Help Me Hank: Help Me Hank! Toll Booth Trouble

He's got a Red Sox calendar, a batting cap and a clock set for Boston.

"So we know what time to call people," Toebe Hinckle said.

But look out Toebe Hinkle’s window and you see the Space Needle. The Charlestown native is now sleeping in Seattle.

"Its been going great," Hinckle said.

But the move west was more expensive than expected.

They came by plane - no problem.

Their stuff came by truck - no problem.

Their car came by auto transport - problem.

"I was very surprised," Hinckle said.

When Hinckle made a routine check on his hometown bank account, he saw an $87 charge from the Massachusetts Fastlane after he'd moved.

"There wasn’t any tolls I knew of that cost that amount of money," Hinckle said.

At first he thought that his wife made some wild turnpike tour before we left town.

"It took me a few minutes to figure out what happened," Hinckle said.

Which was: somehow the transponder he'd left on his car had racked up tolls on its journey to Seattle. But where?

The Mass Pike said not here, call New York EZ Pass. EZ Pass said tough luck.

"She let me know there is nothing I could do. I was obligated to pay that amount. I was responsible," Hinckle said.

OK, OK so he spaced taking the transponder off his car - his bad.

"That’s something that I didn’t think about once," Hinckle said.

But his car was on a truck and if the truck paid the tolls, why should the car pay too?

Then his Fastlane statement arrived and one mystery was solved - the charge was from the Pennsylvania Turnpike EZ Pass.

Along the road between Philly and Pittsburgh, his car had set off the green!

He quickly mailed in this dispute, but never got an answer.

"That’s when I said you know what, I’m going to email Hank," Hinckle said.

We found this was a mess from mile one. The transport truck was supposed to pay the Pennsylvania tolls, but it didn't. After a few calls, the driver admitted he figured something was wrong. He was planning to pay, he said, but no one ever stopped him.

"The toll booth operators kept waving him through because the Fastlane transponder was actually getting hit," Hinckle said.

The driver knew he should have paid that $87 toll so instead of making Hinckle wait for a pike refund, he accelerated the process.

"He was nice enough to actually say that he was going to send me out a check," Hinckle said.

But this won't be West Coast money for long. This Red Sox fan is sending it right back to his hometown Jimmy Fund.

"We thought it would be a good omen for the Sox to start the season, so we're gonna donate the money," Hinckle said.

We know some people don't even open their Fastlane statements since the money can be taken directly out of your bank account, so this is a good reminder to give them a monthly once-over.

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