Re-Entry Debt: When is it over and how will I know?
Article by Patty Katz
When I came into recovery February 2, 2000, I became very proactive with clearing away the wreckage of my past. I tracked down my past fines and restitution and began the process of paying my tab (my “re-entry debt”).
In 2003, I thought I was through, patted myself on the back and went on my merry way. Why did I think I was through? Because each of the counties I contacted said they could find nothing more for me to pay. YEAH!
2004 rolls around and after I filed my taxes, I got a letter from Department of Revenue stating I owed them $1,500.00 from 1992 and if I didn’t make payment arrangements, they would garnish my wages. I made a payment plan and gave them $50.00 per month and finished up with a balloon payment at the end of the year.
In 2005, my kicker check didn’t come in the mail. I called and asked where it was. I was told it had been “redirected” to pay a court fine from 1993. They told me to set up a payment plan to avoid the garnishment process. I paid $50.00 per month until the bill was paid. I asked if there was anything else I needed to pay. I was told that there was nothing the Department of Revenue (DOR) could find. Yeah, I was done!
In 2006 when I filed my income tax, a new bill came in the mail. I thought it would be the small refund I was expecting. But no, it was yet another bill thanking me for my payment and telling me that to avoid the garnishment process I needed to set up a payment plan. This time I had to bargain to pay only $50.00 a month; because this bill was so old they had wanted me to pay $200.00 per month!
In June of 2008, I celebrated with the woman from Dept. of Revenue because I was finally finished paying all of my re-entry debt and now had a clean slate. I felt so good about that!
Fast forward to April of 2009; I received a letter from DOR with a new bill from 1993 for $1,495.00. I called and spoke to a very rude person.
“Please excuse me, but I am getting very frustrated by not knowing how much I owe and when it will really end,” I said.
“This bill is very old and you should pay $450.00 per month and it would get paid and you would be done!” was his reply.
I told him I could not pay that much.
He said, “Lady, you don’t have to have a car, but you have to pay this bill!” I told him I thought he was rude and I was hanging up now.
He initiated the garnishment process before I could talk with another person. After I spoke with someone else, it turns out that as long as I pay $100.00 per month, they will not garnish my wages. But if I miss a payment, the process is already in place and they will garnish my paycheck.
From what I understand, “the computer” is the only entity that has all of the information. There is no way to find out when you are done or if you owe more. The county holds on to your “bill” for one year; if you have not made a payment it goes to a collection bureau and sits for almost seven years. They send it back to the county and the county sends it to Department of Revenue. If you have no activity on your state revenue account it goes back to the county before the seven-year mark and they send it on to a collection bureau.
Please don’t think that I am suggesting I don’t owe this money or that I want to avoid paying for the wreckage of my past. I am in a 12-step program and for my personal recovery it is strongly suggested I make amends (personal and financial) whenever possible. I had 14 years of addiction, going in and out of jail, treatment and prison. Today I am clean and sober, employed, pay my taxes and try to keep up with my bills. My question is “When is it over and how will I know?”
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2009 issue of Justice Matters.
