The state of Iowa is owed more than $731 million in unpaid criminal judgments, civil fines or past-due parking tickets, according to a published report. The third-party collection agency in charge of recovering those unpaid funds has collected $50 million in the is years it has been working the accounts.
What is interesting is that some of the administrators of the program have admitted that most of the debt is uncollectible because it is too old. The issue is not a statute of limitations issue, but just the fact that the older the debt gets, the less likely someone is to pay it.
“Success in collecting fines and fees is driven more by the time period in which collection efforts commence rather than the entity doing the collection,” said Steve Davis, a spokesman for the Iowa Judicial Branch. “The sooner that payment plans are created and enforcement efforts begin, the higher the amount that is collected. The older the debt becomes, the less likely it is that the outstanding amount will be collected.”
Collectors have little leverage over individuals who have left the state, administrators admit, because programs that suspend driver’s licenses or professional licenses have little impact on someone who is not living in Iowa anymore.
“If they’ve left the state, then you’ve got no leverage as far as registering their cars, getting their driver’s license renewed and those types of things,” said Rep. Gary Worthan, [R-Storm Lake], co-leader of the joint House-Senate justice systems budget subcommittee. “We’re a mobile society and your leverage goes away pretty quickly when those people get out of state.”
