DMV cracking down on bad-check writers

Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2001 | 9:45 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Nevada motorists who have written bad checks to the state Department of Motor Vehicles will no longer be able to register their vehicles.

Under a new program initiated by state Controller Kathy Augustine, the more than 5,000 people who have written about $3.7 million in bad checks will have to pay their debts before they can again register their cars.

Augustine has hired OSI of Sacramento, Calif., to collect the debts, and the company this month has sent 5,303 letters calling for people to pay the DMV within 30 days.

As of Monday Augustine said she has collected $10,784, which pays postage for the mailing.

The $3,762,283 in bounced checks dates back several years and involves charges for vehicle registrations and driver's licenses.

"They kept taking bad checks from the same people," she said.

The accounts of motorists who issued returned checks were flagged in the motor vehicle department, and the letters were mailed to those who owed money.

Augustine, who has received a box of undeliverable mail, said returned letters will be turned over to OSI, which will receive 11.75 percent of money collected.

Offenders will be charged a $25 returned check fee and a $24 for a late payment.

In some cases, the check-writers responsible didn't know they had bounced a check. In one case, said Augustine, a woman tried to register her car but was blocked from doing so by the DMV. She later learned her ex-husband had paid the registration last year with a bad check.

In addition to the DMV, the departments of Agriculture, Business and Industry and Conservation and Natural Resources have joined Augustine in an effort to collect bad debts.

As of Sept. 30 an estimated $134.4 million is owed state government agencies. Of that, $25.9 million is considered uncollectable, Augustine said.

The controller's office has also started a pilot program to dock the payments to businesses or people who sell goods to a state agency while owing money to another agency.