Summary...LDC Collection Systems employs deceitful practices to extort innocent people into paying unpaid parking violations of others.
I received my first letter from LDC Collection Systems about 11/17/08. It was a "Final Collection Notice" for parking citation issued in San Francisco in 2004 for a license plate number that didn't look familiar. I figured it was some sort of transposition err and I would call them the next day and clear it up.
When I called the agent asked me if I owned a Blue VW Jetta (I did eight years ago) and did I ever live at a particular address (yes, nine years ago). I explained that I never had that license plate and that I turned the car back into the dealership (it was a lease) nearly 4 years before the citation was issued. They informed me that I still need to send proof that I did release the car. I sent them the odometer statement and the last correspondence from Bank of America which included my account number and term of the lease (ending July 2000). I figured that would end the confusion.
I received a second letter from LDC Collection Systems on 12/15/08 stating that I had not payed or submitted adequate proof that I am not liable payment for the citation. I called immediately and they notified me that I needed to submit more proof like the name of the person at the dealership I left that car with (whom I'm sure doesn't even work there anymore). I was incredulous. How is it my responsibility to prove that a car that had a license plate number that was never registered to me wasn't registered to me. I was furious.
I asked to speak to the supervisor and she said she wasn't going to argue with me. According to their "information" received from the DMV, I was the registered operator of the car and that I need to prove to them that I wasn't. They are flat out lying.
So I went to the DMV and explained my predicament. They looked up the tag number and confirmed that it was on that car but it wasn't registered to me and couldn't release this information because of a privacy concern. DMV told me that I need to request a vehicle VIN history from Sacramento (state capitol) and that cost $5. As of this post I am waiting for the paperwork from Sacramento so I can submit this back to LDC. I also notified Bank of America and sent them the information. They said they would follow up with LDC directly.
It appears that LDC sends collection notices to previously registered operators of cars with unpaid parking tickets with the threat of damaging your credit rating unless you prove that the vehicle tag on the citation is not yours. This obviously easy for them to do and hard for the general public.
I am posting this article in the hope of finding others that have fallen victim to this practice so I confirm that it is systemic and if so start a class action lawsuit.
