Traffic fine scam uncovered

4 June 2010, 10:42

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By Lynnette Johns
Staff Writer

The City of Cape Town and the elite police unit, the Hawks, are investigating a traffic fine scam involving a top official and a civilian where serial traffic offenders were allegedly fleeced of cash.

The investigation centres on how the civilian was allowed into the city's mobile bus unit, which processes fines during roadblocks.

He allegedly offered arrested motorists, who owed the city thousands in unpaid traffic fines, bank guaranteed cheques in exchange for their cash, and charged up to R1 500 for "handling fees".

This breaking news flash was supplied exclusively to iol.co.za by the news desk at our sister title, the Cape Argus.

For more about this story, carry on watching iol.co.za or click here to subscribe to the digital or print edition of the newspaper.

The Star

Comments by Sonny

Nothing new to Gauteng.

This corruption knows no end.

What is the ANC doing to solve these crimes?

Persecuting Z Vavi?

The JMPD story of extortion........

Subject: JMPDebt - Hoe honest is the speeding fine recovery system in SA?
JMPDebt
Date: 03 June 2010 07:00
Producer: Nguni Productions
Presenter: Devi Sankaree Govender
Show: Carte Blanche Consumer

The Johannesburg Metro Police Department or JMPD appears to be using scare tactics to rake in unpaid traffic fines dating back more than two years.

Ugen Vos (Journalist): 'They tell you quite bluntly that you will go to jail if you don't pay these fines.'

Ugen Vos is a journalist with the Citizen newspaper.

In February, he received an email from what appeared to be the JMPD.

He called the phone number printed on the letter.

In reality, Ugen had rung the call centre of a private debt collecting agency, VVM Collections in Randburg.

The address on the email he received, 'jmpd@traffic-http://www.facebook.com/l/25b51;fine.co.za', belongs to this company.

According to the call centre, he had outstanding traffic fines of R2 800 and dating back to 2007.

Ugen wrote a news story questioning the legality of letters pretending to be from the JMPD and emailed to motorists. On the mails are the JMPD logo, payment details and the scanned signature of the director for licensing and prosecution, Gerry Gerneke.

Howard Dembovsky from the Justice Project South Africa, which deals with power abuse within law enforcement, contacted the Jo'burg Metro Police Department.

Howard: 'That this was perfectly legitimate. They are acting on behalf of the JMPD.'

Devi: 'Are these real fines?'

Howard: 'A lot of them are, yes.'

JMPD Director Gerrie Gerneke says they hired VVM to help update their records because their traffic information system, eNaTIS, contained so many incorrect addresses and contact details it was difficult to notify offenders.

Director Gerrie Gerneke (Johannesburg Metro Police Department): 'That is the only database that we have got currently and we find that to be inadequate.'

As registered debt collectors, VVM were able to access databases used by credit bureaus. They matched this information to those with unpaid fines and sent out letters of demand.

Dir Gerneke: 'We then decided to hand over as a test case 1.2-million cases that we were unable to serve a Section 54 notice on at the last known address.'

To date, over 100 000 fines have been paid, totalling R20-million.

And, while it may seem like a smart plan - updating data and at the same time raking in the revenue, motorists suspect they are being taken for a ride.

Advocate Andries Cornelius is from the Debt Collectors Council of South Africa: 'Initially you would see the notice in terms of Section 341 of the Criminal Procedure Act. That notice is an invitation to a transgressor to pay an amount in order not to be criminally prosecuted.'

'It means that an individual who is authorised to serve that document on you will visit you at home or at your place of work and he'll hand you the summons.'

At this point, motorists can choose to pay or appear in court on the date stipulated in the summons. In court they can either challenge the fine, or ask to pay a reduced amount.

Andries: 'He then has to attend the court proceedings on the date as is set out in the summons. Failure to do that will result in the Magistrate issuing a warrant for his arrest.'

But none of this is explained in the letter sent to motorists by the JMPD via VVM.

Ugen: 'I did ask them if I could contest the fines and I was told that basically my only option was to pay them immediately.'

We called the VVM call centre to ask what would happen if we refused to pay an admission of guilt.

Devi: 'And what happens if we don't pay it?'

[On phone] Daphne (Call centre): 'A warrant of arrest will be issued.'

Devi: 'Immediately?'

[On phone] Daphne: 'Yes.'

Andries says this is illegal.

The email, threatening motorists with criminal proceedings, attempts to create a new process in the legal traffic fine system.

Andries: 'Now the Criminal Procedure Act does not make provision for such a process.'

Devi: 'According to the Council for Debt Collectors, debt collectors are not allowed to misrepresent themselves. They are also not allowed to make threats they have no legal authority to enforce.'

Andries: 'He also - when he sends out anything in writing, any correspondence - he has to attach his registration number, his council of debt collectors registration number.'

No such number appears on the email. And it seems the standard procedure for phone operators at VVM's call centre is to intimidate motorists into paying.

Howard: 'So, you pay it because you are scared that you are going to be locked up. There is actually a term for that - and we apply it to Nigerian syndicates, we apply it to the Mafia, and we call it 'extortion'.'

Andries: 'You cannot be arrested on the basis that you did not pay your admission of guilt fines.'

And when it comes to fines older than two years, it is unlikely that the Johannesburg courts will issue a summons.

Although there is no statute of limitations on traffic fines, hundreds of thousands of extra summonses would mean lots of extra cases for the courts, which are already over-burdened.

Devi (to Dir. Gereke): 'The threat that's contained in the letter makes it very clear that failure to make payment before x date will result in criminal proceedings being instituted against you. This is actually not true - it's a lie, it's illegal. Yet your signature is at the bottom of the letter?'

Dir Gerneke: 'Devi, I don't see that as a lie. It is very clearly worded may... it, it is not that we are going to lock you up.'

Devi: 'You just said it's not going to happen. If it's two years old, it's not going to happen.'

In at least one case, the fine in question didn't even exist.

Howard: 'This is an example of a chap who got a phone call telling him that he had an outstanding traffic fine and he had until the end of the day to pay it, or he was going to be arrested.'

Howard asked the JMPD's head office to check for outstanding fines against the motorist's ID number. There [was] none.

Nor did Payfine have a record of a fine.

Devi: 'Does the fine exist or not?'

Dir. Gerneke: 'Well, if VVM have got the letter, the fine definitely existed at one stage or another. It could be that this fine was just on the point of being cleaned off the system, being older than three years.'

But when the Justice Project called VVM on the motorist's behalf, they were told unless he paid he would be arrested.

Devi: 'You're just hoping that they're going to read this, get a 'skrik' (fright) and pay up.'

Dir Gerneke: 'Let's be honest Devi, I'm, I'm sure at the end of the [day] we must all look at the, the, the City's interest in, um...'

Devi: 'In terms of money?'

Dir Gerneke: 'In terms of money. That was part of the turnaround strategy of the City.'

Devi: 'But don't make money out of me if you didn't do your job and I didn't get the notice.'

Devi (to Dr. Gereke): 'I want to understand. VVM... how do they get paid?'

Dir. Gerneke: 'They will get paid in terms of a percentage of all the fines that have been paid.'

Devi: 'Which is why they do threaten you on the phone that you will be arrested, because the more fines they get in, the more money they will make.'

To date VVM has earned R2-million in commission. And it seems they are fleecing motorists twice.

The number given as the JMPD call centre on their email is a premium rate number.

Howard: 'It costs you the same as phoning a cellphone, so whatever rate you are on is the rate that you are paying. So if you are being charged R2.30 per minute...'

Devi: 'So not only are they making money out of collecting fines, they are also?'

Howard: 'And it is illegal. It is illegal in any situation to give people a telephone number and not inform them that it is a premium rate number.'

Devi: 'And do you know that this specific call centre makes money out of my calls?'

Dir Gerneke: 'No, that I'm not uh, uh too sure of, of how they make money...'

Devi: 'They make money out of the calls.'

Devi: 'Even if I get a cell number and I can call Wednesday or something and do an interview over the telephone...'

The receptionist at VVM refused to give us the company director's cell numbers and we are still waiting for any kind of response.

Devi: 'So, to people who have received letters and they go and check and they find that fine is actually more than two or more years old, all they must do is just update their details and forget about the fine?'

Dir Gerneke: 'Technically that is what they can do. But remember it's still a legal fine. If it's over two years, we will not serve a summons at a roadblock on them - they cannot be arrested for this letter, and that we must make very clear. But legally you can still pay the fine if you want to.'

The above is an extract that was copied verbatim from the Carte Blanche Web-site. All credit to the owner.

Carte Blanche