Are we being scammed?

[tennisflip]

Cliff notes:

2 weeks ago we get a notice in the mail from a collection agency about an unpaid parking citation from 1999! The citation # is listed.

The citation was in a city in our state that we've never been to. The letter says we can dispute it in writing so we send out a letter asking for a hard copy of the citation.

Today we get a call from an 877 number with a guy from the collection agency telling us that since we haven't paid yet, our drivers license has been temporarily suspended. We said we sent a letter of dispute but the guy says maybe the citation is in the mail heading for us.

It just sounds fishy cuz the citation is so old.... 1999. And wouldn't the police department contact us about it first? Also, the place the check is supposed to be mailed to is a P.O Box, they don't have a physical address in the state. And to top it all off, the call was from an 877 number which doesn't seem right.

We're gonna go to the police department for the citation since I don't think there is one headed our way.

 

[atom]

Me thinks this "collection agency" is in Nigeria.

 

[Ness]

Do a reverse lookup of the phone number and contact the post office about the PO box... I know the PO is usually hush-hush about who uses it but they may be able to verify if it is a city or private user... In any case they may want to know if someone is commiting mail fraud...

 

[DurocShark]

Originally posted by: atom
Me thinks this "collection agency" is in Nigeria.

LOL!!!

I've always thought it was unethical to have private companies writing tickets. Dammit, I want a real cop with a real badge.

 

[GoodToGo]

Puhleeze, it has scam written all over it. Next time they call, start talking in Russian.

In Russia, you contact the collection agency

 

[tennisflip]

Did a reverse lookup but no luck.

 

[mugs]

The part where the COLLECTION AGENCY told you your license was suspended sounds bogus. Call the police in the town where you supposedly have the ticket.

 

[Xionide]

eh post the number?

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

probably a scam. However, I would contact the police dept that issued the ticket.

I got a notice in the mail about 3 months ago. It said my vehicle registration was suspended for a University $5 parking fine issued 4 years ago! It indicated that I needed to pay $25 or run the risk of getting my car towed. I went the university police dept and asked them what this was all about. They apparently had paid some systems guy to merge a bunch of outstanding parking tickets with the states dmv registration system. About 1000 people got similar letters. hahahah there were going nuts from all the irate phone calls. I paid them my $5 fine and that was that.

 

[Luden]

Dont believe what collection agencies tell you, they say what ever it takes to get you to pay. If you didnt do it, fight it.

 

[tennisflip]

We're calling the police now so we'll see what's up.

 

[ggavinmoss]

It sounds fishy because it's so old!? How about the fact that a stranger called you up and said your license was suspended!? Don't be gullible!

-geoff

 

[Vic]

It's gotta be a scam. A collection agency cannot suspend your license. Only a judge or your state DMV can do that. However, 877 is a valid toll-free #, similar to 800, 888, and 866.
My advice:
DO NOT send them money.
DO go to the police and your state DMV to file a complaint.
DO contact the police and/or parking enforcement dept(s). of the city in question.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Contact your State Attorney General's Office, they love to go after scum like this (since AGs all want to be Governor someday )

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

most likely.

 

[tennisflip]

Funny note to add to the conspiracy theory. We got a call from the police department prior to receiveing this citation. They were asking for donations. We said no... the got this citation in the mail a few weeks later. Makes you wonder.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: tennisflip
Funny note to add to the conspiracy theory. We got a call from the police department prior to receiveing this citation. They were asking for donations. We said no... the got this citation in the mail a few weeks later. Makes you wonder.

No, you didn't get a call from the police, it's not legal for them to raise funds that way in most / all states.

What you got was a call from professional fundraisers who keep over 90% of the money as "expenses" then give as little as 3% to some state or local police organization. Police have no idea whether or not you "donate" to these scammers.

 

[tennisflip]

Ok, so we called up the police and they refer us to a number to call which is similar to the one listed on the letter. Either we wait for the citation in the mail or go to the city PD in person. Just gonna wait for it in the mail. If it's legit I don't know how we can dispute it. It was over 5 years ago but everyone in our family is certain that they've never gotten a ticket in that area. The city in question is about 2 hours away from our own. Never been there and never new its location til I looked it up on mapquest. It just doesn't seem right. Esepcially with the dude from the agency telling us about the license suspension.

 

[gwlam12]

it would suck if someone took your citation away from your car, but yea, it seems so old. you'd figure they'd send you a letter in the mail too.

i still remember someone posting about a guy who parked his car illegally, but then proceeded to take the citation from another car and stuck it on his own car, so the cops would think he'd already been written up.

 

[tennisflip]

My other guess is that the officer copied down the wrong license plate number... but don't they take the make and model of the car too?

 

[rahvin]

Never ever believe a collection agent. When I first got a phone number a dozen years ago I immediatly started getting messages on my machine for the previous owner of the phone number. They were humorous, claiming such things as the police from another town were on the way over (as if they would leave their jurisdiction) and other equally rediculous claims meant to cause fear in stupid people.

Second suspension of your license is a big deal, if you are caught driving on a suspended license it's often an automatic trip to jail requiring bail bond to get out. Given the severity of the reprocusions I would be contacting the DMV and verifying the status of your license. Thirdly, if your license is valid the contactor is not collections with a city/county (I haven't heard of a government that sends accounts to outside collections, especially tickets as they usually just go to court and get a bench warrant issued after the ticket gets too old). If the person is a private collection agent tell them never to call you again and address all issues with you via certified mail.

As a final aside if the ticket is not valid they cannot declare you guilty, protest of ticket or no protest unless they are a government agency. Even if the window of protest is closed according to them, unless it's a government agency issuing the ticket, you can still dispute the validity of the claim at any time.

 

[TwinkleToes77]

why not just call the city in which the ticket was issued.. hell cant you even call the dmv and find out if your license is suspended? That sounds really fishy.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Driver licenses should not be suspended due to a parking infraction. The registration may be blocked from renewal.

 

[MainFramed]

Originally posted by: GoodToGo
Puhleeze, it has scam written all over it. Next time they call, start talking in Russian.

In Russia, you contact the collection agency

 

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: gwlam12
it would suck if someone took your citation away from your car, but yea, it seems so old. you'd figure they'd send you a letter in the mail too.

i still remember someone posting about a guy who parked his car illegally, but then proceeded to take the citation from another car and stuck it on his own car, so the cops would think he'd already been written up.

I did something like that for years. Well sorta. At my university, I didn't want to pay the $55 for the parking hang tag so I got a ticket the first day I parked without it. For the rest of the year, I would stick the ticket under my windshield everytime I parked. Never did receive another one and we're allowed to cancel one ticket per semester at my university so at the end of the year, I just had that one dismissed.