fredflintstone
New Member
Hi everyone .. great forum here.
I have a question regarding some "unresolved" traffic fines that date back to 1997 in Washington State. I received a ticket for disobeying a traffic control device and driving without insurance in 1997. I never paid the fine, and my license was suspended soon thereafter. I forgot about the ticket for about 5 more years. In 2002, I went into relicensing court to "owe up" and finally get everything settled. When I told the lady at the front desk that I was trying to get my license back and pay my fines, she said my license was no longer suspended, and that my fines had gone to collections a couple years back. I said great.
So I went and got my driver's license .. now I have a job that depends on me having it.
Just last week, I got a letter from a collection agency stating that I owe them $1200 for unresolved traffic fines from 1997 ... the same traffic fines that caused my license to be suspended and which has since been reinstated. The letter they sent me also said that my license would not be renewed if I didn't respond to the letter wihin 30 days. The collection agency handling the fines now is a different collection agency than the one handling the fines before. I just called this collection agency to ask what the fines were for, and the lady confirmed she was collecting on the tickets I received in 1997. She said all accounts that were in collections with OSI collections, are now handled by them (Alliance One). My questions follow:
1) Can they suspend my license *AGAIN* even though it has since been reinstated?
2) Can these fines still legally be reported on my Credit Report?
3) If the answer to question 1 is no, then I have another question ... I read in the FCRA that collection agencies cannot suggest that a certain action can be taken if that action cannot legally be taken in the first place (they said my license can't be renewed). Wouldn't this be an example of illegal collection practices?
Thanks much for the help!
I have a question regarding some "unresolved" traffic fines that date back to 1997 in Washington State. I received a ticket for disobeying a traffic control device and driving without insurance in 1997. I never paid the fine, and my license was suspended soon thereafter. I forgot about the ticket for about 5 more years. In 2002, I went into relicensing court to "owe up" and finally get everything settled. When I told the lady at the front desk that I was trying to get my license back and pay my fines, she said my license was no longer suspended, and that my fines had gone to collections a couple years back. I said great.
So I went and got my driver's license .. now I have a job that depends on me having it.
Just last week, I got a letter from a collection agency stating that I owe them $1200 for unresolved traffic fines from 1997 ... the same traffic fines that caused my license to be suspended and which has since been reinstated. The letter they sent me also said that my license would not be renewed if I didn't respond to the letter wihin 30 days. The collection agency handling the fines now is a different collection agency than the one handling the fines before. I just called this collection agency to ask what the fines were for, and the lady confirmed she was collecting on the tickets I received in 1997. She said all accounts that were in collections with OSI collections, are now handled by them (Alliance One). My questions follow:
1) Can they suspend my license *AGAIN* even though it has since been reinstated?
2) Can these fines still legally be reported on my Credit Report?
3) If the answer to question 1 is no, then I have another question ... I read in the FCRA that collection agencies cannot suggest that a certain action can be taken if that action cannot legally be taken in the first place (they said my license can't be renewed). Wouldn't this be an example of illegal collection practices?
Thanks much for the help!
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