Los Angeles Parking Violation Bureau review: Fraudulent Parking Ticket 46

This is a constant repeat of the same thing. If you get an invalid parking ticket, request a review, they ALWAYS Everytime say its valid. They IGNORE the evidence completely. This has happened 3 times. Once a completely defaced street cleaning sign you could not see the day on, took a photo. Once , a "red curb" that wasn't a red curb, and that I parked at for months, Again NOT red. Regular grey curb. Took.a photo. And currently as I'm writing this now , a preferential parking ticket., with literally no sign in sight, I took a picture and all three times the same result I get a letter in the mail saying the parking ticket was found valid. Currently I'm reading how it claims that there is a visible sign where I was parked in reality there is no sign at all. I took a picture of my car on the day. That was clear as day showing that there was no sign., I submitted it with the evidence and yet here we are claiming that there was a sign when there wasn't. This is FRAUD. and to make matters worse.when they complete your review if you want to continue to fight the ticket, you cannot do it unless you pay for the ticket which makes a whole lot of sense right? You have to pay a fine for something you didn't do just to prove you didn't do it . and guess what if you submit proof that you didn't do it without paying the fine, they will not even consider looking at the proof. How is this even legal? We honestly at this point need to just shut down the entire Los Angeles parking enforcement department either that or there needs to be an internal investigation into the fraud they're committing.

I saw this officer R. Wright gave out parking ticket not at the time and location where violation happened.
I received two bogus tickets one on feb 11, the other on March 11, 2017 at the same spot. The first review officer says no enough info which I uploaded 3 photos and never notify me for more info, the 2 ruled valid that I uploaded 3 photos, also I submitted 3 more in person which clearly showed I lined up along the right curb within 18", how could the review officer not see it with date, time and location? Why it ruled it as valid?

Hahaha. So funny, your story was so similar to mine, I thought I must have written it drunk and forgot. Same thing here. I live in SF (car is registered in Sacramento). My notice of delinquent ticket only had my license plate number correct. The make, model, color were completely different. I had also not been to Los Angelas in 2 years and the ticket was issued on my mother's birthday. On my mother's birthday I was in lake Tahoe and even happend to have a picture of my family and I with my car and the liscence plate in the background. I wrote them to clear it (explaining the situation and that the car information was incorrect). I got a notice in the mail that it was cleared and that the ticket would be dropped. Two weeks later I got another notice of a ticket in the mail from the same company, but this time they corrected the mistakes for the description of my car with what I told them. I realized that by contesting the ticket, I actually just gave them the information that the needed to try and scam me again sometime. Now their database has the correct info. BEWARE of this SCAM!. Also, always makesure to check the address and website URL. If it is a .gov url, you know it is legit. Also if the address is for a PO Box then that should be enough of a red flag.

I too have received at least one parking ticket literally 2-5 minutes after parking in a "permit-only" neighborhood. I will freely admit that I was wrong, but the size and placement and color of these "neighborhood signs" definitely needs to be improved. I am supplying this rapid response from parking enforcement because I do live in a single family home, and every Monday we have street cleaning. Every Monday there are cars parked on Taft Avenue 90068, and every Monday, the LA Parking Enforcement Vehicles, which are normally cruising this neighborhood all the time, are mysteriously not seen, and cars go un-ticketed and continue to park on the street, and the street looks horrible because of street cleaners having to go around these parked cars. So on Monday, 4/4/16 at 8:38AM I called LA Parking Enforcement to see what could be done out front of my home, since Street Sweepers are constantly having to go around the parked cars. Nearly an hour later no ticket had been issued to the car, and that is very mysterious since the Parking Patrol vehicles are always seen on every other day, but on the day they are actually to be patrolling streets with certain hours of No Parking, they are nowhere to be seen. I called LA Parking Enforcement and spoke to Operator 129, who was rude, interrupting me, and then cut me off and placed me in the black hole of being on hold. After several minutes on hold, realizing how he was never going to come back on the line, I disconnected. I understand the complaints on this board seem to pertain to people who have received questionable tickets, but keep in mind the fact that Parking Enforcement is also doing a sub-par job when they don't issue tickets to vehicles who are obviously and blatantly not abiding by the parking rules, just like the rest of us. So if they are issuing bogus tickets, and then not even issuing tickets when they are told to by LA Municipal Code i.e. street cleaning days, then just what are the LA taxpayers paying their wage for? LA Parking Enforcement Operators are rude, interrupting, and act they are being put out when called with a parking enforcement violation. I am now keeping a photo journal, call log, and downloading the home video security camera footage for when I can mail it all to my City Council Person and let them see the concrete evidence of why the LA Parking Enforcement Bureau is seriously lacking in there approach to innocent people simply making a call, and doing their job.

On 7/25/15, while driving by The Forum in Inglewood, CA. I was stopped at a crosswalk by a traffic officer (man in fluorescent vest) to let pedestrians cross at the crosswalk into the Forum for the Phish concert. There was one car in front of me and numerous cars behind me. While I was stopped, another man in a fluorescent vest took pictures of every license plate that was waiting for the pedestrians to cross. This man then yelled to a group of people also in fluorescent vests, sitting on the sidewalk… “I got like 100 of these now!” From my car, I asked why he took a picture of my plate and he pointed out a temporary sign that said “no parking”. At this point I still couldn’t move forward because the car in front of me was still being stopped and people were still crossing. I then started taking pictures with my cellphone. The group of people in fluorescent vests sitting on the sidewalk started laughing and taunting me for taking pictures. When our line of cars was finally allowed to pass, I tried to appeal to a police officer that was busy eating in his car and just waved me on. I wasn’t pulled over, I wasn’t stopped at a curb, I wasn’t parked or attempting to park, I didn’t leave my car and I was stopped by a traffic officer and numerous pedestrians. Further, on the violation “Signs or painted curb (except blue/red)” is checked for $55, however handwritten is “signs no stopping/park”. There is no signature by an officer on the ticket. By the time they sent me the ticket, penalties had already started to accrue. I contested it and a "supervisor" found it to be a valid ticket that I still had to pay. In order to appeal further, I have to pay the ticket and then they'll decide if they will refund me. Scam scam scam in Inglewood, CA!

i got a ticket on [protected] unfair I think I parked my car in front of a fire hydrant where is not marked as red zone also the hydrant is dusty it looks like is not longer in service I took some pics. but I can not sent them to you I don not know why I hope someone reply my msge. that way I can sent pics to prove it that my ticket is illegal!

I got a ticket last sunday [protected] because I parked my car in front of a fire hydrant which is not marked red zone it looks the hydrant dusty etc. no longer in use I tried to sent pics. but I could not the address was given the ticket is 9332 Van Nuys Blvd.

I got a ticket last sunday [protected] because I parked the car in front of fire hydrant which is marked or painted as red zone it looks the hydrant is no longer in use is dusty etc.i want to sent some picture to provete but I can not it was at 9332 Van Nuys Blvd. North Hills ca.

I was given a ticket and had my haddicap placard up they told me to send in my proof and paiy 25.00 i did and they sent me a second ticket saying that i owed them 125.00 when i called they said the paper work wasnt on time i then sent proof they cashed my check with the date before the due date and the paper work was with it how could it be late they said nothing they could do and they dont have a complaint center so im out of 150.00 for doing nothing this is ridiculous people cant afford these scams and we ask why the world is out of wack we cant even trust our on cities.

I received a parking violation-80.61-no parking in an alley-city of LA. There were signs on north side of the alley saying no parking-not my side. A homemade sign on someone's fence next to my car saying "Acc. to Gennady Shtern (Admin Hearing Examiner/Ombudsman, LADOT, Office of Regulatory Services) Based on a Previous Investigation the parking space at ____ is LEGAL...on the south side of the st." Other cars were also parked on the south side.

I have just been trying to research it and it looks like I might be screwed. LADOT has no mercy. But it was just really confusing and all things point to me being allowed to park there, acc. to city signs and that random homemade sign.

It was $55 on my windshield, I called the number that they have a couple weeks later, but it wasnt in their system. A week after I called, I received a notice in the mail that its $68. Weird. It's not like its $200 but its still a lot of money and its the principle behind all this legal thievery that makes me disgusted.

This problem goes further than their parking tickets, traffic tickets are worse. I'm a hard working father trying to take care of my family, and I struggle to pay the bills. I received a speeding ticket, and missed my court date. When I finally went it, they added all kinds of penalties to the ticket and it came up to nearly $800, which I don't have to give away to the city of Los Angeles so their Croonies can sit in the back room and sniff cocaine, buy prostitutes, or however they squander the money. This is totally unfair. If I have a problem giving you $300, how the heck do you think I can pay $800. And if you ask for traffic court is $100+ more and it must be paid on the spot (when you miss the court date). This is so unfair and there isn't nothing we can do. They should change the name from Municipal Court to MOB Court, because they function just like the mob. F*CK THEM. Half of them are crooked anyway, what other type people could try and ruin the lives of their freakin citizens...

Parking enforcement officers as well as the hearing officers have no idea of a thing called "the spirit of the Law". 20 hours of training for the hearing officers. I have spent many more hours researching the laws and even though I have presented statutes and case law to them, they don't take the law into account. The last ticket I got, the parking meter isn't even visible from the space, and I took video of a few people putting money In the wrong meter, so obviously there is a problem. The hearing officer asked me several times, "where is the meter for the space?", and I said that is the point you can't see it. He denied my defense because I didn't have a picture of the meter for the space, even though all of my photos were taken from the driver's view entering the space. What a sham. I missed the appeal because of illness and went in the office to pay the ticket ten days later and they added 53.00 and 25 dollars, but would not tell me why. I paid the fine only and wrote a letter and asked for the legal authority they use to add these penalties, and I got back a reply with more penalties. A penalty on a penalty, the fine part was paid. They gave me no notice to pay within the ten days or they add the extra 25.00, they said they don't tell you that. The judgement simply said no money to be refunded, even though I had a waiver. They added penalties even though a waiver was in affect. They refuse to itemize. I am going to now try to file a complaint for mail fraud in addition to other avenues such as the Fair Debt Collection Act or acts. Or maybe just file to get an injunction for them to itemize the fees they are charging or small claims if it is allowed. Can you get a DMV hearing on things like this? There is no code or statute I can find which allows them to add these penalties, and no instructions on how to contest the amount of the fees. These people are twisted souls and enjoy making people mad and costing them money. What a sad life they must have. Most resemble the little chubby nose picking kid that nobody wanted on their team in grade school. I am having a hearing on another ticket and I am simply going to go in with a written brief and if it is the same hearing officer, the black guy in Van Nuys, I am going to most likely at least have the pleasure of using some legal terminology that he does not understand and tell him in so many words that he is not of average intelligence. I want to go to court with this anyway, so I can ask about the penalties on my first ticket, especially if it is the same judge. I also want to ask the hearing officer if community service hours can be done, because they can, and the last time he lied on tape and said that they cannot.

Our story is a little diffferent. We WERE in Los Angeles, due to the illness and death of my mother-in-law we've been travelling back and forth for more than six months. On a recent trip we were on the way out of town and were making our stop by Starbucks for the road. We stopped in a generally legal parking space, but after stopping for no more than a minute or two, engine running and staying in the car, we realized from reading the sign that it was street cleaning day. So we pulled away and sent to find a legal parking space. As we were getting ready to pull away we noticed a parking enforcement vehicle coming down the street. At no time did the officer leave his/her vehicle and we were not there long enough for him/her to approach the vehicle.

Some time later we got a notice of delinquent parking ticket, saying we had failed to respond to the ticket. Of course, no ticket had been issued and this was the first we heard of it. My wife, who was driving, challenged the ticket and we ended up with an in-person hearing a few weeks ago.

At the hearing we explained our situation, our surprise at being told a ticket was issued when one was not, and our wonder if we should file a complaint against the parking enforcement officer who essentially lied about issuing a citation. The hearing officer seemed to agree and even encouraged us to file a complaint.

This week, we received the hearing results and our appeal was denied. The issue of whether the officer actually physically issued the ticket was totally ignored. The hearing officer stated that since we had stopped in the parking space we had violated the law and thus the ticket was valid and we owed the money. End of story.

Soooo, we will be appealing to the Court where we hope someone with some common sense will hear the case! Wishful thinking?

For all of you who just acquiesce to the "permit parking" scam, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU NOT FIGHTING IT?!? Every year more and more public streets are being taken away from us because of a) residents who feel that they're ENTITLED to park in their own neighborhoods*; or (more likely) b) the scam that the city of Los Angeles (and other cities) pull. I will remind all of you these are PUBLIC STREETS that your taxes maintain. You all should be OUTRAGED that you can't park on these streets, anytime, day or night...

...and you ###s just sit on your duffs and just take it!

*To those of you who feel so entitled that you should have your own special place on the street, may I remind you that when you moved into your property, you were WELL aware of the parking situation. You shouldn't get special privileges. If you can't find a place to park, TOUGH!

I just received a Notice of Delinquent Parking Tickets in the mail on Saturday, September1, 2012 for parking tickets that were supposed to have been issued on July 22, 2012. No ticket was left on my car. The tickets are for parking in the same spot but according to the notice the tickets were issued for two different addresses (must be right next to each other) and were issued less than twenty minutes apart. I was in that area on the date in question, however when I returned to my car, there were not tickets. The notice indicates that I owe the city of los angeles $352.00 because the tickets are now delinquent. This is crazy and based on the comments there is probably not much that I can do. Los angeles city officials areno moew than thieves.

I'm a journalist interested in doing a story on bogus parking citations. I'm particularly interested in cases where cars were nowhere near the Los Angeles area but were ticketed as if they were. If anyone would feel comfortable leaving an e-mail address on this board I'd love to connect.

I hate this fukin country not just Los Angeles
All they want from you is MONEY!
I pay taxes and what do i get in return? Nothing
expensive ticket, rising tuition every year [censor] THat!

I hate this fukin country not just LA!
[censor] ... can't believe I'm paying part of my pay check as a tax
Hate fukin police!

Teh best recourse for the LADOT parking enforcement is to pop tires and throw rocks at their cars and their [censor]ing heads. Make them bleed. Pieces of [censor]. If enough get harrassed/hurt. they won't have anyone giving tickets anymore since everyone will be too scared to join. Look at what's happening in Egypt right now. The corrupt LADOT steals 134, 000, 000 in cahs from the residents of the city every year! we need civil disobedience to set these [censor]ers straight. Leave their lungs punctured, gasping for air in the streets.

Here are a few suggestions after I successfully fought 3 parking tickets in Los Angeles.
(1) You don't have to spend anytime writing "reasons" or gathering evidence for contesting the ticket, because the Parking appeals won't consider any evidence no matter how good or legitimate. They automatically reject your first appeal. I feel it's best to spend as little time as possible on it, and I never bother taking pictures.
(2) Do the second appeal on time. After the first appeal is rejected by mail, you will be instructed to go to a local courthouse to get a form to fill out for the second appeal, and to pay a refundable $25 Court fee. Note, they only take cash. At the Courthouse in Beverly Hills, it was difficult to find the room to get the appeal form, because the Parking Bureau doesn't give proper instructions, but it's Room 300 (the Traffic Room) at the very first window on the right.
(3) Show up in Court. Right there in Room 300, you will get a hearing date. I always chose the Purdue Courthouse at 8:30am. On the upside, the parking tickets are always addressed first, and they are dismissed as a group because the traffic cops do not ever show up. It makes sense, because the city will make more money in an hour writing a few tickets, versus having that person show up in court to defend one. Although Court will take an hour to an hour and a half of your time, it's super easy. Bring a magazine :)
(4) Follow up on the refundable $25 Court Fee. No paperwork is required for this, but it did take several calls to the Parking Bureau. They always insisted the check had been sent when it never had. Give them like 2-3 months to refund.
Hope this helps :)

I'm a Sacramento, CA resident and just received a "second warning In collection" notice from the County of Los Angeles Parking Enforcement Detail and this must be a scam - I live in Sacramento! How could I have been in L.A - to receive this ticket - plus the car make and license listed isn't even mine! I am so confused and I have been trying to find out all evening if this is a scam by mail and all I've been able to find is this website with other people complaining about LA parking tickets and a few other Sacramento residents who also received fraudulent tickets. I'm going to attempt to call them tomorrow - but this is ridiculous!

HAS ANYONE HAD PROBLEMS RECEIVING THEIR REFUND ON A DISMISSED PARKING TICKET?

I'm interested in gathering stories for a class action lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles Parking Violations Bureau / LADOT.

For instance, you can go through the rigmarole of filing the "appeals" (which I believe are automatically dismissed regardless of the evidence), then filing an appeal plus $25 court fee with your local court house (which is VERY confusing and time consuming), then appearing in court (another two hours of time plus gas).

I've found that the city NEVER shows up to these cases, meaning they are automatically dismissed anyways. However, LADOT often (1) "accidentally" sends the check to the wrong address, or (2) sends the wrong amount (they 'forget' to send the court fee that they owe you).

Has anyone else had these experiences? feel free to reply here or email me directly: abfab204 AT yahoo.com

My fiance got one of those notices in the mail that his parking ticket had not been paid. Of course, we live in Orange County and avoid LA like the plague and so he was not parked where they said he was and never received this so-called ticket. The ticket had the color of his car wrong. He contested the ticket and told them that it is a show car, currently not driveable and was being stored in a garage. No dice, pay the fees and either request a court date or write to contest the ticket. Pay the fees for something we're contesting? Well he does contest in writing, and guess what they decided? Um yeah, we had a hearing and decided you're liable for the fines so LA is keeping the money. Oh, and we can pay another $25 to appeal the decision. However, the letter makes no mention of who made this decision, when the date of this so-called hearing was, or give any type of contact information to follow-up and get this information. So crooked! How can they continue to operate like this? They force you to send in the fees or face penalties, and then just "claim" they reviewed your case and decided you were guilty.

We should get a website to get all the signature required for a measure in November's ballot to get the politician to do something about these idiotic fees.

At least now I know I'm not alone when I say, the City of Los Angeles are crooks and are going to make up all the money they lost by scamming the community with bogus parking tickests and driving citations. I receivied a ticket for parking in a no parking gridlock zone which was marked 5 spaces behind me..now I have 21 days to pay $150 fine while I receive less than $1400 a month on unemployment to support myself and my 3 children..thanks alot Los Angeles..maybe I should go without food to make sure I pay this on time.

I just got a ticket here in L. A. for parking without a permit where one is required from 6 p.m. to
8 a.m. Problem is I parked three buildings down from my apartment, on my own street, and had no idea they changed this to permit parking.
I always park on this street, I just did three days ago. Aren't they supposed to give residents notice?
There were several other cars with tickets as well. I noticed the signs after I read my ticket twice. But honestly, who looks up for parking information on a street you've lived on for three years? The first thing I thought was that these parking people are going to write as many tickets as they can before the residents realize it's become a permit area. Then I figured I was just being paranoid.

This time it's a missing front license plate. But the problem is both my license plates are there, front and back. Secondly, I live in Vallejo, CA and I haven't been to LA for over a year now. How in the world can they make a mistake like this? The only good thing is that when I called and explained the situation, she dismissed the case right away.

These guys are terrible. Thieves and Thugs. I got a ticket because I didn't have my license tabs on (fair enough). The problem was that the DMV never sent me the tabs, instead they gave me a reinstatement proof I always had on me and would show to Police officers when needed. That is what the DMV woman told me on the phone, that I didn't need the tabs.
So I get this ticket and call DMV and they recognize that it was their mistake.
I file a complaint in order for my case to be heard through their web system. It reads that I should wait for their reply.
They never write back through email, call me, or send any mail to my address. I check the charge on the web page and it continues showing. So I decide to call them on the phone. The rude dumb lady that answers tells me that they have sent me three communications to my home address (false), and that they have tried to reach me (false). And that I already went over the 21 day wait period and have to pay the ticket. F**** these guys... who do they think they are? are they above the law? sure sounds to me like this is a very well established Mafia that should be wiped clean.
Now I really hate Santa Monica Police department, ticket bureau, and anything that has to do with those ###...es.
juantoniod@cantv.net

OMG...Just wanted to add that I'm contesting my tickets as well, since I had a handicap tag having my dad with me, and I got a ticket in two different locations?

How can they ignore the handicab tag?

I also got a ticket for speaking on the cell while driving, and I didn't even use my cell... then I got a ticket for not having my driver licensee, but this can be fix, since at the time I couldn't find it, and apparently it felt on the bottom of my car when I opened my bag to look for my insurance.

Any ways, my concern is, who's gonna believe me over a police officer?

Doreen

I had a handicap tag and got a ticket in two different locations?

How can they ignore it?

Doreen

Yes the City of LA is ridiculous as are their Meter Maids who have nothingbetter to do than lie, cheat and write bogus tickets. I had a run in a few years back while picking up headhsots for my teenager as we were on our way to an audition. I was clearly parked in a legal metered spot with money in the machine. This location could not have parking there after a certain time for street sweeping though, but I wasn't worried since we had to be at the audition before that time. I left all three kids in the car watching a movie while I ran in and grabbed the headshots. Time and date on the reciept mind you...then ran out to the car and we were on our way. Teenager mentioned a weird meter lady had walked up, looked at him, looked in the front window, wrote down something and then walked back behind the car to her vehicle and drove away. I thought that was strange but simply said that it was fine, I didn't do anything wrong. Went to the auditon, signed in, and left for home. A two hour drive away. Later I recieve a ticket in the mail for the date and location of Argentum Photo lab, where I had picked up the headshots from. The time cited was for when we were actually at the audition across town. I immediately called and was told I had to write it and send it in and I had to pay the fine upfront. Convenient racket I thought. I paid, fought the ticket and when that was denied, I continued to fight for the simple fact that I was RIGHT! I paid more money to be seen in person and then drove over 2 hours to fight it. I had proof, written, dated, stamped proof we were not where this absurd and crooked meter maid said we were and they did nothing. My teenager described the maid to a T...they sided with the meter maid who claimed nobody was in the car. I said she was writing bogus tickets later after we were clearly gone and they sided with her when she said she placed the ticket on my window. I reminded them I had 3 children in the car who say she did not, but they disagree'de. I asked how I could clearly be in 2 places at one time and they simply said she was correct. LA court system for parking is a JOKE!

Then comes my recent ticket in LA. While parked in a residential area with a 2 hour limit, I was there for 45 minutes, I was issued a parking ticket for no front plate. Stupid again since you could clearly see the car had been hit recently and the plate pulled off. Its now back on the car, but I could not help the fact the bumper had been broken and the plate was ripped off. This could be seen clearly by the state of the front bumper mind you.
I had it fixed, installed new plate and then asked a CHP to sign off on it but was told that since issued by the parking enforcement and not an officer, they could not sign off on it. I had to pay the entire stupid fee. I am appalled by the rachet that runs LA parking enforcement. Something clearly needs to be done!

There's an expose on the LADOT on YouTube —

FALL SWEEPS: A Street Sweeping and Parking Enforcement Investigation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O6rdy7XuoA

I was parked at a meter with sufficient funds, but was still issued a ###in $80 ticket 4 min after leaving the car! Thanks ###-hat of a cop Rodriguez...LA officially sucks

I just received a ticket yesterday for being in a permit parking area. Problem being, I have a permit to park there. When I went to check if the ticket was updated on the online system, I not only found that ticket, but two others for the same thing. I don't know what is going on, but it is getting ridiculous. A few months ago I found out that I had a ticket (for the same thing) and payed it, disputed, and haven't heard anything back from the city. Is there any way we can get a lawsuit going?

Yes, LA is desperate. And you should see and hear the mind set behind this - it's war! I just heard that a friend's mother here in LA has a 10 times higher water bill than she had a month ago and she contested it but just got a note to pay or... As for you guys in the Bay Area and Texas: Knowing the city of LA and hearing of all the fraudulent ticketing and overcharging, I'm pretty sure these aren't honest mistakes. The big question is: Is there an institution out there that can help? Maybe an FCC for government fraud? Does anyone know where to get help?

Just received a parking citation today from LA, I live in the Bay Area and haven't been to LA in two years, I believe I was mailed a citation using the license plate number of my car. Strangely my car is a gray Toyota Corolla, the citation description read Mercedes Benz White. No VIN either. I've written a contesting letter with proof of my registration. I was hoping to speak with someone so I can chew some ###. This some blatant B.S., is LA that desperate for cash that they resort to inconvenience people to extort money?

Keep in mind this citation was issue 9/23, you have 21 days to fight it. Today is 10/02, thats 9 days lost already...criminals...

I live in Texas, have never driven a car in the state of California and drive an El Camino. Today I got a ticket in the mail ($80) for a Range Rover parked illegally. The license plate doesn't match any vehicle I've ever owned.

So outrageous. I am not sure whether to let it pass under the pretense that its an obvious mistake or to call and see what can be done to clear my name of this so it doesn't turn into a problem down the road.

Any thoughts? I'd imagine it'd be tough to boot my car if its 18 hours away...

Just wanted to add that I'm contesting the ticket, and I'm not doing this for the money, obviously! They are getting away with this in California because people in this state let this happen.

I just had a parking violation ticket ($50) on my windshield in Santa Monica, CA, even though the parking meter had another 29 Minutes to go when I came back. The ticket was put there 30 Minutes before I came back... I had put in 2 hours worth of coins (two bucks). The parking enforcement officer doesn't make any (more) money doing this, but the city does... Santa Monica is affluent and they are not bothered by citation contesters as most have no time to fight the ticket while making 100+ an hour anyway. In LA anything goes, and the worst statements on this page are probably the truest ones. When the state is running the show, it's the end. Ask anyone in from the old Eastern European countries.

Max

This is the single most frustrating Government Run RACKET that I've ever been involved in. I lived in LA for almost 10 years, anyone who lives in LA obviously has gotten a couple tickets, the streets are designed to sucker you into tickets with insane small print, unheard of penalty worthy offenses, and horrible parking options as a whole..
Fine, I figure it into my annual budget, and hope not to get too reckless. I pay my tickets when I get them, no questions asked.

WELL, I get a ticket (apparently), never received the ticket on my windshield or in the mail, but get a notice some two months later saying I owe the amount of ticket, plus late fees of 100.00. So I call to explain my problem, and someone tells me to mail a letter explaining my situation, and the fees will be waived.

My obvious response was "I'm on the phone explaining my situation, doesn't that count?"
NO, it must be in writing.

So, I immediately mail this letter, and within 3 days I get a response saying, sorry, but your letter was recieved a day later than it needed to be submitted, and because of that, you waive your rights, and accept this ticket and the late fee, and by the way, we're tacking on a collection fee of 21.00.

WHAT?
I've spoken to: Rochelle, who put in a request for me to talk to her "supervisor" who is:

Sadie, who has put in a request for me to talk to her supervisor, who she's told me won't do anything to help, and even though I never recieved this ticket, nor any notification of the ticket, I am SOL.

This is an absolute crock, and I don't plan on stopping this process of "talking to supervisors" until Arnold Swharz in on the phone.

This is a total violation.