51-8.15—Collection of fees and charges.
(a)
Except when prepayment is required, payments shall be collected to the fullest extent possible at the time the requested materials are furnished. Payments shall be made by requesters within 30 days of the date of the billing.
(b)
Payments shall be made by check, draft, or money order made payable to the Treasury of the United States.
(c)
In instances where a requester has previously failed to pay a fee, the Committee may require the requester to pay the full amount owed, plus any applicable interest as provided below, as well as the full estimated fee associated with any new request before it begins to process the new or subsequent request.
(d)
On requests that result in fees being assessed, interest will be charged on an unpaid bill starting on the 31st day following the day on which the billing was sent. Interest will be at the rate prescribed in section 3717 of Title 31 United States Code, and will accrue from the date of the billing.
(e)
In attempting to collect fees levied under FOIA, the Committee will abide by the provisions of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-365) in disclosing information to consumer reporting agencies and in the use of collection agencies, where appropriate, to encourage payment.