Collection agencies questionnaire

Have you or someone you know been ordered to pay legal financial obligations (LFOs) that were sent to a collection agency because you or they lacked the ability to pay? Has your debt with the collection agency grown to a point where you cannot pay off your LFOs? The ACLU of Washington believes that indigent individuals should not be ordered to pay LFOs if they are indigent. Further, the ACLU of Washington is concerned about LFO debt being sent to collection agencies, where the debt grows at a 12% interest rate and accrues additional fees.

The ACLU of Washington would like to hear from you about your experiences being sentenced to pay LFOs and your experiences with collection agencies once your LFOs are sent to them to collect.

Your responses will be kept confidential. Thank you for sharing!

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First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Street Address

City

State

Zip

Phone *

If you are writing on behalf of another person, please list the above information below:

Is your account in collections for LFOs that you were ordered to pay as part of a criminal case?

To which collection agency were your LFOs sent?

Which court were you in when you were ordered to pay LFOs?

How much is the debt that you owe?

Do you have multiple accounts? For how much each?

For how long has the account been in collections?

How much do you owe the collection agency now?

What was the underlying charge for which the amount was assessed, that is, what charge were you convicted of?

Are you paying off your LFOs through a payment plan with a collection agency? Please describe.

Are you able to pay? Please describe your financial circumstances.

Did you have a public defender?

To follow up on complaints of this nature, we may need to gather more information from you. Please provide your contact information so that we may contact you on a confidential basis if we need more information.

Privacy: We respect your privacy and will only use the contact information you provide to contact you regarding the complaint you submit today. Other than that, we will never send unsolicited email, or share personal information you submit. For further information, see our privacy statement.

Disclaimer and Notice: This form does not give legal advice, and you should not rely on it as legal advice. This form is not an offer by the ACLU of Washington to represent you. We cannot promise you that the information you provide will lead to any specific action on the ACLU of Washington's part. Once you complete the survey, the ACLU of Washington may not do anything - including contact you - about your situation.

Confidentiality: Thank you for sharing your story. We'll keep the specific details of your story confidential unless we contact you and get your permission to share it. However, we may generally categorize and share with others the types and numbers of reports we have received. For example, to help show the extent of restrictions on health care services resulting from hospital mergers and affiliations, we may disclose the number of reports we receive. We will never, however, use your name, address, or other identifying information without contacting you and asking permission.

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