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Evening_Chemist_2367 t1_j5v7glo wrote

Reply to comment by Ylossss in More 'boots' on the ground?' "DC looks to hire more officers to address rise in illegally parked cars" by SomeLikeItRaw

Collections agencies can and do ruin peoples' credit reports if they don't pay.

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Ylossss t1_j5vu17u wrote

Since these fines are sent by the DMV(or whatever it’s called in DC) of DC with no legal recourse, they cannot be put on your credit.

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Evening_Chemist_2367 t1_j5w1ewk wrote

Why not? If you're right, it seems quite bizarre that a private company can put a late payment on your credit report yet an official government agency collecting a legal and lawful fine cannot?

On another note, I do think they have legal recourse. I think they are just not exercising it effectively.

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Ylossss t1_j5x6o9j wrote

Not bizarre at all. You usually sign some sort of agreement with a company you owe a debt to. A driver from Virginia or Maryland didn't sign one with DC DDOT. If DC police issued the tickets and you could challenge it in court, that would be a different story. DC specifically doesn't do it that way. Therefore, if you're out of state, you don't have to pay. https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/marylanders-and-virginians-owe-75-of-unpaid-dc-photo-tickets-according-to-ddot-and-mva-report/65-021cd138-aab7-4d82-9a9f-c24f2d00d208

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Evening_Chemist_2367 t1_j5z4ka9 wrote

Your drivers license and vehicle registrations are the agreements you signed that make you liable and subject to traffic laws. It doesn't matter what jurisdiction. Just because you're licensed and registered in one state doesn't magically get you off the hook in a different state. Try convincing a state trooper who pulls you over in another state otherwise. The internet is chock full of hilarious videos of people who believed that and failed - particularly sovereign citizens.

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Ylossss t1_j5zzsjh wrote

You're talking about what you feel is right vs what the law actually is. I even included an article. Read it.

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Evening_Chemist_2367 t1_j60skf3 wrote

Nothing in your article actually says there is no legal recourse. It says Bowser asked VA and MD for help, but that VA and MD refused to do anything to help.

I'd like to see you back up your claims with some actual law or court precedent that says unpaid fines cannot be turned over to collections agencies, or that the traffic laws of one jurisdiction do not apply to drivers from another jurisdiction.

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Ylossss t1_j67e4uu wrote

I can't prove this negative for you, but what I will say is that I have a 760+ credit score and 2 camera tickets that I never intend to pay that are two+ years old that aren't on my credit despite the collection letters I get from some company in Chicago.

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