Insurance commissioner: Office of Motor Vehicle’s attempt to collect old fines 'fundamentally unfair
Facing a chorus of fury over the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicle’s mass mailing last week to recoup millions of dollars in fines for car insurance lapses, a top state official said Thursday the agency won’t pursue some of the older claims against drivers.
Col. Mike Edmonson, State Police superintendent and overseer of the OMV, softened his approach toward fines for old infractions — the letters were for violations as far back as 1986 — saying the state won’t pursue any lapses older than 2006 that the agency couldn’t absolutely prove were insurance abuses.
Violations from before 2006 account for about 25 percent of the 1.2 million letters sent, he said. People with infractions from that earlier period should still contact the agency to try to work on clearing their records, he said.
The letters provoked outrage this week, with many recipients saying the OMV line was dropping calls and call takers were demanding money, even after drivers proved they shouldn’t owe a fine.
Read more: http://theadvocate.com/news/police/13773444-148/insurance-commissioner-jumps-into-fray