pulpfiction0 Posted February 12, 2019 Report Share Posted February 12, 2019 Received the attached letter from these toll/tax/misc municipal debt collector attorneys about my EZ-Pass account (toll road payment system on the east coast). Is the Mini-Miranda not a requirement on these sorts of debts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest usctrojanalum Posted February 12, 2019 Report Share Posted February 12, 2019 FDCPA does not apply to these types of debts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoCares1000 Posted February 13, 2019 Report Share Posted February 13, 2019 The courts have ruled that government agencies do not have to follow the FDCPA. On top of that, the NYSTA has really been aggressive in collecting these debts. The time to challenge the debt has also passed so you probably cannot even ask for evidence. However, I do not think they have a reciprocity agreement with CT so they cannot take away your vehicle registration or drivers license. They can only take you to court but this is a collection agency who may or may not take you to court in CT (I say maybe because CT is so close to NY compared to say someone from CO getting such a notice). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clydesmom Posted February 13, 2019 Report Share Posted February 13, 2019 5 hours ago, WhoCares1000 said: On top of that, the NYSTA has really been aggressive in collecting these debts. Google that "law firm" (and I use the term loosely when discussing these guys) and you will see they have a litany of complaints against them for their tactics. They give new meaning to bottom feeder. It also gives new meaning to aggressive. https://money.cnn.com/interactive/pf/debt-collector/threatening-letters/index.html https://www.insidearm.com/news/00041947-texas-law-firm-to-pay-34-million-settling/ The best thing that ever happened to Texas was a Judge ruling that red light camera tickets could not be placed on a credit report (this was prior to the bureau changes) and that left their only method of collecting in Texas beyond letters was to notify the county the debt still had not been paid and then owners are prohibited from re-registering the vehicle until it is paid. All that said be very careful. They have seized state tax returns, levied accounts and done all kinds of shading things to line their pockets. Including adding on fees 1000% more than the fine involved. Despite warnings in their letters NOT to contact the authority the money is owed to you can and SHOULD call who ever issued the fine and work it out directly with them. There is a ton of stories of people paying this business and them not forwarding the money to the state owed. DO NOT TRUST THEM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoCares1000 Posted February 13, 2019 Report Share Posted February 13, 2019 This is not an issue with just the NYSTA but with all toll roads. There are stories abound of aggressive collections from all state with toll roads. In fact, earlier this decade, the Minnesota Attorney General threatened Illinois to not collect their tolls in Minnesota if they could not figure out the correct owner of the vehicle (which is harder because Minnesota plates stay with the vehicle rather than the owner when the vehicle is sold). Add to that the fact that these are considered government fees and fines and most laws such as the FDCPA and bankruptcy do not apply. That said, even the OP were to contact the NYSTA, they might tell him to deal with the collector instead and there is nothing the OP can do about that. As for added fees, there are plenty of stories where NYS actually allows these fees to be added under law. Also, because the OP is from CT, even if there is not a reciprocity agreement, they could easily go to court there (unlike say Minnesota which would be harder for a NYS attorney to collect from). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clydesmom Posted February 13, 2019 Report Share Posted February 13, 2019 1 hour ago, WhoCares1000 said: That said, even the OP were to contact the NYSTA, they might tell him to deal with the collector instead and there is nothing the OP can do about that. True but a quick Google search reveals that the majority of posts from consumers indicates that after they received the letter from these scum bags the logged in to their toll account and paid it directly to the state. There is also a lot of posts about people paying them and then the money not going to the toll authority and getting dunned AGAIN on the same debt they already paid. 1 hour ago, WhoCares1000 said: As for added fees, there are plenty of stories where NYS actually allows these fees to be added under law. A typical contract with this "law firm" allows the debt collector to tack on a fee. The problem with that is the consumer is not a party to that contract. There is plenty of evidence that they are tacking on fees on their own that are egregiously large. 1 hour ago, WhoCares1000 said: Also, because the OP is from CT, even if there is not a reciprocity agreement, they could easily go to court there (unlike say Minnesota which would be harder for a NYS attorney to collect from). Unfortunately this firm is a nationally located law firm and has offices in many many states. The good news is they make a LOT of threats including false ones of imminent arrest when not only is there no warrant but no debt but I can find no record of them suing anyone. They have been sued quite a bit though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clydesmom Posted February 13, 2019 Report Share Posted February 13, 2019 The major problem I have with this type of collecting for tolls, fees etc. is that even though the FDCPA does not apply it gives they consumer absolutely no mechanism to challenge if the debt is even valid. There are scores of posts where people were dunned by this group for tolls, fines, taxes, tickets they never had. The consumer received a similar letter and when they contacted LBGS the representative was rude, disrespectful and abusive accusing them of avoiding their responsibilities. Refusing to provide proof of the debt. When consumers checked with the agency where the money supposed to be told they were informed they owed nothing. The law firm refuses to believe it when presented with proof. WHY is that kind of collection activity allowed to go unchecked? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest usctrojanalum Posted February 13, 2019 Report Share Posted February 13, 2019 7 minutes ago, Clydesmom said: The major problem I have with this type of collecting for tolls, fees etc. is that even though the FDCPA does not apply it gives they consumer absolutely no mechanism to challenge if the debt is even valid. There are scores of posts where people were dunned by this group for tolls, fines, taxes, tickets they never had. The consumer received a similar letter and when they contacted LBGS the representative was rude, disrespectful and abusive accusing them of avoiding their responsibilities. Refusing to provide proof of the debt. When consumers checked with the agency where the money supposed to be told they were informed they owed nothing. The law firm refuses to believe it when presented with proof. WHY is that kind of collection activity allowed to go unchecked? For the same reasons that no politician was ever elected because they are soft on crime; no politician ever got elected because they were a champion for the consumer debtor. Those constituents just do not have powerful lobbies. Every once a while a local news station will run a story about how some poor consumer is getting wrongly worked over by a state toll company or a collector for a municipal debt; that gets that persons situation righted and a promise that such conduct will not happen in the future, but usually those are just illusory promises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoCares1000 Posted February 13, 2019 Report Share Posted February 13, 2019 3 hours ago, usctrojanalum said: For the same reasons that no politician was ever elected because they are soft on crime; no politician ever got elected because they were a champion for the consumer debtor. Those constituents just do not have powerful lobbies. Every once a while a local news station will run a story about how some poor consumer is getting wrongly worked over by a state toll company or a collector for a municipal debt; that gets that persons situation righted and a promise that such conduct will not happen in the future, but usually those are just illusory promises. More like because these are considered government debts, the government opted their collectors out of the rules governing collectors on other debts. In the same way the politicians opted themselves out of the Do Not Call list or Robocall requirements. As I said, it took the MN Attorney General (the same one who put NAF out of business) telling Illinois that they were not allowed to collect their tolls in Minnesota if they did not do it properly to get them to back off of Minnesota residents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest usctrojanalum Posted February 13, 2019 Report Share Posted February 13, 2019 Yes, I agree totally. I was specifically answering CM's question about why these collection practices are allowed to go unchecked. The government could pass laws protecting municipal and government debtors if they wanted to. But the government will never do that because no one cares about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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