Is there a Statute of Limitations for Connection for Personal Property Back Taxes Due

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Has anyone recieved any notification on their credit reports regarding this issue?

I have also recieved "the letter" from American National Recovery Group for taxes on 2 vehicles from 13 yrs ago...one vehicle I never owned, it was registered to my father who died in 2006, I don't even think he owned it in 1996. I moved out of CT in 1991 and the taxes they are asking me for are from 1993-1996 between both vehicles. I am also stuck in the situation of not having registration records for vehicles I have not owned for amlost 15 yrs.

From reading the posts on here, it appears "they" have 15 yrs to try to collect this kind of debt and according to the law they do not have to show any evidence of the debt being valid. Does that go against the fair credit reporting act? There has to be some kind of "records", how else would ANRG got our info in the first place? It sounds like the municipalities and this CA are just trying to use some BS loophole to put money in their pockets.

My questions are:
1. Am I correct in understanding the situation as mentioned above?
2. What are the ramifications for not paying this?
3. Has anyone actually had this show up on their credit report?
4. Who would we need to contact within the state of CT to protest this absurd law and change the legislation?
 
I have got a similar letter from ANRC stating that I owe $713 (Client: Town Of Mansfield) for a car I have sold 2 years ago. I had also moved out of Connecticut in 1998 and have lived in KY, where I sold the car in 2006. I have no documents related to the car in question. What can I do?
 
partial payment

They can't report your "debt" to a credit agency if it is over 7 years. CT hasn't gone after in court any of these old taxes. The collection agencies are just seeing who they can scare into paying. Unfortunatly, I was scared into making a partial payment. Someone wrote that the 7 and 15 years do not apply if you make a partial payment, that it starts again. Does anyone know if this is true?
 
OK, so the 15 days has passed on my second request for debt validation/verification and not a peep from Dodd, now I'll send a cease and desist letter demanding that they remove me from their files and send proof that they've done it. Has anyone ever been reported to credit agencies over this crap? Their window of opportunity to report me closes this July 7th and I'll be watching like a hawk because I intend to bring lawsuit if they do without sending the information I asked for.
 
Just Ignore Them

I read all the posts on here and the best thing to do seems to be ignoring this since this collection agency is exploiting a loophole in the law. Or contact the state requesting this legislation be rewritten, another idea is complaining directly to the municipality directly (if they get enough complaints maybe it won't be worthwhile to pursue)...lastly contact the media, local news or paper.

All the posts on here say "they" are not required to provide us with proof of debt and even if you do they can still request you pay it which just doesn't sound legal to me. :no:

From reading all the posts on here it is just someone trying to scare people into paying.
 
unfair car tax lien

Lived in CT till 97.Paid taxes. Paid tax in SC from 97-99. Moved back to CT in 99. I was able to register in CT from 99 till now. Paid CT tax from 99 till now. Now cannot register because of 1997 tax lein. Went to Litchfield and they showed 97 bill returned to them that they mailed in 98. (no kidding they don't foward mail that old). I have ALL my receipts from 93 till now including tax and reg. Im waiting for a response from Blumenthal. I refuse to pay over 400.00 in interest. Thankfully I have'nt heard from Dodd. Im moving out of state next month and want to register in the state Im moving to now. That way I will hand deliver my CT plates, go to town hall and reguest my last tax bill,and leave PATHETICUT once and for all !!! Too bad CT residents are unaware of 10 year plus bills till the interest is SO high, paperwork is lost and your pristine credit is destroyed. This unjust is affecting soo many residents IM positive local news and radio would be more than willing to do a story on it. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME !!!!
 
Another George Dodd Letter

We were just contacted by George Dodd about an automobile we owned when we lived in CT 7 years ago. Same complaint as the majority of the entires, registered car in another state, had a mailed forwarded and never received a bill.

I refuse to pay taxes in a state when the car was no longer registered there and I had to pay taxes in the new state (MD). I am also sending Dear George a letter that the debt is in dispute. How do we submit a complaint to the attorney generals office. I tried visiting the website, but the consumer complaint appears to target purchases and contracts.
 
I e-mailed the Attorney General of CT here Attorney.General@po.state.ct.us and got this response:


I am in receipt of your letter concerning a property tax bill from the city of Danbury for taxes owed.
The Attorney General's Office does not have authority over the municipal collection of property taxes. Recently, many municipalities have begun aggressively collecting past due motor vehicle taxes by sending such taxes to a private collection agency. Some uncollected taxes resulted from the taxpayer moving from the town between October 1 when the Grand List was established and the following June when the tax bills based on that grand list were mailed. A municipality may collect delinquent taxes for 15 years after the property tax is due.
While it may seem unfair, current state law does not require municipalities to prove actual receipt of the tax bill, nor to follow up with a late notice. The towns do not have the authority to waive interest and penalties on delinquent taxes unless the taxpayer can prove inability to pay.
I understand your frustration but regret that I cannot be of direct assistance to you. I hope you are able to resolve this issue soon.

Very truly yours,

Richard Blumenthal
ATTORNEY GENERAL



I sent him a second e-mail and here is his response:


There is legislation currently pending before the General Assembly -- which I have supported -- that would restrict the ability of a municipality to charge interest after 3 years if they don't have proof that the taxpayer received notice of the outstanding bill. Although it is uncertain whether the legislation will pass, it is clear that the legislature is concerned about the current practice.

Sincerely,
Richard Blumenthal
ATTORNEY GENERAL


It couldn't hurt to keep those complaints/e-mails coming...harder to ignore.
 
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Sample Reply Ltr to American Nat'l Recovery Grp

George Dodd
Collection Coordinator
American National Recovery Group, INC.
144 Route 59 - Suite 4
Suffern, NY 10901


Re: Account #: XXXX-XXXXX8867
Frank Rizzo
161st St
Bronx, NY 10451


June 17, 2008

Dear Mr. Dodd,

I was astonished to receive your letter referencing account # XXXX-XXXXX8867. I fully dispute the debt of $1,648.64 or any portion thereof. I did not live in the state of Connecticut at any time during 1994 or 1995. Therefore I do NOT owe any taxes to the state of Connecticut. This letter is proof of a response that I fully dispute your attempt to collect this debt.

I trust that this invalid collection attempt will not be reported to any credit bureau in any form. Should I find differently, I will seek legal remedy against you, American National Recovery Group, and the state of Connecticut. I would like to see that this collection activity is taken care of in a quick efficient matter. Any further attempts to collect this invalid tax bill will be considered harassment.

Most sincerely,



Frank Rizzo
 
Found a workable solution

Hi Everyone,

I also had the same thing happen - from the town of Mansfield, CT, and it was "Mr Dodd" at American Recovery Group (although on my second letter from them, it was a different person with a real signature, not computer generated).

I contacted the town directly and they told me to use www carfax com to get a copy of the vehicle's history to prove that the car was registered out of state during the period in question.

You will need the vehicle identification number (VIN), if you don't have it, it is listed on the forms that the collection agency sends to you. Enter it, pay $25 for the history, print it out and fax it to the town's assessor's office. They told me that it was sufficient for proving that the taxes were not actually due and that THEY would contact the collection agency and call them off.

Good luck!
 
Did not own the vehicals

I'm completely lost here. We just got one of these letters everyone is talking about from Mr Dodd today saying we owed back taxes on two vehicals we never owned. How are we suppose to prove that?

We did live in Connecticut for a few years while stationed in the navy but were not there the years these taxes are for and never owned the vehicals they listed, two of them.

.. angry in Minnesota
 
Ah yes - Mr. Dodd and CT - Town of Branford

Searched the web and found this thread.

I, along with many others have received the "letter" from ANRG stating the same about the car tax monies being owed. I did call his office and got the real "George" on the phone and he explained that there was not much I could do about it.

I called the tax assessors office and they explained that the bulk of the monies owed was for interest. After going through the whole sch peel of my move to NY in 2000, and having properly turned in my plates, re registering my cars in NY - they told me that I need the original NY registration document. NY does not keep computerized records past 4 yrs. I contacted CT DMV - sent $40 and got a returned plate record for both vehicles - called the assessors office back and they said that this was still not enough proof, even with Federal/State tax records for the tax year in question or the letter and documentation from my ins. agent proving NY insurance. I politely explained that "all" of my other mail got to me, all except that is for the tax bill.

It would appear that the tax I owed was form the infamous 10/1 date and were in the actual tax bill does not go out until July of the next year. I said that I would gladly pay the tax from 10/01 to 1/02 (the period if time when my vehicles were still under Ct registration) and that was fine with them, that is if I could provide the proof that they want, which seems to be as of this point, very difficult to obtain.

I'm going to keep plugging away at this, and I do eventually plan to pay what I owe, but nothing more - fair is fair. I've have never been late on/or have not paid any of my bills.

Best to all
 
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10 and 11 year old tax bill

I am having the same exact issue. I moved out of Ct in 1998 and just received a collection note from a collection agency for car taxes from 1997 and 1998. I called the town and they told me that all the bills they sent had been returned as undeliverable. I have been living at the same address in MA. for the past 10 years, am listed in the phone book and have had no issues getting mail.

The bills now total over $4,200.00 which is over 80% penalty and interest. I can not find any records of my tax payments from 97 and 98. If I do owe the taxes I will pay them but since there was no attempt by the town to notify me as they continued to get returned mail I do not feel I should be responsible for the penalty and interest. What can I do?
 
Only in Connecticut

I too recently received a couple of nasty gram letters from Mr. Dodd regarding an unpaid Property Tax bill from the City of Fairfield from 1992. Yes, 1992! (and I left CT in 1996 and have never been back).

Rather than deal with the collections agency, which I would agree is likely to be futile -- I chose to contact the Tax Collector for the City of Fairfield directly by telephone (you can generally find this number on the city's website).

He was able to pull up the offending record from the account number listed on the Dodd letter, and more importantly confirm for me that the Statue of Limitation for this tax in CT is 15 years from date tax was originally due. He confirmed that statute had run for me and that he would be informing Mr. Dodd to stop trying to collect on this account.

Finally, this does indicate -- that at least for City of Fairfield -- that they have not actually "sold" the debt.

Of course, that doesn't explain why they were still trying to collect after 17 years . . . but nobody is accusing these guys of playing fair.

My advice to anybody dealing with this -- just call the City Tax Collector directly -- and they will likely give you a straight answer. If you actually owe the money, they are also probably the only people who can actually cut you a deal on any fees and interest payments that have accrued over the years (as they are the owners of the debt, at least in this case)
 
The statute of limitations is a defense that must be presented. It's not always clear when it begins to run and that is frequently open to dispute. Not that I'm saying I know what Dodd was doing by trying to collect or what his business actually is, just how the law works. A can sue B and it's up to B to claim a statute of limitations defense. If not, the case usually proceeds.
 
No real answers to the delima

There are hundreds of us in this predicament. What is different, in my case, is that they are starting to prove we didn't provide evidence, which they don't provide evidence really by deduction of evidence. They cannot prove delivery of the bills, or follow-up of the bills, and fall back on its the owners responsibility. So we are now forced to provide documentation for aged material that most people do not retain. Below is my history of events from the City of Danbury Tax Collection.

  • 12 year old auto debt (1997)
  • no proof or contact by Danbury
  • Costs are now in $1000 range (from Collectors TaxServ Capital Services)
  • Car taxes were paid at time of plate drop off, I was the one who dropped them off. Sad thing, as everyone else, my records do not go back that far, I had up to 1999.
  • First Nasty gram I responded with cease and desist. Quoting FDCP practices and CSG52-576 SOL.
  • Got a RESPONSE from them; that 15 years is SOL under CGS12-164, FDCP does not apply to taxes, ON TOP OF THAT, they are now providing CARFAX printouts from the Web about the vehicles, showing that the cars were not re-registed until years after 1997 (one shows it was not registered until 2004)
  • This CARFAX is just wrong as I was driving these cars legally and registered when we left CT to NY in 1997. So now the burden is now on me for evidence for re-registration.
  • They even got so bold, to indicate, that I would have to prove re-registration before 10/1997 or show payment records of the tax. Records of payment? Probably not gonna find that. I found on the NYS DMV website a form MV15 @ $10 per request to get Registration Records. Regardless of the MV15 form, I know I will not make the cutoff date of re-registering the cars of 10/1997 as I moved in 1/1998.
  • Unless I can provide the payment records, I am without evidence, and the cards are stacked against me

This is just not right, that they do not have provide evidence of sending me or trying to contact me, but I have to provide I paid them!!!!!
 
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solozone said:
There are hundreds of us in this predicament. What is different, in my case, is that they are starting to prove we didn't provide evidence, which they don't provide evidence really by deduction of evidence. They cannot prove delivery of the bills, or follow-up of the bills, and fall back on its the owners responsibility. So we are now forced to provide documentation for aged material that most people do not retain. Below is my history of events from the City of Danbury Tax Collection.

  • 12 year old auto debt (1997)
  • no proof or contact by Danbury
  • Costs are now in $1000 range (from Collectors TaxServ Capital Services)
  • Car taxes were paid at time of plate drop off, I was the one who dropped them off. Sad thing, as everyone else, my records do not go back that far, I had up to 1999.
  • First Nasty gram I responded with cease and desist. Quoting FDCP practices and CSG52-576 SOL.
  • Got a RESPONSE from them; that 15 years is SOL under CGS12-164, FDCP does not apply to taxes, ON TOP OF THAT, they are now providing CARFAX printouts from the Web about the vehicles, showing that the cars were not re-registed until years after 1997 (one shows it was not registered until 2004)
  • This CARFAX is just wrong as I was driving these cars legally and registered when we left CT to NY in 1997. So now the burden is now on me for evidence for re-registration.
  • They even got so bold, to indicate, that I would have to prove re-registration before 10/1997 or show payment records of the tax. Records of payment? Probably not gonna find that. I found on the NYS DMV website a form MV15 @ $10 per request to get Registration Records. Regardless of the MV15 form, I know I will not make the cutoff date of re-registering the cars of 10/1997 as I moved in 1/1998.
  • Unless I can provide the payment records, I am without evidence, and the cards are stacked against me

This is just not right, that they do not have provide evidence of sending me or trying to contact me, but I have to provide I paid them!!!!!
Click to expand...

As a practical matter the city would have to either file suit and/or file a lien.
If a suit results in a judgment against you, you'll have no choice but to pay it.

However, if no suit or lien has been filed after 7 years, you are in the clear in terms of a lien, judgment or credit reporting.
You would technically still owe the debt but if you have no intention of residing there before the 15 year statute of limitations kicks in, you're in the clear as there's really nothing they can do.
 
They should contact there States Attorney's Office, each and everyone. I have had to do this in the past and so far haven't been disappointed.
 
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Same problem with Danbury taxes

I moved out of CT 9 years ago, and got a call out of nowhere from a collection agency. I contacted the City of Danbury directly and was routed to the Tax Assesor. Explained the situation and they said there's nothing they can do for prorating the bill. Either you pay in full or show prove the car was not in CT prior to Oct-1.

The "cutoff" date is Oct-1, and I moved out Oct-10. I have all the evidence (plane tickets, etc.), but they say it cannot be prorated. There's only an 18 month window for prorating after you move out. Beyond that the whole tax bill is due, along with penalties. $1000 for 10 days of "use" 10 years ago. I never did receive any notification in 10 years, even though the state had my forwarding address from my income taxes.

I called the Office of Policy Management and they confirmed the SOL is 15 years, and that this is handled at the city level. There's nothing the state can do. They suggested I hire a local attorney to correct this. This sounds like such a scam. What's fair is fair, and in this case it is not. I tried working with them, without success.

Has anyone successfully resolved this? I guess one option is to let the SOL run out?
 
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