TULSA, Okla. — A debt collection agency is demanding a Sapulpa woman pay up on a 31 year old ticket.
The ticket was for speeding in the town of Hulbert, Oklahoma in 1989.
“I got a phone call about two weeks ago saying that I had a fine that I didn't pay from 31-years ago,” Sara Haley said.
The phone call took Haley by surprise because she doesn’t remember getting the ticket.
“I did call Hulbert and I'm like can I get a copy of the ticket and I asked them, you know, it says I have failure to appear and that goes on my record. So, I called the DMV. Nothing's on my record,” Haley said.
Haley got a copy of the ticket from the town of Hulbert but said the information on it doesn’t match hers.
The ticket lists Haley’s address in Pittsburg, Kansas.
“I lived actually in Arkansas at that time. I don’t even remember being there.” Haley said.
Haley says the situation has her stumped and when asked what she could do to clear it up, the collection agency didn’t budge.
“To me it's like that's your credibility. I've had one ticket my whole like that I can remember and I'm like so how do I clear this up? The collection agency's like you can just pay the ticket and it will go away. Okay, why am I just gonna pay a ticket from 31 years ago that was just sent to you. What's my next option? And you know, they're like that's your only option. And I'm well, I don't know that this is my ticket,” Haley said.
2 Works for You reached out to the town of Hulbert about the issue.
The town clerk and treasurer said there is no statute of limitations on traffic tickets in Oklahoma and they are still valid fines.
They said hundreds of unpaid tickets were just collecting dust in filing cabinets. So, they turned them over to a collection agency late last year.
The town estimates that the fines could add up to nearly $40,000.
If you’d like to dispute the ticket, they told 2 Works for You that you will have to prove to the collection agency that the person on the ticket is not you.
They say disputes are out of their hands.
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