Parking Ticket Mistakes and Now What?

[Mari Clements]

On 6/12, the city of Lomita issued a parking ticket to a red Volkswagen, and the parking officer mistakenly wrote down my license plate number (which has been on a white BMW since at least 2003 when I bought the car).

On 6/27, they sent me a notice of illegal parking, which says, "You have 21 days from the issue date of the citation, or 14 days from the date of this notice to contest the citation by requesting an Initial Review. The request may be made by phone, in writing or in person."

On 7/1, the notice arrived in the mail. (Twenty-one days from the date of the ticket would be the very next day, BTW, but 14 days from the notice would be 7/11.)

On 7/2, I call the number on the form, speak to a gentleman named Lonnie, request an initial review, and am told that even though it says you can request an Initial Review by phone, you really have to send in everything in writing.

On 7/3, we leave for the central coast, where Eric's aunt who is dying of cancer, is hosting her 4th of July celebration (a huge family tradition).

On 7/8, I gather all the documentation I think I need, make copies of my title (which shows purchase date and license plate), current registration, photos of front and rear of the car, and computer printout showing that I was editing a file on my computer (in Alta Loma) when the ticket was issued. I write a letter explaining all this, make copies of the entire packet (because there are two addresses on the ticket, and Lonnie just told me to send the request "to the address on the ticket"), and take the whole thing to the post office. At the post office, I ask about sending the letters with delivery confirmation and am informed that to do so, I'd have to send them priority mail, not just first class. Given that either way, it will take 2-3 days to get there, and that I'm sending it to both addresses, I figure I'm fine to send it first class.

On 7/15, the city of Lomita mails a second notice, this time a notice of delinquent parking violation, and says I now owe them $80 because I did not pay the original notice and "have failed to contest the citation in the timeframe allowed by California Vehicle Code." They further threaten to withhold my vehicle registration, garnish my taxes/lottery winnings, and turn me over to a collection agency, and note that failure to respond to 5 or more outstanding citations may result in my car being booted or impounded. (Of course, I'd welcome them to impound my nonexistent red Volkswagen, but withholding my registration on a car I do own and/or turning me over to a collection agency would really not be good outcomes.)

So...for those of you who have either legal knowledge or a similar experience, what are my options? Certainly I will call them this morning as soon as they are open and see if it can't be settled correctly, but frankly, given my experience so far, I am not hopeful.

mlc

[Mike Simanyi]

Mari,

You're simply addressing the admin error, not the citation itself. I'm sure the "deadlines" won't apply, but I'd still jump on this as soon as possible.

Mike

[George Schilling]

All I can say is good luck Mari. Dealing with anyone at city hall can be an eye opener. You've already spent a considerable amount of time proving your case to a degree that a normal, rational person would accept. But the people at city hall are not there to serve. They are there to make life miserable for the citizenry. Man, I hate government at all levels. My suggestion is to keep calling hoping that someone besides the night janitor will take pity and take care of you. But don't hold your breath.

[Steve Ekstrand]

Mari-

If you can't make any head way with them this morning, then get me a copy of every thing, and I'll call them as your attorney and try to instill a proper fear and respect for God into the lowly bastards.

[Steve Ekstrand]

BTW-Is the VIN on the ticket?

[Mari Clements]

This morning, a lady named Milka first said that she shows a balance due of $80, and then when I explained that I called on 7/2, spoke to Lonnie, and mailed the documentation on 7/8, said that the ticket is actually under review, but that they mailed that notice the day before they received my documentation. The date on the notice is 7/15. It takes 8 days for a letter to get from the Rancho Cucamonga post office to the post offices in Lomita and Irvine? Craziness.

Anyway, it's officially "under review" and I am not to worry about paying it or about late fees until I get another letter from them.

[Mari Clements]

Nope, no VIN on the ticket. There's a place for it, but it is blank.

[David Avard]

"Lazy traffic officer causes major headache for innocent motorist."

This and other unbelievable stories on the next Ripley's Believe it or Not.

[Ramy Mattar]

interesting that this topic came up,
here is my story, however, my dates are not well documented.

2/15/08 My girlfriend gets a parking ticket at the city of lynwood.
2/15/08 I mailed the check to pay the ticket
2/21/08 the check was cleared with the city stamp on the back of it and ticket number.
7/08 my girlfriend went to the DMV to renew her regesteration and find out that she ows $75 for the same ticket.
7/08 i called the city of lynwood and after several attempts I was able to talk to someone and explain the situation, he told me that he has no records of the ticket and it was forwarded to an agency that handles the city billing inquiries and gave me the phone number.
7/08 I called that agency who didn't provide me any info and told me that i have to mail a copy of the cleared check, so I mailed it as instructed. When I asked how long does it usually take, the lady answered, I can't tell, it all depends on the mail
Today 7/21/08 my girlfriend went to the DMV to find that the ticket is still there and they gave her a form to fill out and mail to the city of lynwood ( Back to square one)

[George Schilling]

Schenker, I hope your following this. A vote for Obama is a vote for much, much more of this kind of crap on the federal level. And until you've been caught in the snares of government bueacracy, it's hard to understand why people like me, who have to deal with this kind of crap on a regular basis, hates government so much. Last time I was at city hall I specifically asked them to pick on someone with hair. Mine has already been pulled out!

[Kurt Rahn]

I've always found that when dealing with govt. bureaucrats, face-to-face interaction works best. Then they know they can't blow you off because you're not going away until you're satisfied.

[Larry Andrews]

Wow George, I didn't realize what a tortured victim you've become.

Sorry Mari - that's not a fun situation to get cleared up...keep at it and you'll get through this mess. I think Kurt's got a good point about being there.

[Eric Clements]

I thought Mari was going about it the hard way. I was going to call them and tell them to tow my red VW and sell it to pay off the ticket!

[Ramy Mattar]

I went to the city hall yesterday after several of my phone calls hadn't been returned, they told me "sorry we are behind on processing tickets" .
I had a copy of my cleared check proving I paid the ticket and a form from the DMV for the city to stamp so I wouldn't have to pay the $75, the lady looked at the papers and said everything looks OK but there is only one officer who can stamp the DMV form and he is on vacation and will be back monday.
Today was the last day for the registeration and my girlfriend didn't want to drive with expired registeration so she went to the DMV and paid the $75......... Sad ending.

I will try to get the city to re-imburse me, but i don't know how much more time and efforts i should spend on that.

[Kevin Price]

Schenker, I hope your following this. A vote for Obama is a vote for much, much more of this kind of crap on the federal level. And until you've been caught in the snares of government bueacracy, it's hard to understand why people like me, who have to deal with this kind of crap on a regular basis, hates government so much. Last time I was at city hall I specifically asked them to pick on someone with hair. Mine has already been pulled out!

Yes, this absolutely positively Obama's fault.

[Bob Beamesderfer]

I went to the city hall yesterday after several of my phone calls hadn't been returned, they told me "sorry we are behind on processing tickets" .
I had a copy of my cleared check proving I paid the ticket and a form from the DMV for the city to stamp so I wouldn't have to pay the $75, the lady looked at the papers and said everything looks OK but there is only one officer who can stamp the DMV form and he is on vacation and will be back monday.
Today was the last day for the registeration and my girlfriend didn't want to drive with expired registeration so she went to the DMV and paid the $75......... Sad ending.

I will try to get the city to re-imburse me, but i don't know how much more time and efforts i should spend on that.

But it's the month on that sticker on the plate that draws attention. Cops who stop for expired takes aren't checking the DMV due date for renewal. I won't tell you not to try to get the $75 back, but chances are slim to none. Cities claim indemnity on stuff like this and they have all the power to do so. I got bupkus when a rock thrown up by a city of Corona piece of equipment damaged the windshield on the Subie. So sorry, the $325 is all yours.

[Jeff Shyu]

my truck's been parked streetside with tags showing "feb" "2005" for a while..

the tags are actually current, i just have the sticker in the car.. probably should scrape the old ones off and apply the new one.

the 2009 one is the same color as the 2005 though! cops wouldn't even notice.

[Eric Clements]

Letter came yesterday:

The Parking Enforcement Department has reviewed your claim and has made the following determination:
Violation has been canceled.

[Steve Collins]

Congratulations!

But hold onto your wallet. When I got my registration renewal recently there was a $35 "late fee" for a ~2 year old parking ticket added to the total. The original ticket was for "overnight parking" of my disabled car. I never got the original ticket and I sent the money off as soon as I got the "reminder notice" but apparently not soon enough. As far as I can tell, the govt is just an alternate form of organized crime. :mrt:

[Jeff Shyu]

always fight every ticket.

that's my personal motto.

did you know that within LA county, every single parking meter needs to have a sign showing the exact hours of operation? not just a sign posted at the start and end of the block?

fighting speeding tickets has gotten to be more challenging though, since they revised the CVC to actually cite maximum speeds, rather than "safe and reasonable".. still pretty easy to get out of tickets though, all it takes is being a good writer.

[George Schilling]

fighting speeding tickets has gotten to be more challenging though, since they revised the CVC to actually cite maximum speeds, rather than "safe and reasonable".. still pretty easy to get out of tickets though, all it takes is being a good writer.

When did this happen?

[Jeff Shyu]

2006..

edit: that's when i had to first fight that one.

it used to be highway speeds weren't defined either, but now CVC 22349 has the expressed "65mph" in place.

[Giovanni Jaramillo]

fighting speeding tickets has gotten to be more challenging though, since they revised the CVC to actually cite maximum speeds, rather than "safe and reasonable".. still pretty easy to get out of tickets though, all it takes is being a good writer.

Just Assassinate those tickets: http://www.ticketassassin.com

[Jeff Shyu]

fighting speeding tickets has gotten to be more challenging though, since they revised the CVC to actually cite maximum speeds, rather than "safe and reasonable".. still pretty easy to get out of tickets though, all it takes is being a good writer.

Just Assassinate those tickets: http://www.ticketassassin.com

that's where i got started.. i've refined my process quite a bit since then...

[Mari Clements]

But hold onto your wallet.

I've filed the letter from the city of Lomita to be kept at least until the Bimmer is up for registration renewal the next time...