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Will unpaid debt (in collections) cause issues with CBP?
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Originally Posted by davie355
(Post 30800093)
I am a US Citizen with NEXUS (and thus GE). I am also currently the target of a debt collection -- the agency calls me daily but I've blocked their number. The creditor is the Department of Motor Vehicles in North Carolina. The debt is probably valid as I never returned my license plates, but I did cancel my NC liability insurance, when I left the state two years ago. Apparently NC fines you $50 if you cancel insurance prior to returning plates. In any case, I never received a bill, the debt collector doesn't have my current address, and NC can go pound sand.
Unless I receive any sort of written communication at my current address, I plan to take no action on this debt. It's not on any of my credit reports. With that long backstory, a few simple questions. Does this have any bearing on my Trusted Traveler status? Will I run up against any hassle when I re-enter the country? Does the answer change if I re-enter through a North Carolinian port (CLT, RDU)? |
Originally Posted by davie355
(Post 30800093)
I am a US Citizen with NEXUS (and thus GE). I am also currently the target of a debt collection -- the agency calls me daily but I've blocked their number. The creditor is the Department of Motor Vehicles in North Carolina. The debt is probably valid as I never returned my license plates, but I did cancel my NC liability insurance, when I left the state two years ago. Apparently NC fines you $50 if you cancel insurance prior to returning plates. In any case, I never received a bill, the debt collector doesn't have my current address, and NC can go pound sand.
Unless I receive any sort of written communication at my current address, I plan to take no action on this debt. It's not on any of my credit reports. With that long backstory, a few simple questions. Does this have any bearing on my Trusted Traveler status? Will I run up against any hassle when I re-enter the country? Does the answer change if I re-enter through a North Carolinian port (CLT, RDU)? FWIW, even people owing more than $51,000 to the IRS and subject to debt collection actions for such are still generally able to get or keep alive GE/NEXUS status as long as their US passport is valid and they aren’t the target of a warrant or court order restricting their mobility and/or passport holding. |
No.
It would have to escalate to a court and warrant for us to be concerned with you. Even then, many warrants we see are "no extradite" to the state the person is wanted in. |
The fine is civil not criminal. CBP deals with criminal databases.
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Apparently NC doesn't suspend the individual's DL which some states do when there are unpaid fines (civil or criminal). That may have cascading impacts on many features such as GE, but the mere fact that you have a civil debt to what happens to be a state won't affect TTP.
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Originally Posted by FlyingUnderTheRadar
(Post 30802582)
The fine is civil not criminal. CBP deals with criminal databases.
Originally Posted by Often1
(Post 30802665)
Apparently NC doesn't suspend the individual's DL which some states do when there are unpaid fines (civil or criminal). That may have cascading impacts on many features such as GE, but the mere fact that you have a civil debt to what happens to be a state won't affect TTP.
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OP may want to do a bit of research before he is quite so cavalier.
NC law provides that cancelling insurance before returning plates is a violation of NC's statute requiring one to maintain continuous coverage. That is a class I misdemeanor crime. It is entirely possible that the collections agency is chasing him for some fine he defaulted on but that there is a local warrant out (for which NC would seem unlikely to extradite). This comes under the heading of tempting fate for no particular reason. I'd ship the plates back to the address listed on the website, pay the $50 and be done with it. Chances are that the collections company has authority to negotiate the $50 down if OP wants to waste more time. |
If the state has sold the debt to a collections agency the state has no right to collect the debt. OP may want to settle to limit credit score number lowering.
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How do you know that the state sold the debt.
1. The state could have a debt collector on contract to collect debts for the state. 2. The state could sell debt to collectors who in turn pocket what they collect. 3. The state could sell debt to investors who in turn hire collectors No idea what North Carolina does. None of the above has anything to do with a warrant which based on the misdemeanor, might or might not happen and is not something a debt collector ought to be involved in. If there is one, it's not as though NC is going to actually send people looking for OP. They just let those things sit on the books until the fugitive eventually gets stopped for something. |
Moderator's Note: Topic Drift
Folks,
This thread is about whether unpaid debts cause issues with CBP. While some natural deviation from the topic is perfectly fine, the mechanisms that states may use to collect unpaid obligations have absolutely nothing to do with Travel Safety/Security. Future off-topic post will be summarily deleted without further notice. Thank you for understanding, TWA884 Travel Safety/Security co-moderator |
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