A soldier in Austin, Texas, says he came home after 15 months overseas, three of them in Afghanistan, and found he owes more than $27,000 in toll fees.
"Right when I come home, I greet my family, everybody gives me hugs and I start collecting the mail ... and there's an envelope in there from the Texas Toll Authority," Thomas Peterson told KVUE in Austin. The envelope contained a bill for $27,637.30.
The bill included $1,412.30 for the tolls his family used while Peterson was overseas and $26,225 in added fees, said KVUE.
"Twenty-six thousand dollars is insane," Peterson said. "That's highway robbery. I can't believe that any agency can get away with this."
Peterson told KVUE he contacted the Texas Department of Transportation and was told the bill had been handed over to a collection agency.
"What they do is they point their fingers at each agency," Peterson said. "I feel like they're playing a game. They're using it intentionally to rack up and get more money out of the customer."
Peterson isn't trying to get out of paying, but he does want the agency to be reasonable, according to the news report.
A representative of the Texas Department of Transportation told KVUE that Peterson's case is being looked into, but one of the issues to work out is the family's cars are apparently not registered in Peterson's name.
