GC Services
GC Services came out of nowhere with a government contract to collect unpaid traffic tickets and the fines associated with them for Los Angeles county. This collection agency operates in much the same way as the others: collecting debt via dunning letters, phone calls, and credit report entries. I'm not concerned with GC Services' collection policies when it comes to retail debt. In that category they're just like any other debt collector. It's their government affiliation that bothers me.
Where Federal Law Gets Murky
Guess what? If you don't pay your traffic ticket, miss your court date but want to simply pay the thing and get it over with you can't just walk up to the clerk's office to pay the ticket. You have to deal with a GC Services representative. The court makes it easy for you by giving the collection agency its own window in the courthouse!
I'm floored by this. Honestly floored. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the following behavior is prohibited:
"The false representation or implication that the debt
collector is vouched for, bonded by, or affiliated with
the United States or any State, including the use of any
badge, uniform, or facsimile thereof."
And giving GC Services a booth in the Los Angeles county courthouse sends what message, exactly? Granted, this particular collection agency is obviously affiliated with the state of California (however tenuous that affiliation may be), but giving GC Services its own window and giving collection agents the ability to schedule court dates is confusing to debtors. They believe their state government and the collection agency are one in the same. This leads them to believe whatever the collection agent at the window or over the phone tells them – even if the information is inaccurate. We have statutes specifically to prevent this, yet its happening.
Wait, it gets worse. I have been informed that some consumers have been told by collection agency representatives that they have no other option but to pay off their traffic tickets and the resulting fines immediately. That isn't true. You can still contest a California traffic ticket after you miss your court date. You have the right to request a new court date and either fight the ticket or ask that the court reduce your fine....but there's no guarantee that a government collection agency responsible for collecting ticket fines is going to tell you that. Lets see what the FDCPA says..
"The use of any false representation or deceptive means
to collect or attempt to collect any debt or to obtain
information concerning a consumer"
Telling you that you can't have a court date when you can in order to procure payment is pretty deceptive, don't you think?
Paying the Traffic Ticket
Don't expect to be able to swing a deal with GC Services like you can with almost any other collection agency. They demand payment in full and your partial payments won't be accepted. This policy isn't restricted to unpaid Los Angeles parking tickets, but extends to all debts the company purchases.
From a financial standpoint, not accepting partial payments doesn't make much sense unless the company does accept partial payments and uses its "policy" as a scare tactic to bloat the importance of that particular debt. From what I can gather, the company will accept partial payments after a whole lot of haranguing, but in a few months they may just call you back demanding the full amount again.
Word to the wise: If you talk GC Services into a settlement at any point (and this applies to you retail customers. I highly doubt they can or will settle a traffic ticket) get it in writing.
Evidence of GC Services Violating the FDCPA
During my web research, these are just a few of the FDCPA violations consumers claim GC Services committed. Take note, if this happens to you, each of these offenses are illegal and worthy of a lawsuit.
- Threatening immediate legal action with no intent to follow through on the threat
- Informing consumers that their debts do not have a "dispute period."
- Monitoring and recording telephone calls without notifying the consumer
- Harassing a debtor's neighbors with repeated telephone calls containing "messages" for the debtors
- Threatening to garnish a greater amount than federal law permits
- Lying about obtaining a wage garnishment order
I could go on, but I won't.
How to Fight GC Services
If you owe a fine to Los Angeles County then, by all means, pay your debt and get it over with. Don't wait until the account falls into collections. If you do, you may find yourself the victim of harassment and illegal activity as a result.
Short of filing a lawsuit (and if you've suffered an FDCPA violation and can prove it, you do have a case) there are several other things you can do to fight GC Services and help change the status quo in the process.
Write a letter to California's Attorney General, Kamala D. Harris, detailing your experience with this and any other collection agency that violates federal consumer protection laws. You can file your complaint online with the State of California Department of Justice or write to Ms. Harris at:
Attorney General's Office
California Department of Justice
Attn: Public Inquiry Unit
P.O. Box 944255
Sacramento, CA 94244-2550
Disclaimer: I do not live in California and have never had personal dealings with GC Services. Any information in this post that does not directly pertain to federal law constitutes my opinion only.
I found your information to be very enlightening and educated. Thank you! ;) I have forwarded your blog article and a link to your blog to my FB page, just because it's so damned good. Best! Claudia
ReplyDeleteI have dealt with GC services on different occasions they have harass me horribly over a 10 year ticket ,I paid a ticket off over the phone a went for a copy they said come back to the window in 3 days because it was not posted I went back they said I neede to pay the full amount over because the payment was short 14 dollars I asked for court date thay said too late I could not receive a court date .I looked on line they have a ticket from 2008 that was paid in full ,they have a ticket they said was mine over 12 years .I always felt these people were fraud I want to know who owns stock in GC services it has to be a officer of the court to have gotten this contract.
ReplyDeleteGC Services does accept partial payments. They threaten you about something, sorry can't remember what...their resistant to it. I stopped dealing with the people over the phone because they were rude and disrespectful, trying to tell me I had to give them my bank account information and the payment plan had to be one of two ways, 2 payments or 3 payments. Uh, no!!! And was told the suspension on my license wouldn't be released until the balance was paid in full (confirmed with traffic court). Found their website and paid online, printing each confirmation and having a confirmation sent to my email address. My case was sent to them because I had various tickets ranging from registration to driving without a valid license dating back to 2005. So, I just paid them. Now of course they're taking their sweet time sending notification to the court that the account is paid in full to release my license. Doesn't surprise me.
ReplyDeleteJ,
DeleteThank you for taking the time to describe your experience and give us more information about this company. Collection agency policies vary so other consumers' experiences can be very helpful to people currently dealing with this company.
I dealt with the same problems with them. My license was suspended too.The harassment calling me day and night for years even after I told them repeatedly that I couldn't pay and asked them to stop calling me they still wouldn't.They even threatened me saying they wasn't going to give me a court date and wouldn't make payment arrangements so that I could pay.I finally moved out of the state and called a LA Attorney and paid him $500 to get me a court date and appear for me. He did and then about a week later the court sent me a letter in the mail asking me to pay $223. They had dropped my fine back down to it's original amount. I still didn't have the money to pay so I wrote a letter to the court explaining my situation and a month later I got another letter from the courts telling me my fine had been revoked and I didn't have to pay. I got my license released the next day. The key is to get your case back in court cause as long as it's with GC Services you won't get any help!
ReplyDeleteHi there - are you able to tell me who you used? I need to find someone that can represent me in court since I've since moved out of state. Thanks!
DeleteI got a fix-it ticket in 2011 for missing headlight, non-proof of insurance, and an expired registration. Regretfully, I forgot about it. Mind you, this would have been a 10 dollar ticket along with proof that said items were taken care of. After I missed the court date, I got a letter from GC Services saying I owed them 1950 dollars. You could imagine my shock. They wouldn't bend at all during my first conversation with them, and said that it was out of the court's hands and had to be dealt with through them. Anyway, while on a trip to NYC, I was driving a friend's car and got arrested due to driving with a suspended license. I didn't know it was suspended, because I never received a notification. So after a day in jail, I flew back to LA to deal with this debt during which time they finally agreed to let me pay it over 3 months. I finally got it all paid off a few days ago, and the woman at the GC Services counter in the Bevery Hills Courthouse unofficially informed me that I could've taken care of it in court for something like 300 dollars. I was furious. This 10 dollar ticket has cost me a day in the Manhattan city jail, 3 months of taking the bus/and or train from Hollywood to Culver City for work every day, and strain on my relationship being that I couldn't drive anywhere. Is there any precedent of legal action to possibly regain some of that 2000 dollars?
ReplyDeleteIf the collection agency violated any of the terms under the FDCPA (validation notification, harassment, etc.) and you can prove that this occurred, the FDCPA gives you the right to sue. The same is true if the CA violated any terms under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (such as ignoring validation requests, reporting incorrect information to the credit bureaus, etc.)the consumer has the right to sue for a violation of his/her rights. I doubt, however, that a case would get very far against a collection agency for the fact that you chose to pay the CA $1950 and not pay the court $300. I know you weren't aware of your options but, unfortunately, neither the CA or the court are required to inform you of all of your options in order to allow you to make an educated decision. There's a good chance, however, that the person who told you you could have handled it through the court is incorrect. After the courts send a debt to GC Services, many refuse to deal with the debtor afterward.
DeleteCan you say, "Legal Extortion!!"
ReplyDeleteOkay, I am not one to complain, if at all, but when there is an egregious error from which their appears no legal recourse, I might rightfully get a little upset.
Let's start out with the facts of my case. Yes I was guilty of a speeding violation. Yes, I missed my court date. Yes, I had Auto Insurance at the time of the Incident. I was planning to go to traffic court tomorrow to state my case and take care of my fine only to find out that it had gone to collections. I was told it was taking over by GC Services so I went ahead and called them.
Here is a very accurate depiction of my Very Heated Discussion with the GC Services Agent as follows:
Hello. I was wondering what the amount would be to take care of my case.
GC Rep: What is your Name and Driver's License Number: Okay, Hold On a Second...
Well it appears you owe us $2,057.00 are you ready to take care of that today.
In shock,
Me: (In Disbelief) why so much?
GC Rep: Well, the officer stated you didn't have insurance on you at the time so you need to pay that penalty plus your speeding.
ME: Wait a second, I did have insurance at the time and I have proof from my insurance company to prove it. I am not going to pay for an erroneous error.
GC Rep: Well you missed your court date so you didn't do what you were suppose to do. That's not our fault.
Me: Well what if I get an attorney and take this back to court? Can I do that?
(At this point, I wasn't even sure if this was a possibility!)
GC Lady: You could do that but when you get in front of the judge he is going to find out about your insurance. I am sure the officer wouldn't have put down no insurance for nothing.
Me: Well that's exactly why I need to take this to court. I'm okay paying for speeding but not paying for something erroneous. I had insurance at the time and need legal representation. This is ridiculous.
GC Lady: Well good Luck with that ...Click.
To me, this is nothing short of Legal Extortion. It's you either pay us the two grand for something you actually didn't do and we don't care about (I had insurance at the time) If you don't we suspend you license and you can't drive.
This Third Party GC Services allows them to Now Take over you case and Be Judge and Jury from which there doesn't exist and case at all. Your Simply Guilty of All Charges even if they are wrong !!
They have the nerve to say what I should have done and offered no chance of any legal recourse when they are in the wrong! This is not the way our judicial system should work be affiliated themselves with money hungry corporate collectors who are simply lap dogs of the state. Yes, I am upset and Yes, I am seeking Legal Representation!! After all, this is My Legal Right !!
Can you say, "Legal Extortion!!"
ReplyDeleteOkay, I am not one to complain, if at all, but when there is an egregious error from which there appears no legal recourse, I might rightfully get a little upset.
Let's start out with the facts of my case. Yes I was guilty of a speeding violation. Yes, I missed my court date. Yes, I had Auto Insurance at the time of the Incident. I was planning to go to traffic court tomorrow to state my case and take care of my fine only to find out that it had gone to collections. I was told my case was taken over by GC Services so I went ahead and called them.
Here is a very accurate depiction of my Heated Discussion with the GC Services Agent as follows:
Hello. I was wondering what the amount would be to take care of my case?
GC Rep: What is your Name and Driver's License Number? Okay, Hold On a Second...
Well it appears you owe us $2,057.00 Are you ready to take care of that today?
Me: (In Disbelief) why so much?
GC Rep: Well, the officer stated you didn't have insurance on you at the time so you need to pay that penalty plus your speeding.
ME: Wait a second, I did have insurance at the time and I have proof from my insurance company to prove it. I am not going to pay for an erroneous error.
GC Rep: Well you missed your court date so you didn't do what you were supposed to do. That's not our fault.
Me: Well what if I get an attorney and take this back to court? Can I do that?
(At this point, I wasn't even sure if this was a possibility!)
GC Lady: You could do that but when you get in front of the judge he is going to find out about your insurance. I am sure the officer wouldn't have put down no insurance for nothing.
Me: Well that's exactly why I need to take this to court. I'm okay paying for speeding but not paying for something erroneous. I had insurance at the time and need legal representation. This is ridiculous.
GC Lady: Well good Luck with that ...Click.
To me, this is nothing short of Legal Extortion. It's you either pay us the two grand for something you actually didn't do and we don't care about (I had insurance at the time) If you don't we suspend you license and you can't drive.
This Third Party GC Services allows them to Now Take over you case and be Judge and Jury from which there really isn't any case at all. It's just a debt. You're Simply Guilty of All Charges even if they are wrong !!
They have the nerve to say what I should have done and offered no chance of any legal recourse when they are in the wrong! This is not the way our judicial system should work by affiliating themselves with money hungry corporate collectors who are simply lap dogs of the state. Yes, I am upset and Yes, I am seeking Legal Representation!! After all, this is My Legal Right !!
J Bing,
DeleteYour beef here is with the court that made the mistake, not GC Services. While you're telling the truth about your insurance, most people who make the "But that's not what happened!" case to GC are full of hot air. GC will attempt to collect whatever the court tells them to. Any proof you send them to the contrary simply doesn't matter. The court needs to fix this error, update your records and, as a result, allow you to pay the fine directly to the court itself rather than GC. Getting an attorney in this case is the wisest course of action. It doesn't matter one bit if GC Services claims you have no legal recourse. A mistake was made and you CAN and SHOULD return to court to fix it.
If the debt has already hit your credit report, make sure you talk to your attorney about having that debt removed. Since you don't owe the amount listed, the tradeline (if its even there) is inaccurate and you can fight for its removal. Doing this with an attorney is a whole lot easier than doing it without one. Best of luck.
does gc services have to obtain a withholding order from court or just send it to your employer
ReplyDeleteGiven that they are collecting on behalf of a government entity, I assume that they can bypass the lawsuit rule for commercial debts, but that doesn't mean they won't sue. I've seen collection agencies sue when collecting government debts when there really wasn't a need to do so. I can't seem to find anything about their policies concerning whether or not they sue or just file a garnishment order directly.
Deletei owed money for fines in california and my license was suspended for these. i had to deal with this horrible collection agency or whatever it is and they flat out LIED TO ME. i told them i was in a HORRIBLE financial situation and needed a payment plan. they told me i had to PAY IN FULL. i asked if there was any way to make payments or was there any kind of hardship assistance and they flat out told me NO. well, guess what, unknown by me at the time, the state of california was allowing 50 percent of traffic fines to be forgiven at that time and that AGENCY KNEW ABOUT THIS! THEY WERE ONE OF THE COMPANIES THAT WERE ALREADY PRE SET UP OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WITH THAT SPECIFIC thing that the state was offering. it was for people having extreme hardships so that people could get their licenses back and get their lives back together!!! AND THESE LIARS TOLD ME NOTHING OF THIS!! HOW DO THEY SLEEP AT NIGHT!! I OWED OVER 3,400 dollars AND HAD TO COME UP WITH IT IN FULL AND I MANAGED TO PAY IT A FEW MONTHS AFTER TALKING TO THEM BUT IT WAS NOT EASY TO DO AND I AM STILL PAYING BACK PEOPLE WHO LOANED ME THE MONEY TO PAY IT. I jad to get my license back because i was homeless and had lost my job the previous year and HAVING A DRIVERS LICENSE IS SOMETHING YOU NEED TO HAVE TO WORK AND SURVIVE!! this disgusts me to the fullest!
ReplyDeleteI am dealing with GC Services at this moment. I owed them $769 and have made 2 payments of $25 at this point and have had nothing but problems.
ReplyDeleteI got my 1st letter and called them to set up payments. We agreed to $25 a month due on the 25th of each month. I made my 1st payment on 11/25/13. Then on 12/15 I get another letter telling me that I need to make payments of $50 to keep it from default (keep my license) due 12/26/13. Being Christmas I didn't have the money on that date. I called them on 12/31/13 to see about getting my payments back down to $25 due to my financial situation. He agreed over the phone and he was very nice. He told me not to worry that he was noting my account and told my to pay the $25. This was now the second person who told me I could pay $25 and I could keep my license as long as I make my payments. I went down to the courthouse and made my payment as soon as I got off the phone. My receipt is time stamped 12/31/13 9:35 AM.
Now on 1/15/14 I received another letter stating that my payment was not received and if It is not paid within 10 days of original due date our arrangement is null and void and full payment will be required.
Now here's the kicker. The ((new)) original due date is 01/01/14 and the date on the letter head is 01/09/14. I didn't even receive the letter till the 01/15/14.
I called them and am being told now that even if I make payments my license is going to be suspended. Also everyone I have talked to that told me that if I make payments that would keep license was basically lying,
As of right now I still have my license and my case is under review. I have been told they will contact me within 5 days.
Had to vent TY
There is a big inaccuracy in this article, in that parking fines are not considered "debts" under the FDCPA and therefore those laws don't protect you. See Gulley v. Markoff & Krasny, 664 F.3d 1073, 1075 (7th Cir. 2011):
ReplyDelete"Apparently the question whether fines are “debts” under the FDCPA has never arisen in a court of appeals (at least not in a precedential decision). Yet that issue has come up frequently in the district courts, which have concluded uniformly that a fine does not stem from a consensual transaction and thus is not a debt under the FDCPA. See Reid v. Am. Traffic Solutions, Inc., Nos. 10–cv–204–JPG–DGW & 10–cv–269–JPG, 2010 WL 5289108, at *4–5 (S.D.Ill. Dec. 20, 2010) (concluding that fines for traffic violations are not debts under FDCPA); Mills v. City of Springfield, Mo., No. 2:10–CV–04036–NKL, 2010 WL 3526208, at *15–16 (W.D.Mo. Sept. 3, 2010) (same); Durso v. Summer Brook Preserve Homeowners Ass'n, 641 F.Supp.2d 1256, 1264–65 (M.D.Fla.2008) (concluding that fines assessed against homeowner by homeowners association did not create debts under FDCPA); Shannon v. ACS State & Local Solutions, Inc., No. 08–594(DSD/SRN), 2008 WL 2277814, at *1 (D.Minn. May 30, 2008) (holding that fines levied by county for parking violation and failure to register vehicle did not meet criteria for FDCPA debts); Williams v. Redflex Traffic Sys., Inc., No. 3:06–cv–400, 2008 WL 782540, at *5 (E.D.Tenn. Mar. 20, 2008) (holding that unpaid traffic fine is not debt under FDCPA), aff'd on other grounds, 582 F.3d 617 (6th Cir.2009); Yon v. Alliance One Receivables Mgmt., Inc., No. 07–61362–Civ, 2007 WL 4287628, at *1 (S.D.Fla. Dec. 5, 2007) (same); Harper v. Collection Bureau of Walla Walla, Inc., No. C06–1605–JCC, 2007 WL 4287293, at *7 (W.D.Wash. Dec. 4, 2007) (same); Graham v. ACS State & Local Solutions, Inc., No. 0:06–cv–2708–JNE/JJG, 2006 WL 2911780, at *2 (D.Minn. Oct. 10, 2006) (concluding that unpaid parking tickets do not qualify as debts under FDCPA); Riebe v. Juergensmeyer & Assocs., 979 F.Supp. 1218, 1221–22 (N.D.Ill.1997) (concluding that unpaid fine imposed for overdue library book is not debt under FDCPA). We agree with these decisions and, as did the district court, conclude that the municipal fines levied against Gulley cannot reasonably be understood as “debts” arising from consensual consumer transactions for goods and services. Accordingly, the allegations in his amended complaint state no claim under the FDCPA and were properly dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6)."
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ReplyDeleteDebt Consolidation Programs California