parking ticket inquiry
maru
1,450 Posts
i got a parking ticket today. was going out to lunch with some friends in a town i was unfamiliar with, and i ended up parking in a lot underneath a freeway overpass next to the restaurant we were going to. there was a sign that said parking only for mathews building patrons, which i just assumed meant the stores in proximity. anyways, my friends said i didn't have to pay it since they think it's from a private parking control service. it says "this is not a police citation" on the ticket, but i'm just afraid they can report to the dmv and fuck with my registration not to mention enforce late payment penalties. should i just pay the $40 or risk not paying it?
Comments
i wouldnt stress it until you get, or IF you get, the reminder in the mail...
throw that piece of paper out...
yup. out of town tickets have an even harder time of getting to you, so i wouldnt worry until you hear further notice. if they, for some reason, did try to go to the DMV, you could always say you never recieved the ticket, etc. and easily fight the charges...
Except that if you don't pay it, be warned. These days that shit will go straight onto a credit report. So play it safe....I would suck it up and pay it, or at least go back to the town for ajudication. Even then, though, with expenses and the fact that they will most likely make you pay something...weigh the options.
Christ, what kind of world are we living in...
over a freaking parking deck ticket??? For real???
I had no idea they made such a big deal out of little piddly shit like that these days
I figure this a reasonable question to ask in this thread since we are talking about paying vs. not paying parking tickets.
Over Memorial Day weekend, I was in the city and got nabbed for an open container by some lame ass undercover cops riding around in a taxi cab of all things. The thing is that I live in Atlanta and I was supposed to go to court for this ticket, can you believe it?? The ticket was only $25, but there was no address to mail any money. So far I have just ignored it. Is this a phantom charge?
Thanks any info. Sooooooooooooooooooo
!!!
it's no joke. a $40 ticket could become a point on your record. DMV doesn't know now, but they can become involved, and may refuse to renew registration or driver's license for an unpaid ticket... or may even suspend your license.
the only good news is that since it's not a moving violation, you won't have to worry about any changes to your insurance.
pay it though, man. even if you're from out of town. the details that local, state, and fed governments can find out from a license plate are MANY**.
good luck.
**my pops used to be a police investigator in the Bay... sometimes on the drive home from school -- for fun -- he'd "call in" a license plate of a car in front of us. in about 3 seconds i'd hear the first and last name of the owner of the car, date of birth, street address, whether they were married, had kids...
i also sold my 89 volvo recently. a few months after selling, the 18 year old daughter of the buyer was spotted throwing bricks into the window of a restaurant... driving the volvo. someone jotted down the license plate... and i had two cop cars roll up to my apartment within hours of the incident. the new owners hadn't taken care of their half of the 'transfer of title.' my info remained connected to the car. luckily the head investigator noted the "point of sale" on the registration and realized the misunderstanding. but still.... cops on my doorstep. no joke.