Molasses
I just thought I'd detail the path I'm taking in case someone reads this thread later and is in my shoes.
Kind of like the great guy (to whom I should send money) who had pictures of the $15 washing machine part I needed to purchase to avoid a $200 service call.
So, after sending my form, $5 (which is why I didn't go with CarFax or AutoCheck), and a letter requesting a copy of the title for the car in my name to the state of Illinois, 10 days later I got the following:
1) A print-out of the title numbers listed for the vehicle
2) A copy of the form I filled out requesting the title (not dated)
3) A copy of the CT title I sent them with #2 above.
Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled, so I called up Springfield. The first lady on the phone didn't even give me her name. When I asked her to whom I could speak about not getting the records I requested, she told me to file another letter with the records division.
Because that sounded ridiculous, I waited ten minutes and called again. I spoke with a very nice lady who saw that, indeed, I was not sent what I asked for, and she put a copy of my title in the mail and I got it three days later.
Given that July was quite the busy month and I had the proof I needed, I set the problem aside for a quiet moment. Of course, this just gave Mr. Dodd a chance to send me another nastygram. What I found interesting was that the threat amounted to making it "difficult to obtain credit with our client" and providing "an adverse credit history with our client." This is suitably vague enough for me not to be certain of what it means. But the surface-level reading is not something that concerns me.
He also added 1.47% to the amount he thinks is due him. That's an APR of about 19.2% Probably better than most credit cards, come to think of it.
So, needless to say, I sent a letter detailing the situation
to the tax assessor's office. I provided a copy of my Illinois title as was requested over the phone and a self-addressed, stamped envelope so that they could send me, in writing, evidence that (1) the tax, applied in error, was relieved and (2) that they had contacted ANRG to that effect.
I also put an end-date to the whole affair stating in the letter that, if I haven't heard from them in a month, then the matter will be considered to have been settled satisfactorily. I'm not sure how legal that is, but I figure it couldn't hurt. The letter was sent certified/return-receipt. I haven't gotten the return-receipt yet, but usps.gov says the letter got there.
Lastly, I just sent off a very short note to Mr. Dodd stating that the information requested by the tax assessor's office has been sent to them and that they will get in touch with him with further instructions. That should re-set his nastiness timer for another month which should be enough to finish this whole affair.
So, either I hear back from the tax assessor's office one way or the other in a month or I hear nothing. If its the former, then I'll act on their information. If the latter, I don't know what else to do except sit tight and weather an ANRG hissy-fit should it come.
I should probably order a credit report on myself next month just to make sure all is well. Nobody replied to bcaf2677... so I don't know if anyone has had their credit affected by this nonsense.
Much luck to all.
