Debt Collecting Telemarketers Denied Exception To Parking Rules

SKOKIE, IL — A rapidly growing debt collection agency was denied an exception to village parking rules by the Skokie Zoning Board of Appeals last week, Pioneer Press reported. Unifin, described by its lawyer as a telemarketing company that arranges repayment of student loan debt, has been operating without a required village certificate of occupancy for months after moving to larger offices in the same office park, according to the Skokie Review.

The zoning board's Oct. 3 denial of Unifin's request to be allowed to operate with 55 fewer parking spaces than the code requires means the company may have to move from the Gross Point Office Center in the 8900 block of Gross Point Road, Pioneer Press reported. Unifin said it has added about 85 employees since it moved in the Skokie space. Neighbors in attendance at the meeting complained about its employees being rude, parking improperly on nearby residential streets and littering.

Alan Gerstner, vice president of the zoning board, and other board members said they supported the company's growth but not at that particular location, according to Pioneer Press.

“It’s not going to get any better. It’s going to get worse," Gerstner said, according to the Review. "And if there’s no place to park now, just imagine when there’s more employees. They’ll be parking on your lawn.”

Businesses in Skokie who do not have certificates of occupancy from the building department face fines levied through village administrative hearings. According to the village's property standard supervisor, the village has never closed a business for not having a certificate. And if it needed to, a village spokesperson said, it would only be in egregious cases involving life safety issues. In such a case, it would be referred to Cook County court. The administrative hearing officer can only assess or threaten fines to encourage compliance with village code.

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