Contesting Parking Tickets

[ominousfairy.livejournal.com]

Has anyone ever successfully contested them? Normally, I suck it up, and admit it was my fault, but I am now in a ridiculous situation (created by 2 major mistakes at the permit office) that is not my fault, and I have nowhere to park.

How does one go about contesting tickets? Please help! Thank you.

Comments

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

If you look back through the parking tag, you'll find several posts on the subject.

[ajg1981.livejournal.com]

I contested one in Medford. I parked on a Medford street overnight. Apparently, they have odd/even parking nights, and I parked on the wrong side. I contested the ticket and sent in photos. They wrote back saying that the law has been around for 30 years and they aren't required to post signs. I had to pay.

[ceo]

In my experience, the Somerville parking people have been more than willing to tear up tickets resulting from e.g. my forgetting to renew my resident permit. However, I have not had to test this since the new regulations came into effect, so I don't know if they've adopted a more hardassed policy.

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

Here is the official info on appealing:

http://www.somervillema.gov/section.cfm?org=traffic&page=356

But before you go down that road, you may wish to send an explanatory email directly to Acting Director Bob Bradley. If the tickets you've been issued are, in fact, due entirely to "a ridiculous situation (created by 2 major mistakes at the permit office) that is not [your] fault" then you're better off explaining the problem to Bob rather than a hearing officer.

Hearing officers have wide latitude, but they are generally more concerned with the hows and the whats (whether there was a permit, whether it was properly displayed, whether the meter was broken, whether street cleaning really was happening at that time and on that day, whether the PCO made a mistake, etc.)than the whys (I renewed by mail and T&P cashed the check but never sent me my permit; they gave me the wrong type of permit, they told me at the T&P office that I'd be fine, etc.). If it was a properly-issued ticket for a real violation, the hearing officer is probably not going to rescind it.

You may, therefore, be better off seeking administrative relief than going through the hearing process.

I have to say, though, that you've piqued my curiosity. What mistakes did T&P make, and how did they interact to leave you with no (legal) place to park?

[mjperson.livejournal.com]

I've been preparing to appeal a ticket as well. (It was issued in error.)

Having read that page, am I right in thinking the actual ticket appeal policy is:

1) Do nothing until we declare your payment late.
2) When that happens, we'll schedule a hearing.
3) If you show up, you weren't late after all.

I mean, that's how it reads, but it really seems like serious brinkmanship. I'm trying to be responsible and all, but the responsible course of action is to sit here and wait until I'm overdue??

[ominousfairy.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Mr. Champion. I have emailed Director Bradley. I am grateful to any help anyone can provide.

Mine is a somewhat complicated situation, as I found out yesterday when I spoke to Donna at the office (who was lovely, by the way). I was mistakenly issued a permit that expired in the wrong month (February) and my new permit only begins in March, but they were late in mailing them out, and I still haven't received mine. So I have had no legal place to park for weeks. Donna told me to just use the guest pass, which I have done, but I'm still getting tickets: resident using guest pass, guess pass used more than twice a week, expired permit... etc.

I have followed every direction given to me to the letter, and I can't win! I can barely afford my rent and food, much less $250 in tickets. I have nowhere to leave my car (driveway, friend's place), and I need it to get to and from work. I just can't believe that anyone could be in this situation.

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

In a word, "yes."

Wait until your hearing date is automatically generated with your "late" notice. If you can't make the date provided, call and ask for a different time. If your appeal is successful, any and all late fees will be waived. If it isn't, but you've kept your appointment, your late fees should STILL be waived, and you will owe only the original fine.

In that sense, your Point #3 is absolutely correct.

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

Well, it certainly sounds like you've made a good faith effort to comply, but that the PCOs who work your block don't have the information. Donna IS very nice, and I'm sure she will confirm your conversation with her when Bob follows up. This is the type of customer service issue that he is committed to improving. Let us know how you do -- and good luck.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

wait, what? you can't use the guest pass more than twice a week???

[mjperson.livejournal.com]

The same car can only use them twice a week. And the owner of the guest pass can't use it at all.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I would just say one thing I've said before, if you are polite and respectful at the parking office you will get better results. These people are sortof trapped in an office all day with people being mean and nasty to them, and their opportunity to get back at that is to deny you what you want. I find when I go in there with a smile, and a joke, and maybe some sympathetic looks, I tend to get what I need and FASTER.

Conversely the jerks I've seen coming in acting like special snowflakes, or worse, being belligerent profane assholes usually get to pay their tickets.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

It astonishes me that there are still people in the world who do not know the fundamental life lesson, Do Not Anger The Secretary. (replace "secretary" with whatever administrative professional is sitting at a desk between you and something you want...) That there not only are such people, but many of them, who don't understand that it's both morally and karmically a bad idea to anger the secretary...

I don't get it.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

(Which is to say I agree with you! a lot!)

[masswich.livejournal.com]

I'd agree with you and raise you one- be nice to everyone in an office, from the bottom to the top. Administrative professionals are part of that, but all the people in a public sector office are worthy of respect. Public service in a service office like T&P is hard much of the time, and full of grief. And not everyone is an administrator- there are engineers and managers as well.

[upsidown.livejournal.com]

And the week is defined as Mon-Sunday. So using it Fri, Sat, and Monday is okay. Using it Mon, Tues, and Wed will get you a ticket.

[ominousfairy.livejournal.com]

Thanks, everyone. I took Tom's advice, and Bob Bradley & Donna finally got everything straightened out and the tickets dismissed! The system can work! THANK YOU!!!

Now my only problem is getting my old permit off my windshield. I think's it's fused to the glass! No amount of razorblading it is working.
:-P