SAN ANTONIO — Irene Arriaga was in a car accident on July 27 of last year, when another vehicle hit the side of hers as she was making a turn.
Arriaga ended up being at fault, but after insurance company paid out around $2,000 she thought the claim was over.
Then, in December, she received a call. A company named Afni was calling to ask for another $9,256.
“I can’t afford to pay $9,000 to anybody! I’m barely making it alone as I am,” Arriaga said.
Arriaga thought the call might have been a scam, so she told the company to send her something in writing if they wanted to collect.
A few months later, on Feb. 15, the Afni Subrogation Department sent her a letter that claimed she "could" owe $9,256.
Additionally, the letter said, “The Department of Transportation, or appropriate entity, may have been notified of this accident. The notification may result in the suspension of your driving or registration privileges.”
That scared Arriaga most.
“They said they could get the people from the Texas Department of Transportation, or where you get your driver's license, to suspend my license if I didn’t pay those $9000,” Arriaga said. “To me it’s scary, because I drive to get my food and go to the doctor.”
Not knowing what to do next, Arriaga called KENS 5.
KENS 5 reviewed the letter and noticed that it also asked Arriaga to send information regarding whether she had insurance at the time. She did.
KENS 5 then reached out to Afni’s corporate office multiple times to notify them that Arriaga had coverage at the time, and to ask them why they were still trying to collect. When KENS 5 did not hear back, we started calling the Afni collections line on Arriaga's behalf.
A manager in the collections office then told KENS 5 Afni had later determined that Arriaga had insurance at the time, so they were closing her file.
Arriaga later called to request this information in writing, to which Afni sent a letter stating: “Please be advised that our file is closed and NO payment is owed to our office. You may disregard the letter sent in February.”
Arriaga said it was a relief.
“It relieves a lot of stress from my mind. I can sleep better now knowing that no one is going to suspend my license and no one is going to sue me for $9,000,” Arriaga said.
KENS 5 also confirmed that a collections agency cannot, by themselves, actually suspend someone's driving privileges.
Consumer Protection Attorney Bill Clanton told KENS 5 the only agency with the authority to suspend a Texas drivers license is the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
Clanton said DPS will sometimes suspend someone’s driver's license if that person does not have insurance and then hits another driver in a collision. If the driver at fault doesn’t pay for the damages, DPS could threaten to suspend a license to try and make the at-fault driver pay.
“The idea is that the state wants everybody to be insured. In fact, there is a law that says you have to have car insurance to drive a vehicle in Texas,” Clanton said. “If you get in a wreck and cause someone injury, and you don’t have insurance, then you have to pay that. One of the ways they get you to pay that is to suspend your license until that amount is paid.”
Clanton also said DPS would normally send a person at least two notice letters before actually suspending a license.
Fortunately, Arriaga had insurance at the time of the accident, and her insurance company already paid, so she was never actually at risk of losing driving privileges in the first place.
Arriaga didn’t have the ability to hire an attorney herself but she now knows her license is safe after calling KENS 5.
“I took a chance and called channel 5 and, you know what, y'all were able to help me," she said. "That relieves a lot of stress."
If you have a problem like this, we want to help you fix it! In our series, Call KENS, we do our best to solve problems for our viewers. The number to call is 210-470-KENS, or fill out the form on this page.