state tax

In 1997, we owed the state of Kansas $3000.00, we arranged for payments to be made. Did this until 1998, when we had to file for bankruptcy, pymts ceased until bankruptcy was discharged and then continue on with payment arrangements in 1999. In year 2001 February, received letter from IRS stating the partial refund from them would go to pay what was remaining due to the state in the amount of 1062.Ok, great-we don't have to continue making this payment to state, it was paid in full. In February 2003, we rcvd a notice from a collection agency stating we owed 96 and will interest and penalities. Called the State, ecord was what was due, also showed what we had paid in installments as well as what the IRS pd. The person stated she would research to find out was going on and get back with me. Yeah, right. the next morning, I called the State of Kansas back, a different person stated according to the computer the state owed us $281.00, apparently the state miscalculatied what was actually due and what was pd and applied to balance. Sent chk, rcvd in 4 days. In march, in process in refinancing house, per credit report had 2 tax liens for taxed owed filed a month after IRS notification. called state, 1 tax lien filed in error, only 1 tax lien allowed for tax yr. My problem with this is the tax liens should never have been filed because it turns out the state owed us money, not us owing them. Had not recvd any notification of still owing any back taxes or notification of tax liens- according to the state, the sheriff in our county would have delivered them- didn't happen, I am sure I would have remembered the sheriff coming to our house not once, but twice. Go figure. Do I have any recourse? We are the ones responsible for getting it off our credit report when it shouldn't have been there in the first place. Any suggestion???

*Write* the state & inform them that the tax due was satisfied a month before they filed the lien on your house & that they actually owed you $281 when they filed the lien. Inform them that the improperly recorded lien is having an immediate negative affect on your ability to refinancy your house. Further inform tham that if the lien is not released immediately, you will sue the state for negligently filing the lien & for any damages, such as extra refinancing fees or higher interest rates you have to pay in your refinancing. Tell them your refinancing is scheduled to close on x/x/2003, & that they need to have everything resolved by that time. You might hire an attorney to write the letter. It might be cheaper to join one of the pre-paid legal groups & have the staff attorneys write the letter as part of your membership benefits.

I don't know if you could actually find a lawyer to sue the state, or if you can even sue the state for this. I suspect you'd need to file a class action or have a good chance of getting punitive damages before a lawyer would touch it.

"It might be cheaper to join one of the pre-paid legal groups & have the staff attorneys write the letter as part of your membership benefits."

It is a good investment and the monthly cost is reasonable. However, a pre-existing legal matter is not covered under most plans and the ones that do it is at a discounted rate. The benefit is that you have access to an attorney who will actually handle something like this at a reasonable cost.