When would you pay $30.75 to cross a bridge with a posted toll of $6? Never. Right?

Wrong. That’s exactly what I’ve been charged for crossing the Golden Gate Bridge in mid-September.

Here’s the story: On Tues., Sept. 17, my husband and I were returning to San Francisco after spending five nights in Sonoma. We had arrived at SFO on Sept. 12, where we picked up a Hertz rental car (as a Hertz Gold Member, I just headed for the designated parking space, turned the keys and left the building).

We spent several glorious days exploring Sonoma, Napa and their environs. With an early-morning flight out on Sept. 18, we decided to spend our last night in San Francisco. We set our GPS and enjoyed a delightful drive into the city. We had crossed the Bay Bridge en route to Sonoma, but for some reason, GPS decided to route us over the Golden Gate Bridge on our return trip.

I’ve traveled under the Golden Gate Bridge by boat on several occasions, but I had never passed over the bridge in a car. With Kevin at the wheel, I began taking photos of the towering golden cables glowing in the afternoon sun. Both Kevin and I were aware that we were passing over a toll bridge, but about halfway across, we realized we hadn’t seen a toll booth.

Hmmm … The America’s Cup was in town, and we noticed pedestrians lining the sidewalks along the bridge to catch the action below. Perhaps the tolls had been suspended during the event?

We didn’t give it much thought until I noticed a charge for $30.75 on my American Express bill (the credit card I use for Hertz rentals). Uh oh … maybe we somehow missed the toll booth and were now facing a fine?

Not so. Turns out the Golden Gate Bridge is an all-electronic tolling bridge. Make no mistake: This is not the same as the EZ-Pass and Fast-Pass toll programs so recognizable on America’s highways.

At the Golden Gate Bridge, there is simply no toll collection booth. Residents, of course, are aware of the status and open an account. Visitors who rent cars are at a disadvantage. They can either opt in to their car rental agency’s toll-payment program or take the steps necessary to set up an account and pay the toll before they ever approach the bridge.

After a bit of research and a few phone calls, I learned I apparently “opted in” to the Hertz toll program by default. Our rental car was equipped with an electronic device that registered our passage over the bridge. Then a third-party vendor, PlatePass, charged my American Express account for the $6 toll plus a $4.95 processing fee.

I think the $4.95 processing fee is excessive, but okay, I’ll go along for the convenience.

Here’s what I cannot accept. When, on the second-to-last day of our rental, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and triggered the electronic mechanism that activated the PlatePass collection, we didn’t just get hit with a processing fee of $4.95 plus the $6 toll. We were charged $24.75 plus the toll. 

How does that work? Apparently, whether your rental car passes through one toll on one day or multiple tolls over multiple days, the action triggers the per-day processing fee of $4.95 up to a maximum of five days. Our six-day rental period triggered the multiday fee.

That’s right. One toll on one day during a six-day rental and we were charged the processing fee times five. That’s 5 x $4.95 = $24.75 + the actual $6 one-time toll = $30.75 to cross the Golden Gate Bridge ONE TIME ON ONE DAY.

Sketchy? I think so. I have lodged a complaint and am waiting to hear back from PlatePass. I’ll let you know how it plays out.

In the meantime, a word to the wise: If you’re driving a rental car in San Francisco, avoid the Golden Gate Bridge in favor of the Bay Bridge.

— Lisa Mattie, editor in chief