Tuesday November 7, 2006

If you've ever filed a complaint about your Highway 407 bill, you'll likely love this story. The owners of the toll road have been ordered to pay a driver $50,000 because they didn't act responsibly.
That's the decision of an Ontario judge, after a man took the corporation that runs the highway to court - and won.

The case stems from a dispute between a used car dealer named Daniel Min and the 407.

He had a transponder that he claimed wasn't working. Because of that, the corporation that owns the road was charging him full price for his travels every time he took one of his used cars for auction.

The total bill came to $28,000 but when Min complained, he didn't get anywhere.

Instead, the company not only sent him the invoice - and then launched a collection agency on him when he didn't pay - they threatened him with court action.

The owners took the Markham man to small claims court, demanding $10,000 and then to Superior Court, where they tried to get him to fork over $18,000.

But the judge didn't buy the argument, arguing the 407 should have at least addressed Min's original complaint.

"I don't care about the money," he claims after his victory. "It's the principle. I'm just fighting for fairness."


Min's lawyer still can't understand what the 407 legal team was thinking

"We claimed we were entitled to punitive damages because they were unwilling to discuss what the state of his account was," attorney Paul Copeland relates. "Ultimately the lawyers on the other side did nothing."

The judge ruled the 407 is a monopoly with substantial resources and that they should have at least investigated what their customer was saying.

The result: the highway has to pay Min 50-grand in punitive damages.


Copeland insists his client wasn't the only one.

"They seem to use a harassment technique," he charges. "I've gotten calls today from a couple of people who saw it and are having the same problem with Highway 407."

The Canadian Automobile Association, which has long opposed toll roads, claims this is just another reason to insist no more ever be sanctioned in this province.

"We feel motorists have an unfair share of the tax burden when it comes to driving so in that case, definitely I don't believe that toll roads should be in existence at this point in time," outlines the organization's Edya Zdancewicz.

Despite the outcome, highway officials insist they're working hard to address some technical problems and that many of the old complaints drivers had with their service have long since disappeared.

"We'll take the opportunity to once again go through it, because at the end of the day we want to insure we're providing as good a customer service as we can," spokesman Dale Albers promises.

The company acknowledges the transponder can fail if it's not mounted correctly, the battery is low or if the windshield is filled with metal. They confirm they'll be reviewing their legal options.

City Pulse