Vehicle Property Tax/Left State/Please help! (2013, credit)

[jaynarie]

I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction.


Today, I opened a letter from a collection agency regarding unpaid vehicle property tax from 2013.

Background information- I left North Carolina on June 13, 2013 and returned to my home state of Michigan. I registered my car in Michigan in July of 2013 and promptly mailed my license plate back. I never received a tax bill from them prior to today's collection notice.

I immediately called the number, but they couldn't tell me anything. So I called the tax office in the county I lived in. They told me that there was nothing they could do. They said that I had a year from moving to mail them a receipt from my plate. (I never received a receipt and have never even heard of this before. I mailed my plate back in July 2013.) They told me that even if I could produce a receipt, my year has lapsed and they cannot adjust my tax bill. I asked to talk to a supervisor. I was told there wasn't one. I stressed that I had never received a bill prior to today and asked to speak to someone else. They transferred me to billing.

Speaking to the lady in billing, she stated that the first notice was mailed on June 14, 2013. Which is the day after I left. I put in for my mail to be forwarded on June 12, 2013. I never received this bill. I am assuming the forwarding paperwork hadn't processed and it was delivered to my old address. She could not tell me the other two mailing dates. She repeated that there was nothing she could do and hung up on me. Yes, she hung up on me. I was livid!!!! I called the office back but there was no one else to speak to. I decided to take a break, research a bit, and call back when I am better informed.

I renewed my tags on March 30, 2013 in NC. I thought everyone's vehicle tax was due in July. I learned today that the tax is due 4 months after your renewal. (How I was supposed to miraculously know this, I'll never know.) So, I do understand that I should owe for about three months.

I cannot accept that there is nothing that can be done. I never received a bill. I did mail my plate in. I never received a receipt and didn't know to call and demand one. I do not have $270 to pay this bill. If I did, I would. I took a huge hit selling my house and have since been living paycheck to paycheck with $0 in my savings account.

Does anyone know what I should do? I really don't want to call the county office back. Is there a state level office? Do I go after the DMV for not sending me a receipt?

I appreciate any direction you can give me.

[attrapereves]

Sounds like you might be out of luck. If you renewed the plates in March, you owe tax. It does suck that you never got the bill. The state and county will just argue that they sent the bill to your address on file.

I guess you have two options since I highly doubt the state or county will let you out of it.

1) You can say "screw it" and just not pay or make any communication with the collection agency. The collection will fall off your credit in 7 years.

2) Or you can work out a payment plan with them. Pay them $20/month until it's paid off.

Actually, you might have a third option. Sometimes collection agencies will accept a lesser amount if you pay in full. You might ask about this.

[lancers]

Originally Posted by attrapereves

Sounds like you might be out of luck. If you renewed the plates in March, you owe tax. It does suck that you never got the bill. The state and county will just argue that they sent the bill to your address on file.

I guess you have two options since I highly doubt the state or county will let you out of it.

1) You can say "screw it" and just not pay or make any communication with the collection agency. The collection will fall off your credit in 7 years.

2) Or you can work out a payment plan with them. Pay them $20/month until it's paid off.

Actually, you might have a third option. Sometimes collection agencies will accept a lesser amount if you pay in full. You might ask about this.

IF you pay the collection agency make sure that you get a pay for delete letter FIRST. I would go over to creditboards to make sure that you do this right. Most states require that you include a SASE along with your package that includes the returned plates.