County hires two firms to collect parking fines

By Rich Cholodofsky - TRIBUNE-REVIEW - article source: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/westmoreland/s_568539.html

Westmoreland County has hired two companies to collect delinquent fines and court costs accrued over the years, including more than $93,000 owed by about 600 parking scofflaws.

A Tribune-Review analysis of court records revealed there are more than 1,100 outstanding parking fines throughout the county.

In Greensburg, about 790 tickets are delinquent, totaling more than $60,000 in outstanding revenue.

"I'm surprised by that number. I didn't have any idea the amount was that high," said City Administrator Sue Trout. "I'm not sure there is much we can do about it."

Greensburg, as the county seat, grapples with unique parking issues. In addition to a shortage of off-street parking, the city is host to a large contingent of daily visitors who drive to the courthouse.

Police Chief Wally Lyons said that because many of the parking offenders are criminal defendants with court appearances at the courthouse or other motorists with infrequent business in the city, collecting money for the parking offenses has proven to be a problem.

"We do everything we can do to collect, but we can only do so much because so much of it is from transient traffic," Lyons said.

Unpaid tickets are referred to district court, where fines are increased and eventually summons for hearings are issued. Failure to pay could result in an arrest warrant.

Lyons said that once a person accumulates three unpaid parking tickets, the city police can attach a boot that immobilizes a wheel if the vehicle is found in the city. That piece of equipment won't be removed until the tickets are paid.

Lyons said there are fewer than six booted cars in the city.

Parking tickets are big business in Greensburg. The city employs two parking enforcement officers who write as many as 150 tickets each weekday. The officers last year earned a total of $27,300 in salaries.

Last year, the city collected more than $284,000 in parking fines and court costs, Trout said.

The unpaid parking fines equal less than a half-mill generated by city property taxes. A mill in Greensburg is the equivalent of about $130,000 in revenue.

Lyons said police will arrest anyone they find with outstanding warrants for unpaid parking fines.

Monessen police Chief Mark Gibson and Jeannette police Chief Jeffrey Stahl said that once an arrest warrant is issued by a district judge, it is up to constables to bring parking scofflaws into custody.

Monessen, with 189 outstanding tickets, is owed more than $20,200.

Last year, Monessen collected $419,000 generated by parking fines.

Jeannette is owed more than $7,700 from 97 delinquent tickets.

Parking fines in Jeannette have lagged in the last year. The city expected to receive $20,000 in parking fines, but last year collected $12,300.

"Once the tickets are issued the warrants are filed at the magistrate's office. It's up to the constables" to pursue those offenders, Stahl said.

The county has moved to help.

County commissioners in April hired two firms that specialize in collecting delinquent fines: Credit Management Co. of Pittsburgh and Keystone Municipal Collections of Hempfield.

Special Courts Administrator Don Heagy said the collection agencies will be assigned by district judges to go after the delinquent money. Magistrates will be able to choose whether to issue a warrant or assign a case to the agencies.

"Instead of it being turned over to warrants, it can be turned over to a collection agency for six months," Heagy said.

Going through a collection agency will remove the immediate threat of arrest for scofflaws, but their fines could be increased by up to 25 percent. That add-on to the fine will be pocketed by the collection agencies.

Cases that end up with an arrest warrant typically give scofflaws a choice if caught: Pay up or go to jail.

"This is an alternative. It's another tool," Heagy said of the collection agencies.

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Government to crack down on bad checks

This article was written by Dennis Sherer and the source is http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20080518/NEWS/805180340/-1/COMMUNITIES

The Lauderdale County district attorney's worthless check unit is planning a roundup this summer of area residents who have written bad checks.

Before the roundup begins, the unit is offering an amnesty period Monday through May 30 to allow area residents an opportunity to pay up before getting locked up.

"We're giving bad-check writers who have outstanding warrants an opportunity to pay off those checks and pay the collection fees before they get arrested and have to pay court costs and other fees," said Carolyn J. Duster, supervisor of the worthless check unit. "If they have multiple checks, they can come in, pay what they can and make arrangements to pay the rest. If they do nothing, they are subject to being arrested and taken to jail at anytime after May 30."

Payments can be made at the Lauderdale County District Attorney's Office on the second floor of the courthouse from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Local merchants have turned over more than $300,000 in bad checks for the worthless check unit to collect, she said. One couple has had 70 warrants issued against them for writing worthless checks totaling more than $14,000.

"It's a lot cheaper to pay the checks off before they are arrested," she said. "They are only responsible for restitution for the amount of the check, a $30 fee for the merchant and a $129 district attorney's fee if they pay the checks off before being arrested. If they wait until after they are arrested, the court costs and other fees, not including restitution for the original amount of the check, are about $506 per check."

District Attorney Chris Connolly said bad-check writers who fail to take advantage of the amnesty period will be aggressively pursued until they are arrested.

This is the first time the worthless check unit has offered an amnesty period since he became district attorney in 2004, Connolly said.

Worthless check units in Colbert and Franklin counties have used amnesty programs for worthless check writers in the past.

"We've always just gone out and arrested the bad check writers in the past," Connolly said. "This time, we're trying to work with them and help them avoid going to jail."

Duster said several of the bad check writers that the worthless check unit has warrants for are from Tennessee and Mississippi. She said the agency will work with law enforcement officials in other states to track down those worthless check writers if needed.

"They might think they can come in here, write a bad check and then go back across the state line and we won't come get them," Duster said. "They're wrong because we are going to go after them no matter where they live and collect this money for our merchants."

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Birchard Library employs collection agency

Source for article: http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080516/NEWS01/805160302/1002/NEWS01

Beginning June 1, Birchard Public Library will begin using the services of Unique Management, a library collection agency, to collect overdue materials from particularly tardy borrowers.

Patrons are sent two notices about overdue materials. If their materials are still unreturned after 8 weeks, their accounts will be referred to the collection agency and a $10 charge will be added to the bill. Unique Management will send letters, make phone calls, and if necessary, report patrons to the credit bureau.

"For items to disappear is unfair to patrons who've been waiting for their turn," said Mary Anne Culbertson, BPL director. "We are trying to recoup taxpayer money so the book can be repurchased and again serve the community."

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Collection attorney information

Did you know that one of America’s Presidents was a debt collector? It’s true. Most know that President Abraham Lincoln was an attorney. What many may not know is that Lincoln also took on many debt collection cases. Lincoln represented both creditors and debtors. In many of the cases he won for creditors, the defendants did not show up for the trial and there was a default judgment. In many of the cases where he defended debtors, he lost—not because he was a bad lawyer, but because the legal system in his day and time favored creditors over debtors.

Things have really changed since Lincoln’s time. This is also true concerning collection attorneys. In many cases the law may seem to favor debtors instead of creditors.

If you have a debt that needs collecting, a collection attorney may be just the right choice. This is the choice many businesses make after they have exhausted their “in-house” collection efforts. If writing letters, meeting with debtors in person, and multiple phone calls have not settled an account, a third party agency is often needed. Sometimes the best choice is a collection attorney.

One of the first considerations on the minds of people is cost. When people hear the word “lawyer,” they think EXPENSIVE! Collection attorneys are probably not going to provide a free service. They may charge an hourly fee. Others may take 33% of what is collected. Or, they may want an hourly fee plus a percentage of what they recover. Too, many collection attorneys may have a minimum fee or require that a debt be a minimum dollar amount. If you are thinking about using a collection attorney, be sure you are mentally prepared to take your debtor to court.

You can find many collection attorneys through Internet search engines like Google and Yahoo. Look at their web sites to compare how they would compare to a third party collection agency such as NorthStar so you can try and make the best choice for your debt collection needs.

There are also lawyers who specialize in debt collection. They can be more effective than a collection agency, especially if the debt is serious enough to consider legal action. An attorney may charge an hourly fee, collect at least one-third of the amount recovered, or both. Attorneys usually charge a minimum fee, or require the debt be of a minimum amount. Payment to the attorney will be in addition to any court-related fees and charges connected with a lawsuit, if you decide to pursue a judgment in court. If you're not willing to take your customers to court over a past-due account, then there's probably no reason to hire an attorney.

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Rochester Police Commission approves check policy change against former commissioner's pleadings

Article by By JOSH ROSENSON
Original source of article: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080509/GJNEWS_01/539537022/-1/FOSNEWS

What was formerly known as the "worthless check policy," is now called the "bounced or fraudulent check policy," and the amount of a bounced check deemed worthy of investigation has dropped significantly as part of the Police Department's update.

Now, if a business accepts a check of $25 or more and it bounces, police will investigate, replacing the old policy of a check having to been written in excess of $100.

Former Police Commissioner Barry Flanagan cautioned the current commission about the new policy, and urged them to keep the old policy intact during public comment at Wednesday night's meeting.

Flanagan, who served as commissioner for more than 12 years, said the old policy had been in place for a number of years and was "looked at and studied vigorously numerous times." He explained it costs the taxpayer an average of $150 for an officer to investigate a bounced check, based on a $20 an hour rate and the average investigation taking seven and half hours.

The fact checks are less common, with the increased use of debit cards and direct deposit, was another element Flanagan took issue with.

Flanagan pointed to two more reasons as to why the policy should not be changed. First, the investigations would negatively impact what have been much-improved response times, and second, some people "without realizing it," might write a check that will bounce. In those cases, officers would be tracking down people who made an honest mistake.

The comments fell on deaf ears, as Commissioners Al Bemis, Lucien G. Levesque and James F. McManus voted unanimously, without mention of Flanagan, later in the meeting to adopt the new policy written by Chief David Dubois.

Bemis said he has heard from many business owners about the want for a new policy, and McManus, a business owner himself, is familiar with the problem first hand.

Two other policy updates were unanimously approved by the commission Wednesday night. The first had to do with Operation of Police Vehicles. Dubois changed the issue of idling police vehicles to match the city standard. The other update dealt with Motor Vehicle Pursuit. The department recently obtained an SUV as part of its fleet, and like motorcycles, the update restricts the SUV from pursuing other vehicles. Dubois explained SUVs, similar to motorcycles, are inherently more dangerous to operate in pursuit.

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As house values fall, some banks are freezing home equity credit lines

Article by By Tim Grant, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - article source: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08128/879571-28.stm

With home values falling in many parts of the country, several of the nation's biggest lenders have responded by suspending their customers' access to home equity lines of credit.

While it does not appear any local banks have frozen home equity lines of credit in Western Pennsylvania, at least one -- National City Bank -- has indicated that it might exercise that option.

"In situations where there has been a material change in financial circumstances or a significant decline in the mortgaged property's value, we may suspend further access to a homeowner's line of credit," said Bill Eiler, a company spokesman.

"We are facing an unprecedented time in the housing industry, and we believe it's prudent to assess and address risks that arise due to significant changes that have occurred since the original line of credit was extended."

Mr. Eiler did not want to identify any markets that might be affected; the bank covers nine states. But if National City does decide to freeze any home equity lines of credit, the homeowners will be notified and the bank will work with them to find another solution to their credit needs, he said.

Major mortgage lenders such as Countrywide, USAA, Bank of America, Chase Manhattan and Citibank have announced that many of the home equity lines of credit they approved in areas hardest hit by the housing meltdown have either been downgraded or frozen.

"In keeping with its sound risk-management and responsible lending practices, Countrywide is reviewing and analyzing the home equity lines of credit in its servicing portfolio," the company said in a written statement. "Among the objectives of the analysis is a determination of the impact of lower property values on existing accounts.

"This analysis may result in the company suspending borrowers' future access to existing lines of credit."

Countrywide and other major banks have been notifying customers across the country that they no longer can write checks on their credit lines because sinking home prices have left them with little or no equity.

But in Western Pennsylvania, housing prices have remained relatively stable despite the general downturn nationwide, a reality that local banks are inclined to recognize and appreciate.

"We have very low delinquencies in our home equity portfolio," said Todd Brice, chief executive officer of S&T Bank, based in Indiana, Pa. "We haven't see a noticeable decline in the Western Pennsylvania markets."

PNC Financial Services also confirmed that it has not suspended any home equity lines of credit based on any change in the value of homes, and that such a move is not on the bank's agenda.

"PNC has always managed its home equity lines of credit based upon a borrower's ability to pay and we continue to think this is the most relevant predictor of repayment," said Brian Goerke, a PNC spokesman.

Carrie Coghill-Kuntz, president of DB Root & Co., a Downtown investment manager, said she believes banks are making a smart move in scaling back on credit where equity has been lost.

"It goes back to the whole reason we're in this mess," she said. "People are borrowing too much."

Although it does not appear many homeowners in this region have been affected so far, Mrs. Coghill-Kuntz said it should be a wakeup call for Pittsburgh residents. "If this can happen nationally, there's the potential that we could see lenders in Pittsburgh start to implement it," she said.

Pittsburgh and most of western Pennsylvania did not benefit from the wild upside ride of soaring real estate values and because of that local communities have had a much softer landing following the crash that began early last year.

"People who live here are most prone to avoid debt," said Paul Brahim, executive vice president of BPU Investment Management, Downtown. "They might take out a 30-year mortgage, but they want it paid in 13 years.

"I have a sense that Pittsburghers in general are not as prone to getting upside down as people in other parts of the country. We are pretty conservative in our financial values."

John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at Credit.com in Atlanta, said many customers have contacted the company with complaints and questions about what to do now that their home equity lines of credit have been suspended.

"They were either notified in writing or they wrote checks against the home equity lines of credit that bounced because the line was closed," Mr. Ulzheimer said.

"If someone writes a check that bounces, the merchant wants to be paid. People use home equity lines of credit for big-ticket purchases," he said. "Most people don't have that kind of money around [to cover the bounced check]. They have to get the money by digging into their savings or get cash advances on their credit cards, which could damage their credit scores."

He said the banks that have taken this drastic action are not disclosing the number of loans affected, but he estimated it is several hundreds of thousands if not millions based on the size of the banks involved.

The most responsible borrowers could potentially be hurt worse.

They may have sacrificed the opportunity to use the home equity lines of credit except as a financial cushion for emergencies. The suspension of their credit line will force them to completely rethink their financial planning.

P.J. DiNuzzo, president of DiNuzzo Investment Advisors Inc. in Beaver, said he hasn't had any clients report that their home equity line of credit has been suspended, but he understands why some banks would feel it is necessary to do so.

"Banks tend to over exaggerate," Mr. DiNuzzo said. "Their lending pendulum tends to swing from excessive ease of credit back to excessive difficulty in attaining credit. They go from one extreme to the other."

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Fresno County District Attorney

A MESSAGE FROM ELIZABETH A. EGAN (FRESNO COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY): Original link: http://www.co.fresno.ca.us/2860/DANSF/default.htm

The N.S.F. Check Enforcement and Diversion Program is one of the few criminal justice programs that is cost effective, and self-funded with the revenues generated. The large dollar amount of restitution returned to the community, together with the fact that the program is totally financed by the bad check writers, makes this a truly innovative government program. It is precisely the type of public service program that should be encouraged, and supported in this time of budgetary constraints and shrinking resources.

Please navigate our site using the main menu on the left panel. We have all of our information categorized for quick easy access. Thank you for visiting our site!

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Bad-Check Amnesty Period Now Over

Article by By Cheryl Lasseter and the original link is: http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=8258422&nav=menu119_2

Hinds County Judge Bill Skinner will see dozens of folks accused of bogus check writing during bad check court, held twice a month. The number of warrants served in Hinds County is alarming: 80 to 100 per week for writing bad checks.

"You have some guys and ladies that write 35 to 40 checks," Skinner said. "Those are the guys we keep seeing over and over."

"I might have compassion for some of these people if it was for food or Pampers, but a case of Budweiser, carton of Kools -- it's hard to have sympathy for some of these people," he added.

Most offenders plead guilty. Very few go to trial. They're forced to pay back the merchant and pay county fees on top of that. Last year more than $600,000 in bad check money was returned to Hinds County merchants. The District Attorney's office collected about $400,000 in fees.

This year is shaping up to be even more lucrative.

April was "Bad Check Amnesty Month" in Hinds County. Offenders were invited to settle their bad checks without going to court.

Cheryl Childs, Director of Hinds County's Bad Check Unit, says court can be quick and pain-free as well for some offenders.

"If they make a mistake they come in, take care of it, it's done," she says. "We have 30-40 checks on (some people). That's not a mistake."

It may seem easy to get away with, but if you're bouncing checks in Hinds County, you'll face the music.

"It's kind of like drug court," Skinner says. "It's one of the few things in Hinds County that's actually working now."

A first-time bad check writer will be sentenced to three months behind bars for each offense. The jail time will usually be suspended. A second-time offender will get six months for each offense and may serve some of that time. A third offense is a felony. The penalties will change depending on the amount the checks were written for, and whether the check was deliberately written on a closed account.

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Bank collection and credit card collection service: two phase program to collect charged off debt.

Charge offs: They are a growing problem in the banking and credit card industries and now there is a great tool for this problem. NorthStar Technologies is a national collection agency that can handle any amount of charge off debt with a free contingency split or an inexpensive series of collection letters. You may read about both options on www.bumchecks.com/chargeoff.

Whether you use NorthStar’s series of collection letters to deal with your charge-offs or their no-fees contingency split, you receive many benefits not offered with other services that collect charged off debt. With NorthStar, all collection activity is tracked and reported on its secure web site. Clients have access to this information 24/7 for free. For a tour of NorthStar’s deluxe reporting system visit https://www.northstargt.com/qtour/userlogin.asp?Page=http://www.northstargt.com&Plan=FE. NorthStar can interface with your financial institution or bank to electronically receive charge off files. It can also offer secure FTP if that is your preference.

Rather than treat charge off debt as a “cost of business” and receive nothing for it, or sell it for less than five cents on the dollar, why not let NorthStar be your charge off debt processor? Outsourcing charge off collections to a third party collector makes sense for several reasons. You avoid the cost of an “in-house” collection agency, a third party service stays abreast of collection laws, and the collection rate from a third party agency like NorthStar generally exceeds “in-house” collection percentages.

From bad check collection to charged off debt, NorthStar has a team ready to help meet your debt collection needs. Find out more from one of their representatives at www.bumchecks.com today!

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Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Certegy Check Services and Fidelity National Information Services

Article source: http://www.girardgibbs.com/certegypressrelease.asp

The law firm of Girard Gibbs LLP (www.girardgibbs.com) has filed a class action complaint on behalf of approximately 8.5 million consumers nationwide whose financial and personal data was stolen by an employee of Certegy Check Services, Inc. and Fidelity National Information Services, Inc (NYSE: FIS) and released to unauthorized third parties. The complaint alleges that a senior database administrator misappropriated the confidential information of millions of consumers and then sold the data to direct marketing firms and data brokers who may have resold it to others.

“Certegy and FIS had a duty to safeguard the confidential data of consumers from any breach, including that of their employees. Once the internal breach became known, it should have been communicated to the public in a timely and adequate manner,” said Eric Gibbs, one of the attorneys for the plaintiff. “The failure by these companies to make the internal data breach immediately known exposed consumers to direct marketing campaigns and the risk of unauthorized use of their bank accounts and identity theft.”

The case was brought by a Los Angeles, California resident who, prior to the public announcement by Certegy and FIS of the data breach, started noticing an influx of direct marketing and promotional offers as well as phone calls to his home. After subsequently receiving a letter from Certegy informing him that his personal data may have been compromised by one of its employees, the plaintiff engaged a credit monitoring service.

Certegy and FIS merged in January of 2006. Certegy provides check-verification services to major U.S. retailers such as Wal-Mart, Sears, Bed Bath & Beyond and Amazon.com. Due to the nature of the services provided by Certegy and FIS, and their undisclosed role in financial transactions, consumers do not choose to use the services of these companies but rather are forced to do so.

The complaint alleges that Certegy and FIS failed to implement and maintain adequate security measures to protect consumers’ confidential financial and personal information. Their failure to properly monitor and supervise their employee subjected consumers to risk of data theft and other fraudulent actions.

The class action lawsuit was filed in federal district court for the Central District of California on August 14, 2007. It asserts claims of negligence, invasion of privacy and breach of implied contract.

Girard Gibbs LLP is one of the nation’s leading firms in prosecuting class actions and other lawsuits involving consumer fraud. For more information about this case, please contact Girard Gibbs LLP toll-free at (866) 981-4800 or through our website www.girardgibbs.com.

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CrossCheck Selected as a Preferred Service Partner for South Dakota Automobile Dealers Association

Article source: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/news/sections/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20080424005171

CrossCheck, Inc., the nation’s third largest check approval and guarantee company, has been chosen as a preferred service partner for the South Dakota Automobile Dealers Association (SDADA). As a preferred partner, CrossCheck will offer SDADA members special program pricing for standard guarantee and check conversion services.

“CrossCheck has been a leading provider to the auto industry for over 25 years. Dealerships across America use our Multiple Check premium to increase sales and Internet approval for the fastest authorizations. We also offer a check conversion program that converts business checks, a great feature for parts and service departments. We look forward to bringing these services to the members of SDADA,” said J. David Siembieda, CrossCheck president and CEO.

“We are pleased to establish a partnership with CrossCheck that will assist our members in achieving their sales objectives through cost-effective check guarantee. CrossCheck’s programs will greatly enhance the suite of services we currently offer members in our ongoing effort to increase the profitability of SDADA dealerships,” said SDADA President Myron L. Rau.

The SDADA endorses approximately 30 service providers that offer special pricing and discounted programs on a variety of automotive and automotive-related products, services and solutions to improve and strengthen dealership operations. For more information about CrossCheck’s SDADA program, call (800) 654-2245 ext. 5806.

About South Dakota Automobile Dealers Association

The SDADA represents over 150 dealerships throughout South Dakota. The mission of SDADA is to encourage fair and open competition among all dealers and to provide consumers with the highest level of value and service for their automobiles, trucks and motorcycles. SDADA works to support and enact legislation that protects members from unfair manufacturer restrictions. The association provides access to a variety of services, including insurance, group purchasing and financing. For more information about SDADA, visit www.sdautodealer.com.

About CrossCheck, Inc.

CrossCheck, Inc., a financial services leader since 1983, processes and approves billions of dollars worth of check transactions annually for retail and dealer outlets throughout the U.S. For more than 24 years, its goal has been to increase merchants’ profits by providing efficient and affordable check approval, guarantee and conversion services that can help increase sales and reduce risk. The company is headquartered in Northern California and has an additional office in Texas. Their services are marketed by a direct sales force, over 1,400 independent sales offices and 134 partners. CrossCheck partners include the nation’s top bank card acquirers which process over 49 percent of the nation’s bankcard volume. Visit www.cross-check.com or call (888) YES-2CHX for more information.

FREE bad check collection service for all types of bounced checks! Visit http://www.bumchecks.com/ for questions about NSF check collection (on this web site you may even sign-up for free nsf check recovery). Whether you receive a few NSF checks a year or many, NorthStar Technologies collects NSF checks at no cost to businesses because of the state legislated NSF check charge: http://www.bumchecks.com/statefees. Other types of returned checks are collected for free, even if you have existing bad checks. NorthStar’s bad check collection service extends to these U.S. states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

The blog top list

FREE and professional NSF check collection service for all types of returned checks. Visit http://www.bumchecks.com/ for questions about NSF check collection (on this web site you may even sign-up for free nsf check recovery). Whether you receive a few NSF checks a year or many, NorthStar Technologies collects NSF checks at no cost to businesses because of the state legislated NSF check charge: http://www.bumchecks.com/statefees. Other types of returned checks are collected for free, even if you have existing bad checks. NorthStar’s bad check collection service extends to these U.S. states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

N.J. lawmakers taking on debt collectors

Greg Saitz/The Star-Ledger - original article source: http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2008/04/nj_lawmakers_taking_taking_on.html

The practice of debt collection is under renewed scrutiny.

New Jersey lawmakers have introduced a bill in the Assembly that would regulate the practices of debt collectors and give authorities the power to issue significant fines for violations.

Dubbed the New Jersey Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the proposed legislation mostly mirrors a 30-year-old federal law that regulates things such as when and where debt collectors can call consumers. But it also goes further, imposing rules on creditors -- not just third-party firms that are hired by creditors or buy debt at a discount.

The bill, introduced last month and now in committee, comes during an economic period in which consumers are having a harder time paying their bills. Perhaps not surprisingly, that has meant some collection agencies are now getting more accounts to work.

Consumer advocates fear the increase in past-due accounts, combined with debtors' rising inability to pay them, will lead to more hostile behavior by debt collectors. Consumer credit delinquencies for the fourth quarter of 2007 were at their highest levels since 1992, according to the American Bankers Association.

Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, a group of consumer attorneys, said he expects the situation of rising delinquencies and debt collection practices in the coming months to be "an absolute complete and utter mess."

"What we're seeing around the country is the practice is getting more aggressive, worse and worse," he said.

But the collection agency industry said its members are problem solvers, not brow-beaters. A downturn in the economy might mean more debt, but collection agencies understand it also means the money to pay it is harder to come by, said Rozanne Andersen, general counsel for ACA International, the industry's main trade group.

"They work with the consumer to find solutions," Andersen said. "It's less about demanding payment tomorrow and more about finding solutions to the problem this consumer is experiencing."

The bill pending before the Assembly is aimed at prohibiting abusive, deceptive and unfair collection practices. Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Glouster), one of the bill's main sponsors, said while consumers should pay their debts, he wanted debt collectors to operate within boundaries.

Last year, the state Division of Consumer Affairs received 895 complaints about debt collectors, the sixth highest category. Nationwide, consumers filed nearly 71,000 complaints with the Federal Trade Commission about debt collection practices in 2007, a bit more than a 2 percent increase from 2006.

About 30 states have laws supplementing the federal regulations, including New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Andersen said she primarily was concerned with a provision in the New Jersey bill that makes violating it a violation of the Consumer Fraud Act, which could mean a fine of $10,000 or more.

"To make the leap that any violation of a debt collection law is consumer fraud is too aggressive," she said.

On the other side, David McMillin, a senior attorney with Legal Services of New Jersey, said adding a provision that allows private citizens to seek damages -- already permitted by the federal law -- would make the bill stronger.

"This is a timely proposal in light of the subprime crisis," McMillin said.

But whether the bill, if it becomes law, will be effective relies on enforcement by the state government and the ability of consumers to sue on their own, he said.

"Generally, consumer and consumer debt-related issues are among the most common problems people come to Legal Services for," he said.


FREE and professional NSF check collection service for all types of returned checks. Visit http://www.bumchecks.com/ for questions about NSF check collection (on this web site you may even sign-up for free nsf check recovery). Whether you receive a few NSF checks a year or many, NorthStar Technologies collects NSF checks at no cost to businesses because of the state legislated NSF check charge: http://www.bumchecks.com/statefees. Other types of returned checks are collected for free, even if you have existing bad checks. NorthStar’s bad check collection service extends to these U.S. states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Alabama collection attorneys

Do you need an Alabama collection attorney? If so, you may want to consider the links below as this blog post lists several Alabama collection attorneys. These lists are posted here for the convenience of Internet visitors. Stated another way, this blog post is not endorsing, recommending or advocating that these resources be used.

Collection attorneys can be a viable option for businesses who have a delinquent account that is several thousand dollars. For smaller amounts a collection agency is often a better choice to recover accounts receivables debt as well as collect on bounced checks. One national bad check collection service is NorthStar – read about their full range of services at www.bumchecks.com today!

Some Alabama collection debt collection lawyers:

The Pappanastos Law Firm - http://www.pappanastoslaw.com/

“Welcome to the Law Offices of Ross Gelfand, one of the top collection law firms in the nation” - http://www.primeritec.com/debt-collection-agencies-alabama.htm

Yates & Schiller, P.A - http://www.yateslegal.com/alabama-subrogation-attorneys.html

“The law firm of Turner & Miller serves clients throughout east Alabama including the cities of Birmingham, Anniston, Gadsden, Talladega, Pell City, Oxford, Heflin, Ashville, Ashland, Wedowee, Centre, and Hoover” - http://www.turner-miller.com/PracticeAreas/Creditors-Rights.asp

Massey, Stotser & Nichols, P.C. - http://www.msnattorneys.com/PracticeAreas/Collections.asp

Harbison & Hoyt, LLC - http://www.harbisonhoyt.com/areas-creditors.html

Waldrop & Associates, P.C. - http://www.wapclaw.com/overview.jsp

FREE and professional NSF check recovery service for all types of returned checks. Visit http://www.bumchecks.com for questions about NSF check collection (on this web site you may even sign-up for free nsf check recovery). Whether you receive a few NSF checks a year or many, NorthStar Technologies collects NSF checks at no cost to businesses because of the state legislated NSF check charge (www.bumchecks.com/statefees). Other types of returned checks are collected for free, even if you have existing bad checks. NorthStar’s check recovery service extends to these U.S. states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Caddo Sheriffs Roundup Hot Check Writers

Story By: Jonathan McCall - source of post: http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=8172037&nav=menu50_2

"They can't run away from it forever."
And for some the chase ended Tuesday as Caddo Parish Sheriffs Deputies went looking for hot check writers with outstanding warrants. Mike Middleton and David Bartlett with the Sheriff's office, work together on finding the bad check writers. They say plenty of warrants are out there for people with bad checks, because catching them is no easy task. "You may go 6 months before you finally catch somebody."
"A lot of the time we have older addresses and they give ficticious addresses." As we rode with deputies, they knocked on door, after door, after door, looking for wanted hot check writers without much luck until we found 26 year old Dionne Dorsey who did not want to talk about her arrest for a charge of issuing worthless checks, as she was escorted out of her house in handcuffs.
Middleton says most of the time, bad check writers aren't found through searches, instead they're found through random stops on the streets. "They'll get stopped for whatever charge out on the street and we'll find out they have a warrant." Deputies say they run into people with bad checks for as little as 50 dollars, or as much as 10 thousand dollars,but no matter the dollar amount, if you're wanted and don't pay up, deputies have a message for you. "Sooner or later I'll get you."

FREE and professional NSF check recovery service for all types of returned checks. Visit http://www.bumchecks.com for questions about NSF check collection (on this web site you may even sign-up for free nsf check recovery). Whether you receive a few NSF checks a year or many, NorthStar Technologies collects NSF checks at no cost to businesses because of the state legislated NSF check charge (www.bumchecks.com/statefees). Other types of returned checks are collected for free, even if you have existing bad checks. NorthStar’s check recovery service extends to these U.S. states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

RBS Lynk re-ups with check guarantee provider

Article source: http://www.pbn.com/stories/31019.html
By William Hamilton - PBN Staff Writer

RBS Lynk, the payment processing subsidiary of Providence-based Citizens Financial Group Inc., has renewed its partnership agreement with CrossCheck Inc., the nation’s third-largest check approval and guarantee provider.

The agreement means CrossCheck will continue to provide check services, including guarantee and conversion, to RBS Lynk merchants.

RBS Lynk, headquartered in Atlanta, is a single-source, full-service provider of electronic payment processing services, including credit and debit cards, gift cards and customer loyalty cards. RBS also offers ATM processing and cash management services.

“This agreement continues a long-standing relationship between the two companies,” Thomas Konz, senior vice president of marketing for RBS Lynk, said in a statement. “We have developed great confidence in CrossCheck’s ability to continue to help strengthen RBS Lynk’s position in the marketplace. This extension allows RBS Lynk to continue providing its customers with best-in-class check services.”

Through Citizens Financial, RBS Lynk serves at the U.S. payment processing arm of parent company the Royal Bank of Scotland.

CrossCheck Inc., based in Rohnert Park, Calif., approves billions of dollars worth of check transactions annually for retail and dealer outlets throughout the United States.

“We look forward to continuing our relationship with RBS Lynk,” said David Siembieda, CrossCheck’s president and CEO. “As leaders in transaction processing, RBS Lynk knows the value of offering merchants a complete payment processing solution. Our check services will complement their current processing programs and provide their merchants with the tools they need to ensure optimum service for their customers.”

Citizens Financial Group Inc. – owned by the U.K.-based Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc – is a $159 billion commercial bank holding company with about 25,000 employees at 1,600 branches in 13 states and non-branch offices in about 40 states. Additional information is available at citizensbank.com.

FREE and professional NSF check recovery service for all types of returned checks. Visit www.bumchecks.com for questions about NSF check collection (on this web site you may even sign-up for free nsf check recovery). Whether you receive a few NSF checks a year or many, NorthStar Technologies collects NSF checks at no cost to businesses because of the state legislated NSF check charge (www.bumchecks.com/statefees). Other types of returned checks are collected for free, even if you have existing bad checks. NorthStar’s check recovery service extends to these U.S. states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

Supervisors break ties with Franklin Collection

Article source: http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=271327&pub=5&div=News
By REGINA BUTLER
Progress Staff Writer

After a week of closely looking into the matter of an office building for the Mississippi Department of Corrections, the Pontotoc County Board of Supervisors has opted to rent the space where the youth detention center is.
The space, which was used as offices by the sheriff and investigators before the new Adult Detention Center was built, can be turned into workable space for the MDOC according to Supervisor Dennis Corder, and confirmed by Bill Brand through Sheriff Neal Davis.
Initially the E911 building on Reynolds street was sought, then supervisors decided to price out constructing a building near the new jail.
However, after all the research the board agreed that the most feasible solution was to allow the front part of the Youth Detention Center to be used for those offices.
“It is really just wasted office space right now,” Corder pointed out. “This way we can fill that building and get some money in return.”

Garbage collection fees
After seven years of allowing Franklin Collection Service to collect their outstanding garbage debts, the county broke all ties with the company this past Monday in the board of supervisors meeting.
At issue from Franklin was the fact that many of those who had been turned over to the collection agency were not paying the collection fee.
They were simply paying the county without coming over to Franklin for the additional 25 percent.
Franklin pointed out that he was going in the hole by carrying the counties accounts because they were unable to collect their part of the monies.
Once all the figures were hashed out between the collection agency and the board of supervisors, the agency agreed to a lump sum payment from the county of some $21,000.
As it stands now, anyone who owes the county a back garbage fee must come and get that fee paid or you won’t be allowed to purchase your car tag.
Tax assessor/collector Van McWhirter said he turned down several people from buying their car tag because they had outstanding garbage fees.
“They leave my office mad, but that is the right thing to do. I can’t sell them a tag until they pay the county.”
According to state law, anyone whose garbage bill is in 90 days arrears can’t purchase a tag until the bill is paid.
“Now that the 25 percent collection fee is off of the bill, we hope that folks who do owe garbage bills will come in and get those caught up,” said board president Wayne Stokes.
Anyone who owes the county for a back garbage bill is urged to go to Three Rivers and settle up.

County to consider animal ordinance, fine collection

article source: http://www.thecabin.net/stories/040408/loc_0404080004.shtml

The Faulkner County Courts and Public Safety Committee met Thursday to discuss a possible animal ordinance that would allow county residents to take animals to the Conway Animal Shelter and fine collections for the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office.

County Administrator Jeff Johnston referred an animal ordinance discussed at the joint meeting of Conway City Council and the Faulkner County Quorum Court last month in which "Conway would provide services where if people in the county have stray animals, they could bring them to the city and the city would accept them. We would pay the city the portion that's in the animal control budget and they would have to build onto their facility to accept the dogs and cats," Johnston said. "For a period of time thereafter, we would contract with them for that portion of the animal control money," Johnston said and reminded the court that the money would be collected from a volunteer animal tax.

Justice of the Peace Jerry B. Park has suggested using funds raised from a volunteer animal tax to build shelters at the Springhill Spay and Neuter Clinic. In addition, he has suggested hiring and training an animal welfare officer who would pick up stray animals.

"If you look at what it's going to cost us, as a Quorum Court and a county, to finance the cars, the people to do it and the stuff it's going to take for the buildings that's not even a drop in the bucket" to partner with Conway, JP Randy Ingram, who sits on the Budget and Finance Committee, said.

JP Lauralee Wilcox-McCool said that the Humane Society dropped out of a previous dealings with the county. She said, "I think the difference is with that plan, we were going to have to wait several years for this to grow."

Park argued that it would take $90,000 to maintain his suggestion for the animal ordinance. Wilcox-McCool said that the county still lacked funding to start up such a program.
Dan Thessing interjected, "we're talking about astronomical expenses if we go this by ourselves at this particular moment of time." Thessing added, "the citizens are looking for us to be creative and to stay out of their pockets."

"I agree with that," Park said. "And I agree with funding this on the volunteer animal tax... I do not want to raise taxes in anyway to pay for this because irresponsible pet owners are causing the problems, and they're a lot of people voluntarily paying for that problem." Park said he still wanted to partner with the Humane Society, but the county cannot build on the private organization's property.

JPs Wilcox-McCool, Thessing and Marvin Kelley voted to partner with the city of Conway for the animal ordinance. Park opposed the ordinance that will to go before the Quorum Court later this month. "I am very fearful that's there's still going to be a lot of feral dogs out there running loose that people aren't going to voluntarily pick-up and bring to Conway Animal Shelter," Park said.

Faulkner County Sheriff Karl Byrd came before the committee concerning fine collection at the sheriff's office.

Byrd said he's discussed with Park the option of hiring an outside collection agency to help the county collect on negligent fines.

"An outside collection agency can't do any more than what we are doing right now. As a matter of fact, they can't do what we're doing because all they're doing is sending a letter. The people who respond to those letters are going to respond anyway."

Byrd went on to say "the only problem is that when they respond, the collection agency will take 40 percent of the money, where we get all of it."

Instead of hiring a collection agency, Byrd said that the sheriff's office, along with the prosecuting attorney's office, are looking into other solutions to collect on fines.

"We're going to approach the people who are currently on probation and try to work with the department of community punishment and the local probationers for misdemeanors ... try to collect that money because right now it is not being done."

In addition, Byrd said that department is discussing asking judges to be stricter on those who aren't paying their fines. "Put a little more bite back into it," Byrd said. "We've spent about year letting people know we're seriously fixing to come after them. And we've had very good progress.." Byrd said that the department got behind on fine collection when there was little jail space available.

Kelley, who is also a Vilonia Police Officer, said at his department, "when you miss three payments, you get a failure to pay fines, that's it. You're bond is a cash-only."

Thessing asked the sheriff, "is there a mechanism of communication between the entities that impose the fines and the entities that collect the fines ... are we that organized?"

Byrd said there was not a mechanism in place although it was documented within the court records and the probation and sheriff's offices that the person owes a fine.

Byrd suggested requiring those on probation to show a receipt to their probation officer to prove they are paying fines, as a way to make sure they are collecting fines. As for delinquent fines, the department is considering hiring a lawyer who can file property liens and wage garnishments, but that would create other problems both with hiring an attorney and collecting the fines.

"If you do go down this path and you're looking at going after 'bad debt' is what I call it," County Judge Preston Scroggin said, adding later "there's a tremendous amount of work that would have to be done to get all this information."

Byrd the department has been doing some work to get the information together. The discussion was deferred to later meetings and the sheriff's department will continue to collect fines within the department and "to start working toward the future" to create communication between the courts, probation officers and sheriff's department. Byrd also agreed to keep the committee updated the department's progress.

In other business, the committee passed an ordinance to go before the full Quorum court to allow Cricket Communications to construct a 150 foot cell phone tower less than the required 225 feet from a property line.

(Staff writer Monica Hooper can be reached by e-mail at monica.hooper@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1266. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)

8 Easily Avoidable Causes of Business Debt

Article source: http://www.bankaholic.com/finance/avoidable-causes-of-business-debt/ -- Johns Wu

Entrepreneurs are the brave souls who make our economy go, or at least they were when our economy was actually going anywhere. Especially in this currently questionable financial climate, starting your own business is undeniably a dicey proposition. Start-ups go out of business all the time, often before they even have a chance to even really star up at all. The main culprit in the savage slaughter of these young establishments is the same perpetrator behind the bulk of our fiscal difficulties: Debt.

As an emerging entrepreneur, it is very easy to quickly accumulate debts that are substantial enough to kill your burgeoning business before it even gets off the ground. But it does not have to be that way. Take the time to examine your business workflow and you will likely discover a number of extraneous costs that can be eliminated to improve the health of your bottom line.

Here are eight common practices that lead to common results; learn to avoid them and you will be uncommonly successful.

1. Not sticking to the necessities.

As good a place to start as any, this is an all-encompassing, catch-all principle. Be a good bootstrapper by spending money only on what is absolutely necessary to operate your business. Come up with less expensive alternatives for accomplishing your core objectives and only increase expenditures as your revenue allows you to do so. If you survive the all-important start-up period and find your bootstrapping techniques to be too restrictive to your growing business, then you are welcome to loosen the purse strings a bit and enjoy the freedom that comes with larger cash reserves.

2. Trying to do too much too soon.

If you jump the gun and attempt to launch too many projects at the same time, your limited capital will severely limit the time and budget that can be devoted to each distinct venture. New endeavors require individual attention and need to be slowly nurtured if you want them to be successful. If you try to commence too many undertakings simultaneously, all that you will end up with is a bunch of projects that are all failing to earn and are instead costing you money.

3. Not designing for scalability.

There is little worse than achieving initial success only to be undermined by your initial lack of vision and poor preparation. If your business design cannot be scaled up when you hit it big then you may be forced to absorb all sorts of unexpected expenses as you are attempting to redesign from scratch.

4. Failing to delegate.

Always remember, you’re the big idea man; don’t spend your time performing tasks that could be done just as well by a cheap hired hand. Though you might be tempted to micromanage and keep a close eye on every aspect of your enterprise, you will not only drive yourself crazy, but also drive your business into trouble.

5. Buying in bulk.

If you are starting a small business, don’t worry about having a year’s supply of copy paper on hand the first day that you hang up your shingle. You will have all sorts of expenses in the early stages of your start-up and you will need all of the ready cash you can keep your hands on. Clip coupons to buy only what you need and you’ll have a better chance of weathering the early storm of unanticipated costs.

6. Paying your bills late.

Whenever possible, meet your expenses with the cash that you have one hand. Rack up big bills on that shiny new business credit card and you could end up putting as much money towards accumulated interest and late fees as you are towards growing your business.

7. Throwing away your receipts.

It is difficult for many entrepreneurs to learn to separate their business expenses from their personal expenses, and this can end up costing a new business owner thousands of dollars in lost tax deductions. Be fastidious about saving your receipts and you will be in much better shape come tax time.

8. Failing to collect accounts receivable.

Sure you want to be the nice guy as you are starting your new business, but you need to make sure that you get paid as well. With the available tools for notifying clients of payments that are due, there is no excuse for not being on top of your accounts. A good place to start is Paypal invoicing, which is easy to use and easy on the budget. In addition, there are a number of other web-based invoicing applications that will send clients automatic balance reminders and even route payments directly into your bank account.

Indiana bounced checks – free bad check collection service for Indiana business owners

Indiana business owners that receive bad checks may be able to contact their local District Attorney office. Some of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorney or District Attorney offices that have a “bad check restitution program” or a “bad check diversion service” include the following counties:

• Boone County Indiana
• Warrick County Indiana
• Noble County Indiana
• Steuben County Indiana
• Wells County Indiana
• LaPorte County Indiana
• Tippecanoe County Indiana
• Allen County Indiana
• Elkhart County Indiana

An Indiana bad check restitution program may be the right choice if your business only receives a few bad checks a year. Another collection choice in recovering bounced checks is NorthStar, a national collection service that charges bad check writers. NorthStar’s service is so good even some District Attorney offices use it. Your Indiana business can have your NSF checks collected at absolutely no charge to you by visiting www.bumchecks.com today! NorthStar also offers