Beware Of Unpaid Tickets, Lest Debt Collectors Come Calling
Everyone is feeling the financial crunch these days
, including cities, counties, and states. Local government officials are examining every nook and cranny, and turning over every rock in the search for additional revenue. Many have stumbled on what is likely not a gold mine, but at least a vein of additional income, namely unpaid tickets and fines. Now, in an attempt to collect these unpaid items, they're partnering with some unsavory characters in the debt collection industry.
From a municipality's perspective, siccing debt collectors on residents or tourists with unpaid fines and tickets represents easy money. The city or county allows the debt collection agency to keep a portion of what it collects - typically 20 percent to 35 percent - and the local government gets the rest. They don't have to put the resources into actually collecting the money; they just have to cash the proverbial checks from the debt collection agency.
What's the problem with this scenario? Actually, there are several issue that arise. First, debt collection agencies are notorious for hounding consumers, whether through calling multiple times at all hours of the day or night, or contacting employers, friends, and family members. This type of harassment is wearying and embarrassing. Second, debt collectors use the information provided to them, and then turn to their data mining systems to locate consumers. All too often, they get it wrong. They might call someone with the same or similar name to the person who received the ticket, and then act relentlessly even when told they have the wrong person. Similarly, a debt collector may call the new owner of an old phone number or show up at the last known address of someone who long ago moved, causing the current resident grief.
Third - and most importantly - not all old debt is collectible. Most states have a statute of limitations on debt collection, but some municipalities turn over information to debt collection agencies on unpaid tickets that are decades old. A city in Tennessee recently did just that, contracting with a debt collection agency that is notorious for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Although the municipality admitted that it couldn't legally force someone to pay a ticket over ten years old, they hoped that people would pay anyway. One can't help but wonder if that position represents a nod and a wink to the debt collector, encouraging him to go to whatever lengths are necessary to collect on the ticket.
Unfortunately, most consumers don't know their rights - and may not even remember getting the citation. In some instances, the person these debt collectors go after sold the vehicle before the ticket was issued. Yet there's such a sense of desperation these days that local governments don't seem to care. Although they admit that consumers can dispute the tickets, there isn't a straightforward process to do so. And, with some of the tactics that debt collection agencies use, it's likely that many people will go ahead and pay up, even if the ticket is not theirs to pay.
by: Sergei Lemberg
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