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TagsState attempting to collect piece of $657 million owed to agency
Noting the negative impact that debt and the inability to legally drive can have on a New Jerseyan's life, state Motor Vehicle Commission Administrator Raymond P. Martinez Thursday announced the creation of the MVC Surcharge Payment Incentive Program.
The program, which will begin Tuesday and last until July, is designed to help approximately 273,000 New Jerseyans who owe the state $657 million address their motor vehicle surcharge responsibilities.
Drivers with outstanding surcharges related to drunk driving (DUI) convictions are not eligible for the incentive program.
"Surcharge debt has become a vicious cycle for too many drivers," Martinez said. "If you don't pay off your debt, you can't get your license back. Without the license, you can't legally drive to work to make the money necessary to pay off the debt. Our goal is to give these particular customers a chance to either wipe the slate clean or arrange more affordable payments that will allow the restoration of their driving privileges."
The seven-week incentive program, authorized by legislation enacted earlier this year, will offer many New Jerseyans, who have outstanding surcharge balances, an opportunity to clear all their debt or make payment arrangements that will help get them back behind the wheel.
Eligible drivers include those who have been placed in judgment for failing to make surcharge payments or those in judgment who arranged a payment plan but are finding it difficult to make payments.
The average surcharge debt owed by a driver is $2,400. Examples of the incentives to be offered are extended, 48-month payment plans, and interest waivers for New Jerseyans paying off principal and cost. Most eligible drivers will be directly notified by mail of this opportunity to address their surcharge issues.
Drivers need to contact the specific collection firm noted on the personalized letter they received to discuss available options.
"Surcharge situations vary from driver to driver, but an individual who owes $2,100 can have their interest waived, pay in full and save themselves more than $500," Martinez said. "With extended payment plans, some drivers could lower their monthly payment by as much as $200. The MVC understands the financial burdens of its customers and will work with them on eliminating their debt."
New Jerseyans seeking more information about the Surcharge Incentive Program should contact the specific collection firm noted on their Surcharge Payment Incentive Program letter or visit www.njmvc.gov/surcharge
— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
I finally figured it out how they take advantage of innocent people and drive them deeper in the hole so they can generate a steady stream of income through extortion.
1) The courts manipulate the system to get extra income for their townships. They maximize the fines, and if you do a breakdown of the fines (Here's their secret) you will notice that the fines also include state & dmv fines in there, along with all the other BS like, safe driver programs which nobody knows what its used for, administrative costs (which they already get from state & federal aid), court costs, safe neighborhood fines (something they added recently around 2007, another catchy phrase for "overtime pay" for those a**holes to do more checkpoints and hangout at donut shops), etc.
2)The prosecutors will threaten you with jail time, etc. and make you get a lawyer. This feeds the system more by generating business for the crooked lawyers that charge big fees and end up taking a plea bargain at your expense. You must have seen this over and over in the courts.
3)The dmv and the state take a further bite out of you and rinse you for more money. Surcharges, interests, restoration fees, they raise it so high and so much for three years so that its almost impossible to keep up with it monthly. And they already figured out long ago that you will pay it cause you have to drive to work, etc.
4)They impose all types of fines and penalties on you but guess what? NONE of it goes towards rehibilitation or driver safety programs. It goes in their pockets (job security). Instead of trying to help you understand your mistakes and make you better drivers, they send you home with fines knowing that you will drive again out of necessity and they will get more money from you that way.
Now if you take your own example and add it all up, you will see how this extortion comes into play. It costs you as much as buying a new car!!! And all this for few simple mistakes such as speeding, or an occassional one time dui or whatever......
There are 273,000 drivers in nj without a license according to this article. And you cant go to work without it or be able to afford their payments. Who can you complain to? What do you do if you want to pay them but cant afford what they are asking for?
So its only a matter of time when something tragic happens out of someone's frustration and necessity for not being able to keep up or afford these ridiculous surcharges and court fines.
America has become a socialist country. It is no longer democratic.
The DMV laws in NJ are a Catch 22. If you get a traffic violation or DUI the state takes your license then hits you up with high surcharges. How do they expect you to pay these high charges when you don't have a license to get back and forth to work. If you can't get back and forth to work, you loose your job. If you loose your job then you can't pay the surcharges and if you can't pay the surcharges you'll never get your license back. How is a person suppose to survive?
It isn't an incentive to pay before interest rates make the debt too high. It seems to have the opposite effect. Besides, the MVC didn't loan me the money like a bank or financial institution, so it's not like they are losing money because they never put money out. It just seems like they are capitalizing on the misfortunes of others.
If they really want to make this incentive more attractive, reduce or eliminate the interests altogether.
My two cents.