Consumer Accuses Police Officer of Making Debt Collection Call

A woman in the suburban Chicago town of Midlothian is accusing a local police officer of contacting her to urge her to pay a debt or face criminal charges, according to an article running Thursday in the Oak Forest Star.

Angela Procter had a bill for about $460 from a car repair shop for work done last November. She paid $200 upfront to the shop, and agreed to pay the remainder in installments. Proctor paid the business $150 the next month. Proctor told the Star she soon fell on hard times and couldn’t pay the remaining $110.

Fast forward to July. Proctor said that she was contacted by Midlothian Police Lt. Harold Kaufman last week and told that if she didn’t pay the balance remaining on her repair bill, she could face criminal charges. Proctor says that Kaufman told her to pay him directly rather than the auto repair shop. She paid the remaining $110 debt directly to the repair shop.

The Midlothian police department doesn’t deny making the call, according to the Star. Indeed, the Chief of the Midlothian police, Vincent Schavone, told the paper that his officers have been known to make calls to consumers on behalf of businesses for payments. Kaufman refused to comment to the Star, and an attorney contacted by the paper intimated that legal action could be possible on behalf of Procter.

The story is available at http://www.starnewspapers.com/oakforest/news/473408,191of1.article.