Residents in Guelph with outstanding fines may want to pay them as soon as possibly. The City of Guelph is now coming after those unpaid fines.
Starting the week of June 6, 2016, people with outstanding fines will receive a collection notice.
Approximately 31, 000 outstanding cases are on record. In a monetary amount the unpaid fines total approximately $14 million.
Some of the fines are provincial offences like tickets received in a provincial offence trail.
According to a press release from the city when the fine goes to default the court then “follows a set process to collect the fine, which includes a series of notices, civil enforcement and the use of a collection agency.”
“Nearly two-thirds of all individuals who receive a ticket in Guelph-Wellington pay the fine in a timely manner or exercise their option for a trial,” says Brad Coutts, general manager of Court Services in the press release.
“Less than 15 per cent of all fines go into default, meaning they are forgotten or ignored. Fine collection serves to uphold the purpose of the enforcement of laws in the community and preserves the integrity and authority of the justice system.”
The city will being using a third party collection agency to collect the fines. It is not the first municipality to do so.
If someone receives a collection notice, the city is encouraging people to contact the collection agency directly to address the issue.
The City says that the challenge will be that some of the outstanding cases date back 20 year or more. Some people may be deceased and the court’s records might not be up to date.
“It is not the City’s intention to upset or cause harm to family members through this process. We are contacting individuals based on the information on record with the court,” said Coutts. “Where family members receive notice of collection, we ask that they contact the collection agency so that the status of the court file can be verified and updated accordingly.”
