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Can they do this? (Legal issue...)

Discussion in 'Coming Out Advice' started by MusicIsLife, Oct 21, 2010.

  1. MusicIsLife

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    Long story short: a few years ago I snuck on the commuter train without a ticket (twice) and got caught. I paid for the first ticket, but the second one I totally forgot about...Until now.

    I had forgotten up til i got a knock on my door by a man who did not give me a name, did not show me any ID (I also forgot to ask) but told me he had a warrant for my arrest o.o

    Insert panic here. He left me his phone number and fax number because at the time I was sure i had paid for it. After it came out it was about that second ticket that i totally forgot about, he told me he wanted me to bring 295$ IN CASH to his home address.

    I called the ministere des amendes or whatever that deals with fines, and they told me this almost 300$ were bailer fees. But to his home address? Does anyone know if this is normal?
     
  2. Lexington

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    I don't know Canadian law, and I'm not a lawyer in any case. But I can tell you that such cases aren't too uncommon in America. I know one person who bounced a check to a store, and didn't realize it (really long story here). By the time they tracked her down, they demanded $300 for her $15 bounced check. What it comes down to is that the store "sells" the unpaid debt (plus some fees) to a collection agency, and that agency then goes to work tracking it down. And they're allowed to ask for X amount over whatever the original fee was.

    The confusing bit in your story is that there's 1. a warrant for your arrest and 2. the home address bit. That part just sounds squirrelly. My response would be "I need to get all of this in writing. I want to run it by a couple people to make sure it's all on the up-and-up, to verify that I do owe this money, and that by paying this money to you, it puts me in the clear. I don't want to pay $300 to some random person just to find out you weren't the person I needed to pay it to."

    Lex
     
  3. knight of ni

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    I agree with Lex. That sounds really suspicious to me. I wouldn't do anything until you send a letter to his address, insisting on getting everything in writing. Maybe contact your local police station and ask them if this is normal/legal. The fact that he wants cash brought to his house sounds, to me, like a swindle.
    Whatever you do, don't give him cash. Insist on getting a name of an organisation to pay a cheque to, and write A/C payee only on the cheque. That stops the money from going anywhere but the account of whoever you name on the cheque. It also gives you a convenient paper-trail that will show up on your bank statement that you've paid your debt (assuming you find out this guy is actually collecting the debt you owe, and that he is operating legally, etc).
     
  4. Jim1454

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    I can't imagine that you can be arrested for not paying a commuter rail fine. That seems ridiculous. As has been suggested, I would go back to the organization that first issued the fine and understand what has happened since. A private collection agency can't place you under arrest.
     
  5. Dan82

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    If the rail line has a proof of payment fare system an arrest for not paying the fine doesn’t sound that unusual. Until recently it was the policy of the Washington DC transit authority to arrest anyone caught eating in the subway. The fact that the man who said they were going to arrest you didn’t show any id makes it sound very suspicious.
     
  6. MusicIsLife

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    Hey guys thanks for the advice.

    So I called the Police this evening and told him what happened. Since I only had the phone number and fax number of the guy he took that and said he'd call me back.

    10-20 mins later he called and told me what a bailer or whatever he was is supposed to do (show a badge, show the paperwork, etc) and since he did not it was probably an imposter, and if he comes a knockin' again to phone 911. He also gave me a number to call to verify if I have a warrant for arrest or not, so that I dont get into further trouble for ignoring it.