Old parking tickets from about 10 yrs ago.

[stevehbold]

I just received a call today from a law firm of lineburger or something like that . ive never seen this show up on my credit report but i guess my question is could it be something they could put on my credit if it is over 10 yrs old? i know credit card stuff takes 7 years and 180 days then its gone, but this is from philadelphia parking authority. Any thoughts or advice would be great. thanks.

[annielorie]

I'd ask an attorney if you can be held accountable for city parking tickets outside of regular SOL. Don't know if this is a zombie debt and unenforceable in a court of law(judgement) or to report.  Anyone can you chime in???

[stevehbold]

i know it has never been put on my credit reports ever. i know the tickets were in 2002. i would have thought they would have put it on as a collection well before now if they were going to. and if they do could i just ask them to validate the debt?

[annielorie]

gogle parking ticketts in city and find out SOL

[llecs]

The CRTP on something like this is 7-7.5 yrs as mentioned. The SOL can vary by state. In some states SOL might only be a few year. I know of at least one state the SOL never expires, just like murder (I think it's AZ or NM).

Even if SOL and CRTP expired, they can collect forever, they just can't report or sue. PA should list the SOL for parking tickets within their codes/laws/regs. If for sure expired, I'd ignore them.

[Anonymous]

Linebarger has a long and ignominous history of buying zombie parking debt from local governments.  I myself received a Linebarger nastygram some years back that demanded $4000 for a total of 4 (that's right, 4) unpaid parking tickets in Baltimore.  They never reported this matter to the CRAs.  The city of Baltimore ended up forgiving the debt of anyone who appeared before a judge and asked nicely.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2009-04-20/news/0904190081_1_parking-fines-overdue-parking-parking-...

If the tickets are more than 7 years old, ignore the letter.  If less, deal with the city - not Linebarger.

One issue that the statute of limitations might not cover is vehicle titling and registration.  Many states will not let you title or register a vehicle - nor renew your drivers license - if you have outstanding fines.  Some municipalities will even seize your car and sell it to recoup fines.  If you no longer live in the state where the tickets are issued, you're in the clear.  If you're still in-state, you might want to inquire with the DMV. 

[Anonymous]

Wondering if anyone has any updates on dealing with this firm...

I received notice of several very old (2005 and older) parking tickets in Chicago.  The language used in the letter is interesting; it doesn't have the usual blurb about this being an "attempt to collect a debt" etc.

What it does say is:  "We will soon be making a determination as to whether you are a candidate for further collection efforts such as wage and bank account garnishment, and filing a lien against your home and other property."

I'm really tempted to just ignore it.  I don't live in Illinois and so it's doubtful I'll have to register a car there.  And it doesn't sound like they're even threatening to report it to CRAs yet.

(I'm not sure if the tickets are even legitimate.  They might be but I also thought I had paid them off back then.  And no, 8 years later I don't have any records of it...)

[TrishN]

if iam not wrong. i asked guiness and i called my lawyer. same answer traffic and gov ticket have no SOL. so pay for it always better.But make sure you ask for paper to show the web to the court that you own $. on the paper they send to you will have your case numbers and the address you can look up for your ticket.( again look for your case numbers and online address then google for court phone number,then you can call in and find out to make sure is not scam) if you dont pay for it they may put judgment on your credit report! good luck

[DaBears]

Parking tickets have no SOL. On the other hand since they are not consider a consumer debt I would consult a consumer attorney to seek advise if the CA is allowed to put them on your credit reports. The DMV in your state could suspend your drivers lic until its paid.

[dddewdrop]

   As i understand it there is no SOL for municipal fines. You owe them forever. There probably is a SOL for you to dispute them or request a court date. It is probably something like 60 days. I got some of those too for old Chicago parking tickets going back to 1997 just a couple days ago.