Any recourse when Berkeley parking tickets sent to collections?
October 18, 2011 7:35 PM Subscribe
In Berkeley, CA, a friend's friend accumulated a few thousand dollars in unpaid parking tickets, which were turned over to a collections agency.
Any chance that the collections agency will settle for a fraction of the amount due?
I don't see why not. I am in California.
I agree there might be an issue with the DMV, tho. I had a car that was totaled in an accident (not my fault, btw!) and I turned the title over to the towing company and collected my insurance claim... 10 months later the DMV garnished my bank account for some fees they thought were mine, but in fact the license plate was illegally sold and being used on another car!
I'm saying I am from NYC, and had no idea the DMV in CA had that kind of power.
I agree there may be some difference between what the DMV thinks vs. the collection agency. Depending on what direct experience advice your friend receives from this thread, make sure he/she double checks with the DMV.
But yeah. Once debt is with a collection agency, it is generally negotiable.
YMMV.
posted by jbenben at 8:02 PM on October 18, 2011
I agree there might be an issue with the DMV, tho. I had a car that was totaled in an accident (not my fault, btw!) and I turned the title over to the towing company and collected my insurance claim... 10 months later the DMV garnished my bank account for some fees they thought were mine, but in fact the license plate was illegally sold and being used on another car!
I'm saying I am from NYC, and had no idea the DMV in CA had that kind of power.
I agree there may be some difference between what the DMV thinks vs. the collection agency. Depending on what direct experience advice your friend receives from this thread, make sure he/she double checks with the DMV.
But yeah. Once debt is with a collection agency, it is generally negotiable.
YMMV.
posted by jbenben at 8:02 PM on October 18, 2011
Best answer: It really depends on the arrangement the agency has with the State/DMV. Sanctions like garnishments, liens, arrest warrants, booting/towing, driver's license suspension or revocation, credit bureau reporting, and even litigation depend on a) the local/state statutes governing debt collections and b) just how much muscle the DMV wants the agency to have. This also applies to settlements. Some places are happy to allow settlements and payment plans, while other creditors (in the general sense of whatever organization owns the debt) have specific policies forbidding these measures. IOW, there are no set rules.
Having said that, I'd recommend your friend contact the agency at once to see what their options are. Make sure s/he documents everything. If they do offer a settlement (and often the terms of the settlement are determined by account balance and creditor policies, so it may be a take-it-or-leave-it scenario), your friend must insist that s/he gets the settlement terms in writing. These terms should include the original amount owed, the agreed-upon settlement amount, and clearly delineate any additional fines or fees s/he may face if s/he doesn't hold up their end of the deal.
Any quality agency should have a form letter in their collection system that should auto-generate with these details upon the agreement of a settlement.
When s/he gets that in writing, s/he should also forward a copy to some grande frommage at the DMV as well, just to be on the safe side. But above all else, s/he should stick to the terms of the agreement. Bailing on a settlement or payment plan is seriously bad news. You can PM me if you have any other questions you'd like answered. This is, shall we say, an area of some expertise for me.
posted by shiu mai baby at 8:28 PM on October 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Having said that, I'd recommend your friend contact the agency at once to see what their options are. Make sure s/he documents everything. If they do offer a settlement (and often the terms of the settlement are determined by account balance and creditor policies, so it may be a take-it-or-leave-it scenario), your friend must insist that s/he gets the settlement terms in writing. These terms should include the original amount owed, the agreed-upon settlement amount, and clearly delineate any additional fines or fees s/he may face if s/he doesn't hold up their end of the deal.
Any quality agency should have a form letter in their collection system that should auto-generate with these details upon the agreement of a settlement.
When s/he gets that in writing, s/he should also forward a copy to some grande frommage at the DMV as well, just to be on the safe side. But above all else, s/he should stick to the terms of the agreement. Bailing on a settlement or payment plan is seriously bad news. You can PM me if you have any other questions you'd like answered. This is, shall we say, an area of some expertise for me.
posted by shiu mai baby at 8:28 PM on October 18, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: This was some useful information I once read on debt collectors.
My sense is that it might help for your friend's friend to get clear on what their definition of 'fraction of the amount due' includes. Debt collectors get a percentage of the payment and work in volume, so they are highly motivated to get something and move to the next individual. But that doesn't mean they'll settle for 1/10th, say $200 on a $2000 payment, particularly when they could get your friend's friend to set up a payment plan.
If a person could pay the fine and a balking on principle, I imagine they would, particularly when that person could be subject to not being able to renew their license or car registration, not to mention the serious ding to their credit rating. But if they person can't pay because they really don't have the money, it might help to consider what they are able to/willing to pay, before calling. As the link suggests, the collectors may start negotiating at something like paying 2/3rds by the end of the week (which is a fraction, but a pretty big one, particularly if one doesn't have the money to pay). They'll throw out their first offer, so your friend's friend needs to be clear on their first offer is going to be. Negotiation and settling will go from there.
So I'd tell your friend's friend to figure out how much they can/want to pay and start trying to negotiate with that in mind.
posted by anitanita at 9:42 PM on October 18, 2011
My sense is that it might help for your friend's friend to get clear on what their definition of 'fraction of the amount due' includes. Debt collectors get a percentage of the payment and work in volume, so they are highly motivated to get something and move to the next individual. But that doesn't mean they'll settle for 1/10th, say $200 on a $2000 payment, particularly when they could get your friend's friend to set up a payment plan.
If a person could pay the fine and a balking on principle, I imagine they would, particularly when that person could be subject to not being able to renew their license or car registration, not to mention the serious ding to their credit rating. But if they person can't pay because they really don't have the money, it might help to consider what they are able to/willing to pay, before calling. As the link suggests, the collectors may start negotiating at something like paying 2/3rds by the end of the week (which is a fraction, but a pretty big one, particularly if one doesn't have the money to pay). They'll throw out their first offer, so your friend's friend needs to be clear on their first offer is going to be. Negotiation and settling will go from there.
So I'd tell your friend's friend to figure out how much they can/want to pay and start trying to negotiate with that in mind.
posted by anitanita at 9:42 PM on October 18, 2011
I might check with a local legal aid office to determine whether there is a free program to advise your friend. E.g. East Bay Community Law Project, Bay Area Legal Aid, and/or the Volunteer Legal Services Program of the Bar Association of San Francisco.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 12:11 AM on October 19, 2011
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 12:11 AM on October 19, 2011
This likely depends on the jurisdiction, and I have no specific knowledge of the CA system. But in Boston, there was no negotiation. If you had more than 5 outstanding parking tickets on your vehicle, it could be booted and towed. Every day your vehicle was stored added an additional "storage fee" penalty to the final bill. If you failed to pay your fines and collect your vehicle it could be sold at auction. You still had to pay the tickets off, however. If you didn't, nothing would happen to you, but you would be unable to register a new vehicle until the old tickets were paid (that's how they always got you).
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 12:40 AM on October 19, 2011
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 12:40 AM on October 19, 2011
Best answer: My experience with the collection co. used by Berkeley is that when I received the collection notice I called and told them I had not known/seen this ticket. They then reduced the fine to its original amount
posted by pianomover at 3:13 AM on October 19, 2011
posted by pianomover at 3:13 AM on October 19, 2011
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