Clark County contracts collections for docket fees

Clark County

Discussion

January 27, 2009

Clark to pay nothing; company to charge 30 percent fee

MATT KOESTERS The News and Tribune Tue Jan 27, 2009, 02:11 PM EST

Clark County officials hope to collect more than $800,000 in past-due child support docket fees by contracting out collections.

Records show the county is owed more than $1.3 million in docket fees, but that number is probably not accurate, circuit and superior court Clerk Barbara Haas said. The Indiana Support Enforcement Tracking System’s records include duplicate fees and other inaccuracies that will drive the collectable figure down.

Between $850,000 and $900,000 could be collected, which will go to the county’s general fund, Haas said.

Individuals ordered to pay child support are required to pay support docket fees to cover administrative costs incurred by the courts. These fees are owed directly to the county in addition to the amount owed to the custodial parent.

To collect those fees, the county has contracted Eagle Accounts Group LLC. Eagle Accounts will charge a 30 percent collection fee in addition to the docket fee charged by the county. The county is paying Eagle nothing up front for this service, Haas said.

Docket fees owed to the county range between $30 and $220 per person, Haas said.

“None of these are large amounts,” Haas said. “There’s just a large number of them.”

Eagle Accounts will contact those who owe docket fees to the county by mail, according the to the company’s Web site.

Despite the fact that these fees could be as much as 10 years old, Eagle Accounts does not report individuals with delinquent docket fees to national credit bureaus until at least 30 days after notice is sent, according to the company’s Web site.

SO YOU KNOW

• Individuals owing docket fees may pay via Visa, Mastercard or e-check on Eagle Accounts’ Web site, www.eagleaccounts.com. They also may pay by telephone, or mail payment to Eagle Accounts, P.O. Box 17938, Indianapolis, IN, 46217. Include the account number on the check.

There is a $2 charge for credit card and electronic check payments. To dispute a docket fee, individuals must provide their name, phone number, e-mail address, account number, the reason for the dispute and copies of any documents supporting the dispute.