How much does a toll invoice cost? A lot less than the sacrificed salary of a cleared job. Sounds like a bad trade, but it’s one some clearance holders make without realizing it. That forgotten E-ZPass invoice or unpaid toll notice might feel like a minor annoyance, yet in the world of security clearances, small financial slip-ups can raise big red flags if they create a pattern of negative behavior. Before you shrug off that envelope (or email) as “future you’s problem,” or “oh, it’s just a scam” it’s worth understanding how unpaid tolls can quietly steer you into clearance-jeopardy territory.
One ClearanceJobsBlog subscriber writes:
Posting here to see just how screwed my clearance is. I currently have a Secret.
Over the past 3 years, I’ve gotten around around 20-30 mails for unpaid Ez-Pass tolls. I’ve always thought that these were fake because of multiple Ez-pass toll scams announcements I’ve gotten as well as me thinking that I don’t go through tolls in my state at all (I’ve never really seen the big toll gate or the board announcing Ez-Pass).
Well, I was digging through some old boxes as I had just moved and found a Ez-Pass Invoice from the past. Out of curiosity I checked it out on the Ez-Pass toll website. It goes on to show me a massive list of unpaid tolls for the past 2-3 years (total amount is around $500). I’m honestly hitting myself in the head and am regretting not atleast verifying the invoice on the website. This hasn’t shown up on my credit report or anything and it’s honestly just out of pure coincidence that I discovered this today.
I know that its A LOT of unpaid tolls over the 120 day threshold; however, the amounts are at low amounts totaling up to $500.
I’m going to go and report this tomorrow to my FSO. Have any of you dealt with this before? How screwed am I?Â
Step 1: Pay the backlog of invoices.
Step 2: Report to your FSO.
Next steps will depend on your background and the whole person. If it’s an honest (and the first) of your financial troubles, you might be in the clear with a slap on the wrist. If unpaid bills is a continuing pattern in your story, this book might not end so well.
