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SpartanMullet
06-08-10, 08:23 AM
Good Morning Marines,

I am getting the big weenie from the California government right now, and I need some advice. In March, I got a ticket for using my cell phone in my car. The fine was 160 bucks, due in April. No big deal. Well I moved out of state in early April and I completely lost the ticket and forgot about it. I got a letter a few weeks later from a collection agency saying I owed the LA courts 865 bucks! I called them and they said they had the right to increase the fine since I didn't pay it in time. They were pretty rude and unsympathetic to my situation when I asked for advice and help. Now I got another letter saying they are suspending my license. I called them again yesterday explaining that I don't think the 865 dollar fine is fair, and that right now I only make minimum wage and I can't afford it. They basically told me to either borrow the money, or they are gonna suspend my license and also pursue wage garnishment! Now I know that under normal circumstances, 865 dollars isn't that big of a deal. But right now I am struggling to even buy groceries, and all my money this month is going to rent and deposit of a place to live since I've been with my brother for 2 months now. I don't want this to come off as being a whiney b**ch, but I just need some advice. It just doesn't seem legal to do to me what they are doing. Thanks!!:flag:

tdrt
06-08-10, 08:26 AM
Don't deal with the collection agency. Their job is to screw you. Try to contact State of CA directly.

Who is the letter from threatening to suspend your license?

Rocky C
06-08-10, 08:32 AM
Forget about the Collection agency. Go the the State DMV and see how much you really owe. I never heard of California farming out unpaid tickets to a Collection Agency ???

yanacek
06-08-10, 09:09 AM
Agree with the two previous posts. In most states, failure to pay a ticket normally results in the court issuing a bench warrant, so the next time you get stopped, you go to jail until you resolve the issue. Here in NC, bench warrants issued are public record so it's fairly easy for anyone including a collection agency to find out who owes money, contact that person, then extort ever cent they can get for their "services." Contact the DMV or the local court you were supposed to appear at. I think they will be more than happy to resolve this issue with you for a lot less than $900.

jenlicavoli123
06-08-10, 10:06 AM
Get a license in your new state and screw CA.

Marine1955
06-08-10, 10:22 AM
Get a license in your new state and screw CA.
That want take the ticket away he may get stop and get arrested and put in jail. contact Ca. D.M.V. and set up a payment plan they may work with you. good luck and put the phone down until you stop then talk on the phone. safer and legal to.

yanacek
06-08-10, 10:23 AM
That want take the ticket away he may get stop and get arrested and put in jail. contact Ca. D.M.V. and set up a payment plan they may work with you. good luck and put the phone down until you stop then talk on the phone. safer and legal to.

:thumbup:

yanacek
06-08-10, 10:24 AM
Get a license in your new state and screw CA.

Bad move. :thumbdown

temarti
06-08-10, 10:52 AM
Very bad move, if you ignore it and you are back on your feet applying for a new job or a promotion and the background is run it will pop up. If there is a Company Vehicle involved or even Corp credit card, you will be disqualified from the position, take the advice of others and work it out directly with Ca. DMV.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/fo/offices/toc_fo.htm

Lisa 23
06-08-10, 11:41 AM
Get a license in your new state and screw CA.

Extremely bad advice.

Big Jim
06-08-10, 11:56 AM
This story I am about to tell you is straight from EXPERIENCE....., So it was May of 1990 and I just got back from Desert Storm and I, like 1000's of other Marines, was immediately on a 30 day leave...

Vandrel
06-08-10, 12:25 PM
Got a petty little speeding ticket in 2001 while traveling through Marion NC, sent in a money order to pay the ticket before deploying for OEF. 2 years later I'm driving around home on leave just returned from OIF invasion, I get pulled over and the cop said my license was suspended and I was trying to run from him cause of it, etc etc etc, well long story short, Marion NC never got my money order, or so they claim since I had no way to check and they went to GA and had my license suspended.... oddly enough no one bothered to tell me like I was supposed to find the nearest cop and ask him to check my license for me or something. Well I was on my way out the door for a PCS to Okinawa so I drove my happy ass down to Marion NC and paid them off yet again, this time in person with cash and got a receipt.

One thing I learned was that some state DMV's don't talk to eachother, one state may suspend your **** in the system but they won't tell anyone else, not even the state your license is from. Other times they will do the opposite.

Of course all of this was about 8 to 9 years ago give or take and the entire DMV system was totally different then, now there is a national database and all DMV's are begining to report to this national database, all vehicle records, etc.

Quinbo
06-08-10, 12:33 PM
I could give a long horror story about getting a license in another state. I'll skip that but trust me whatever DMV you go to in any state has access to your previous record and if there is a flag on it you have to resolve it before they will issue you a license. Same goes for insurance companys.

SpartanMullet
06-08-10, 06:34 PM
The funny thing is I already got a new license here in my new state, but I still feel like I am getting screwed big time. Plus I don't want "wage garnishments." I appreciate all your advice and I think I am just going to call the court and hopefully they will actually work with me and exclude the collection agency. At this point, I would rather pay the court a bunch of money or even pay a lawyer a bunch of money to make the collection agency disappear. These people are vultures who just take advantage of people in tough situations. Also since I am working on getting back in the Corps, I guess it wouldn't be wise to have any added things that could potentially require a waiver!

Rocky C
06-08-10, 06:42 PM
The funny thing is I already got a new license here in my new state, but I still feel like I am getting screwed big time. Plus I don't want "wage garnishments." I appreciate all your advice and I think I am just going to call the court and hopefully they will actually work with me and exclude the collection agency. At this point, I would rather pay the court a bunch of money or even pay a lawyer a bunch of money to make the collection agency disappear. These people are vultures who just take advantage of people in tough situations. Also since I am working on getting back in the Corps, I guess it wouldn't be wise to have any added things that could potentially require a waiver!

Great Decision :thumbup:

USNAviator
06-08-10, 06:49 PM
Extremely bad advice.

Lisa

Give her a break, she's paralegal!! :D

USNAviator
06-08-10, 07:01 PM
Good Morning Marines,

I am getting the big weenie from the California government right now, and I need some advice. In March, I got a ticket for using my cell phone in my car. The fine was 160 bucks, due in April. No big deal. Well I moved out of state in early April and I completely lost the ticket and forgot about it. I got a letter a few weeks later from a collection agency saying I owed the LA courts 865 bucks! I called them and they said they had the right to increase the fine since I didn't pay it in time. They were pretty rude and unsympathetic to my situation when I asked for advice and help. Now I got another letter saying they are suspending my license. I called them again yesterday explaining that I don't think the 865 dollar fine is fair, and that right now I only make minimum wage and I can't afford it. They basically told me to either borrow the money, or they are gonna suspend my license and also pursue wage garnishment! Now I know that under normal circumstances, 865 dollars isn't that big of a deal. But right now I am struggling to even buy groceries, and all my money this month is going to rent and deposit of a place to live since I've been with my brother for 2 months now. I don't want this to come off as being a whiney b**ch, but I just need some advice. It just doesn't seem legal to do to me what they are doing. Thanks!!:flag:

Did CA. refer your case to a collection agency?

Is the collection agency saying they are suspending your license???

If the first one is true then your credit just took a big hit. It will take many months if not a year to drop off.

If the second is true, then report the collection agency to the BBB in their home state, if it's not CA. They are using illegal tactics to coerce you into paying.

How did a $165 ticket escalate into $865? Is this the collection agencies figure or CA? If the former, they have added on fees and interest which may or may not be legal

Best advice has been given here, try dealing with the DMV, pay what you owe, accept the credit hit and learn from your mistake

SpartanMullet
06-08-10, 07:04 PM
Just called the court and they said once the collection agency has the case, I have to pay them. Not me! I'll be calling a lawyer...

USNAviator
06-08-10, 07:28 PM
Just called the court and they said once the collection agency has the case, I have to pay them. Not me! I'll be calling a lawyer...

Mind if I ask how long it was between you receiving the ticket and the collection agency called? Normally it's about 4-6 months. No I'm not a lawyer but I was an adviser to the enlisted men in our squadron, part of which forced me to learn rapidly the laws about dunning letters and collection tactics

Good choice to get legal representation, especially since CA has turned it over to a collection agency. All the collection agency wants is a taste, they will settle for half I'm sure but if they lied to you in any way, they may be liable for damages themselves. Keep all paperwork and if they called and left messages, save them for your attorney


Best of luck

SpartanMullet
06-08-10, 08:49 PM
Mind if I ask how long it was between you receiving the ticket and the collection agency called? Normally it's about 4-6 months. No I'm not a lawyer but I was an adviser to the enlisted men in our squadron, part of which forced me to learn rapidly the laws about dunning letters and collection tactics

Good choice to get legal representation, especially since CA has turned it over to a collection agency. All the collection agency wants is a taste, they will settle for half I'm sure but if they lied to you in any way, they may be liable for damages themselves. Keep all paperwork and if they called and left messages, save them for your attorney


Best of luck


I went back and looked at my records and I got the ticket in mid-February, the fine was due at the end of March. I received a letter from collection agency by the end of April! I know it was my fault for not paying it on time, and I will take responsibility for it. But increasing the fine exponentially doesn't seem to fit the crime! :mad:. You Marines have been most helpful though. It's always nice to have a brotherhood like the Corps to get good solid advice.

Marine84
06-08-10, 09:01 PM
pay what you owe, accept the credit hit and learn from your mistake

Funny when the answer is something so frkn simple, huh?

I messed up once (I learned from it) over a dang dog tag. My Shephard busted loose when he was a couple of years old, got picked up by Animal Control and spent a holiday weekend in puppy jail. When I went to go get him out, I had to pay boarding costs (about $45 or so) for the time he spent at the puppy jail AND I got a frkn ticket to appear in court (!!! - that's what I said!!!)for not having him up to date (as far as shots) and registered. She had me sign the ticket (that I didn't read) and told me to watch my mailbox for something from the County to let me know what the court date would be. I was watching my mailbox when the court date was on the ticket and I didn't look at the ticket until I got the letter from the County telling me they would be coming to arrest me for failure to appear unless I paid (the NEW amount of) $250.00 by a certain date.

I had no choice - I was guilty - I had been stupid. Made me get my $h!t together and move on and I haven't had to worry about anything coming back to haunt me.

USNAviator
06-08-10, 09:12 PM
"I had no choice - I was guilty - I had been stupid. Made me get my $h!t together and move on and I haven't had to worry about anything coming back to haunt me."


Perfect example and advice.!! Everyone says to do the right thing but the few who do are rewarded beyond measure. It's called honor and character. No one can take it away from you and only you can lose it