I supposedly owe 91 dollars for a 4 dollar toll from half a decade ago. Can it be disputed and what penalty may I face if I don&#39;t pay? Today I got a letter in the mail from 'Linebarger Goggan Blair &amp; Sampson llp' claiming I had a 4 dollar toll from a state I pretty much never drive in back in 2018 that I now owe 91 dollars on now, including a 15 dollar 'violent crime' fee, because not paying tolls is very violent? But it's okay because Delaware has an amnesty program and if I just pay in the next 20 days I 'only' have to pay 64 dollars on my 4 dollar toll. As I said the state is hours of driving away from me and I couldn't imagine why I would be driving through it, though it's close enough, and long enough ago, that I can't rule out some forgotten long drive that took me through it. I've always had an ez-pass though so I would think any toll would have been automatically payed anyways. I've never received any notice about this supposed toll before today. I'd honestly suspect a phishing attempt if it wasn't for their asking me to pay via credit card in an easily tracked and recoverable manner, plus sending physical mail and knowing my license plate isn't the sort of thing phishers are likely to do. However, even if the fee was real I dispute being asked to pay non-payment penalties for a charge I was never informed I owe, plus I'm still skeptical how a 4 dollar toll qualifies as a 'violent crime'. Is there any grounds to dispute something like this or will they tell me I'm guilty of not paying even if I didn't get informed I owed it? For that matter, what kind of penalty would I face if I just threw the thing out? It's been 5 years and nothing has happened, so it seems like there isn't much they could do. I'd have no problem with paying a 4 dollar toll, but 91 dollars for a toll I was never informed about is just insane. I'm in MD but the toll was supposedly in Delaware.
It appears that 91.50 is the correct amount for a $4 toll that went unpaid for more than 42 days. EZ Pass violation notices can be appealed. Your communication is apparently from a debt collector. You may demand evidence that the debt is valid before deciding whether to pay or contest the alleged debt. Or you can go straight to the Delaware EZ Pass authorities. According to this official EZ Pass FAQ: Q: What do I do if I receive a Violation Notice? A: A Toll Violation Notice is issued for every violation (see example). In addition to the toll, a Violation Notice has a $25 Administrative Fee, $10 Ambulance Company Fund Fee, and a $15 fee to Combat Violent Crimes. A Toll Violation Final Notice (see example) is issued if the Violation Notice has not been paid within 30 days. The Toll Violation Final Notice adds a Civil Penalty of $25 and a Civil Penalty Surcharge of $12.50 to the fees listed on the first Notice of Toll Violation. If the Toll Violation Final Notice is not paid, it will be subject to registration hold, collection activities or legal action. Those fees would add up to $91.50 on a $4 toll if a violation went unpaid for 30 days or more. Note that the &quot;violent crimes part&quot; is to fund the &quot;Combat Violent Crimes&quot; program, not because a toll violation is itself violent. The FAQ goes on to state: Q: How can I appeal my violation? A: Delaware E-ZPass Customers with accounts in good standing can appeal their violation notices by accessing the Appeal Page of this website, over the phone, in person, by fax or mail. If you are not a Delaware E-ZPass customer, please follow the written instructions on the violation notice. You can appeal by completing the appeal form on the back of your violation notice and mailing it to PO Box 697, Dover, DE 19903-0697. To appeal your violation using this webpage, you must meet the following criteria: You must be a Delaware E-ZPass customer. You can tell by your transponder number, it must start with 019 and have a label identifying it as belonging to DelDOT. (If you are not a Delaware E-ZPass Customer, please follow the written instructions on your violation notice). You will need your transponder number. If you have multiple transponders on your account, any of your transponder numbers will do. It does not have to be the one on the vehicle for which you got the violation. Your account must be in good standing. An account in good standing has a positive balance. All the information you need is on the notice. Select Appeals and enter your license plate number then select the correct state of issuance from the pull down list. Enter the notice number. This is the 10-digit number at the top of your notice. It is called the Violation Number. Click submit. You will see the Appeal Screen. Enter your 11-digit Delaware E-ZPass transponder number and click submit. You will receive a confirmation that your appeal has been sent to be reviewed and processed. If you receive an error message, double-check and re-enter the required information. If you still receive an error message or have any other problem, call us at 1-888-EZPassDE (1-888-397-2773). Q: How do I know the outcome of my appeal? A: You will receive a letter in the mail indicating that your appeal has been accepted or rejected. If your appeal is rejected, the letter will explain why. Q: What are the reasons why I might have gotten a violation and how do I prevent it in the future? A: If you are an E-ZPass Customer and have received a violation notice(s), please consider the following to help prevent additional violation notices. If you do not receive confirmation that your E-ZPass transponder was read in the lane, it is possible that your transponder is not working properly. The reason for this could be: Your vehicle windshield blocks the transponder requiring you to use an external transponder. The transponder is not mounted properly. The transponder has been reported lost or stolen. Your E-ZPass account is in insufficient funds status. The transponder is malfunctioning. If you need further help, please contact your Customer Service Center. Usually the phone number to contact your service center can be found on your transponder. If you are a Delaware E-ZPass customer, please contact the Delaware E-ZPass Service Center at 1-888-EZPassDE (1-888-397-2773) for assistance. The &quot;amnesty&quot; program is describe on the page &quot;Motorists who violated Delaware tolls to get 3 months to settle up with severely reduced penalties &quot;, which states: Anyone in arrears who committed a violation between January 1, 2014, and April 30, 2020, will receive a notification of the program to settle the debt owed plus an additional amnesty fee. The bill details that a person who fails to pay a $1 toll typically incurs the following penalties: an administrative fee of $25; a civil penalty of $25; for violations that occurred after January 31, 2017, a $10 fee for the Volunteer Ambulance Company Fund for violations that occurred after January 31, 2017, a $15 fee for the Fund to Combat Violent Crimes. In addition, a civil penalty surcharge of $12.50 is added for each toll violation that remains unpaid after 42 days Ultimately, a $1 debt can increase to $51 initially, and then $88.50 after 42 days. Under the new bill, the amnesty fee is applied on a sliding scale, with penalties further reduced based on the increasing number of violations one may have incurred. The resolution creating the amnesty program reads, in pertinent part: BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Amnesty Program will be designed as follows: (1) Include toll violations that occurred on I-95 or SR 1 between January 1, 2014 through April 30, 2020 but does not apply retroactively. (2) Include toll violations by residential and commercial vehicles registered in any state. (3) Satisfies toll debt if all of the following is paid: a. The full amount of the unpaid tolls. b. In lieu of the outstanding administrative fees and civil penalties, an amnesty fee as follows: For up to 10 toll violations, $60.00. For 11 through 50 toll violations, $135.00. ... By the way all the above was fond on the fist page of results from the Google search: &quot;Delaware ez pass unpaid regulations&quot;.
Your question (when read with your follow-up comments) is somewhat complex, so I am going to make a few assumptions and break it down into several sub parts. Assumptions The conviction occurred in a state where the expungement statute allows you to tell employers that you were never arrested and convicted. When you say “public records websites” you’re asking about sites like atlaspublicrecords.com. That atlaspublicrecords.com is a US based company. They don’t list an address and the website used a private registration services, so can’t easily determine that they are US-based. Your questions and follow-up Considerations After I get it expunged, will it be removed from public records websites . . . . No. Websites like atlaspublicrecords.com do not link to actual public records. I searched a couple of common names and feel safe in assuming that it only collects and publishes the information—it does not actually link to court records. Nevertheless, it would not be available from the actual government agencies that keep those records. By getting your records expunged the convictions and arrest would no longer be available as public records that someone could request from the courthouse, police department, or whatever state agency does criminal history in your jurisdiction. do I have to show them proof of the expungement . . . . Yes, if you believe what the website claims. I can’t find a physical address for the website and don’t know if they are real or a scam, so understand that when you give them information about your expungement—or pay their silly fee, they might collect the money and do nothing. My opinion is that the company is shady and seems to operate in a gray area of the law that I will explain below. Options if they don’t remove the post: You could try to sue them for some type of secondary dignitary tort like defamation or false light. But these would have some significant legal hurdles. See G.D. v. Kenny, 15 A.3d 300 (N.J. 2011), where the New Jersey Supreme Court held that commenting on an expunged criminal records was not defamation or invasion of privacy because it was the truth. You could try to argue that they are a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). If they're governed by the FCRA, you have some additional legal remedies (like civil penalties/fines) if they don't remove/clarify an expunged record. The Fair Credit Reporting Act applies to credit reporting agencies, like Experian &amp; Equifax but also covers companies that compile and sell information for background checks. This includes criminal records. See the Federal Trade Commission’s Advisory Opinion to LeBlanc (06-09-98). But . . . this website is operating in a gray area that appears to comply with the law. The FCRA only applies to consumer reporting agencies, which are defined as: Any person which, for monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third parties, and which uses any means or facility of interstate commerce for the purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer reports. 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(f) Because they’re not charging money or a fee to access the reports and they’re not a nonprofit cooperative, they probably do not meet the definition of a CRA. Bottom-line is that you're best option is to give them the expungement documents once you obtain them.
The potential problem is if there is a form which you had to sign which says "I am a US citizen", and you signed the form (who reads the fine print, anyhow?). Unfortunately, that statement is false, and there are consequences for making a false statement. However, that law penalizes false statements with the intent to deceive, not mistaken statements. Nevertheless, this is a matter that a professional really needs to deal with. If there was no form and they didn't verbally ask you to assert that you are a citizen, then there is less of a problem (for you), but still one needs to be extremely cautious in dealing with the court. [Addendum] It is highly likely that the form contained wording like "swear" or "certify" and mentions "perjury", so the error would be in the ballpark of perjury. Perjury is making "a false statement under oath or swears to the truth of a false statement previously made and the statement is required or authorized by law to be made under oath". Aggravated perjury is perjury which "is made during or in connection with an official proceeding and is material". The term "material" means "matters; is not inconsequential". The consequence of a non-citizen improperly serving on a jury is that a mistrial has occurred, which is not inconsequential. Aggravated felony is a third degree felony. The penal code says that An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the third degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for any term of not more than 10 years or less than 2 years. (b) In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the third degree may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000. I must emphasize that an essential element is "intent to deceive and with knowledge of the statement's meaning", an element that cannot be present if there is no awareness of such a statement. Thus an innocent mistake could be legally excused. When you become aware that a statement made under oath was false (assuming such a statement was made), then in maintaining the falsehood, that would be intentional deceit. This is why it is necessary to consult with a lawyer. On the Houston form, you would have to check the "are a US citizen" box. The Fort Bend county form has you certify and sign on the front page: it does not require you to certify that you are a US citizen, only to certify (and sign) if you are not – so if you failed to read the back side, that isn't a literally false statement. I can't locate an online form for Tarrant county, so dunno if that out is available.
There is a good chance that you have some kind of remedy. But, in all likelihood, there is no cost effective remedy to vindicate your rights in a $400 dispute. If it was a $400,000 dispute, the federal courts would provide a good venue to resolve the dispute. In a $400 dispute, your best shot is probably to seek to have the credit card company reverse the charges, if you paid by credit card, or resort to consumer arbitration, if the contract of sale provided for it. I don't know if the remedies available for a credit card purchase in these circumstances are also available in the case of a debit card, but the agreement by the bank on that issue would be worth investigating.
Your rights notwithstanding, the government has the power to do such things under appropriate circumstances. First, you would have to be in violation of some ordinance, for instance in Columbus OH you are a violator if the grass is over 12". This should generate a notice informing you what the issue is and giving a deadline for remedy. If you don't comply by the deadline, they are then empowered to send out guys with tools, and the city will bill you for the work. You could call them and ask what the deal is. They might say "We put the notice on your gate", or "we mailed it to you". From a legal POV, the onus is on them to be sure that you're notified. It would be a good idea to verify that this isn't a scam. [Addendum] Bryan TX kindly provides a video about code enforcement, and gives a link where you can go directly to the section of interest (starting 0:43). Your description of the situation is at variance with what they say is the law (12"; 7 day advance notice whereafter they will correct the violation. They also say no notice is required for second violation within a year; $100 administration fee added to costs; lien will be placed on property if unpaid). I assume that your back yard is publicly visible: they recognize that "when the area observed is plainly visible, from a vantage point where the Code Officer has the right to be there, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy". That could include visible from a neighbor's property if the inspector has permission from the neighbor to be there. Otherwise, there's a simmering 4th Amendment problem (assuming that they didn't get a search warrant).
Yes You have a contract and, while I don't know what it says, its a fair bet that not making payments the contract requires you to make would be a breach of that contract. This would allow the other party to sue you for the unpaid fees as well as interest on them and the consts of collection (collection agency fees, legal fees etc.). In addition they can report you as a defaulter (which you would be) to any and all credit reporting agencies which would wreck your ability to get credit in the future. If the do sue you and succeed (as the probably would) they can seize your assets to sell them to recover their debt - since the time-share appears to have limited value they would probably seize your savings or your car instead. You need to read the contract to find out how you can end it legally.
Is It Legally Binding? While their customer service sucks, your oral authorization of the charge is legally binding (I take payments that way almost every day in my own business, it isn't an unusual business practice in small professional businesses). You authorize oral authorization of payments over the phone in the credit card agreement that your credit card company sends you every year that you don't read and throw away. The provider has to collect more information for a credit card payment over the phone than they do for an in person swipe in a credit card machine (e.g. your credit card billing address) and they are fully responsible for wrongful charges if they deal with an imposter. By regularly checking your credit card statements, you can confirm that no incorrect charges are present. Tax Issues If you want to take a tax deduction for non-reimbursed medical expenses, you simply need to tote up the amounts your are entitled to from your own records, and put it in the appropriate box on your tax forms. You don't have to attach documentation to your return. If the IRS disputes your payment, you can offer up your credit card statements and your photograph of the receipts, and if necessary, medical records to show that you received the services, to show that the payment really happened and are deductible. Your credit card company's records, reflected in your monthly credit card statements, are considered very reliable for tax purposes. You have the burden of proving that the expense was incurred and is of a type that qualifies for a deduction by a preponderance of the evidence in the event that there is a dispute that is litigated, which means that you must show that it is more likely than not that you incurred a deductible expense of that kind in that amount in that tax year. Privacy Issues While there are financial information privacy issues associated with this transaction, HIPAA, which covers medical records, normally wouldn't apply to a credit card payment that indicates the person paid, the person paying, the account, the amount and the date, but not a description of the medical services provided or to whom they were provided, which is what is normally on a credit card receipt. The financial privacy issues are also partially addressed by the provider's merchant agreement with the credit card company which contains terms requiring them to maintain certain kinds of security with respect to your financial information (which is not to say that the provider actually follows all of the requirements of their merchant agreement scrupulously, which is why data breaches happen all the time in businesses both large and small).
If you don't respond to the letter, you will be penalized. So why would they send you a pre-stamped envelope? Paying for communications is just part of your everyday life and shouldn't come out of tax payers' money.