ExpressToll because it was sent to the address registered with the DMV.
"I changed my address on my [ExpressToll] account, but not with the DMV," she said, adding that she never saw the bills mailed to her old address.
Faced with thousands of dollars in higher license plate toll rates and late fees, Ryan-Piasecki reached out to Denver7 Investigates.
In a statement, an E-470 spokesperson called the case a "unique situation," adding, "Once identified, we took immediate action: all fees were waived, the tolls were transferred to her transponder account at the discounted rate, and we corrected the account information. We also provided a new sticker tag to help prevent any similar issues in the future."
The agency acknowledged the issues could have been resolved sooner, stating, "We are currently reviewing the case internally to better understand why it wasn’t resolved during earlier customer contacts and to improve our processes moving forward."
- Read E-470's full statement below
"We take all customer concerns seriously, and once we were made aware of this unique situation, we worked directly with the individual to fully resolve the issue.
As the customer noted, the issue stemmed from an incorrect license plate number being entered when the account was originally set up online in 2023. As a result, tolls did not post to her transponder account and instead accrued on a separate License Plate Toll (LPT) account. Invoices were sent to an outdated DMV address, and unfortunately, no forwarding information was provided after the customer moved.
Once identified, we took immediate action: all fees were waived, the tolls were transferred to her transponder account at the discounted rate, and we corrected the account information. We also provided a new sticker tag to help prevent any similar issues in the future.
While our intent is never to collect fees, only the appropriate tolls, we acknowledge that this situation could have been resolved sooner. We are currently reviewing the case internally to better understand why it wasn’t resolved during earlier customer contacts and to improve our processes moving forward.
We always encourage customers to contact our customer service team if anything doesn’t seem right. We are committed to resolving any issues promptly and thoroughly."
Ryan-Piasecki has since paid the almost $2,000 in tolls.
Her advice: "Hey, your toll sticker doesn't work every time, and if you move, you've got to change your address with the DMV."
