Parking Ticket - Case Dismissed!

MRC01

MRC01

Joined
Jun 4, 2003
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Location
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So many people post complaining about tickets I figured I'd buck the trend and offer a recent more positive experience.

I parked here in Seattle at a location where the only way to pay was the mobile app. I did so, then later when when I got back to my car I had a ticket. Reviewing the details, I realized that the mobile app assigned my payment to the wrong license plate #. I contested it by mail, sent them my payment invoice as evidence, got an appointment to show up at a Zoom call with a judge. Several weeks later I dialed in, less than 5 minutes with the judge and he dismissed the ticket - case closed.

So why didn't the plate numbers match? The app never asked for a plate number, somehow it got it automatically. Incidentally, my plates had been stolen about a month earlier and I already had the new plates installed, so maybe the app auto-filled with information from the state that was stale? Who knows? Those in Seattle, be careful paying for parking with this new mobile app - make sure the plate number is correct before you hit the button because it won't let you change it afterward.
 
The university my daughter attends, requires an application for visitor parking. After several attempts my wife and daughter could not get the application to connect, so hopefully she did not get a ticket. I don't have any experience with parking apps and therefore could not provide any input. I suspect they use an honour system just like in days past, or are there sensors or cameras MRC01?
 
GSCJR said:
... I don't have any experience with parking apps and therefore could not provide any input. I suspect they use an honour system just like in days past, or are there sensors or cameras MRC01?
Click to expand...
The apps assign your payment to a plate number. Then the parking police drive along with a device that scans plates of parked cars and tells them which have paid.
 
ripcord said:
One more reason I hate going downtown.
Click to expand...
Agreed. The parking mobile app is more complex and error-prone than a parking meter or kiosk. That's one of the reasons I fought this ticket even though the dollar amount was so low - the city can't fix a problem they don't know exists.
 
My wife parked in the visitor section of a local hospital a few years ago. Between the time she parked, went in to pay for parking, and returned with the validated parking slip, they had ticketed her.

She fought that one successfully - fortunately the time on the ticket was within a minute or so, or perhaps even slightly after, the validation time on the parking slip.
 
Glad it worked out for you. Chicago has a website where you can contest your ticket. 5 years ago I entered in my plates wrong, got a ticket, contested it online with photo evidence, and a few days later I got an email saying the ticket was dismissed.

Alternatively, I got a ticket in the train station parking lot for my registration sticker being outdated. The registration was current and the sticker fell off but it wasn't worth the hassle of taking an entire day off and going to court for an annoying $25 ticket. I thought cops were able to see if a vehicle's registration was current but either I'm wrong or the cop was lazy and didn't do their due diligence.
 
I've fought a few parking tickets before and just paid up a few. One was where it was still written by hand and the regional parks district police officer wrote down the wrong month.

We have this interesting shopping complex nearby where it's legally a private entity but they have parking meters, including indoors in a garage. I'm not sure how legally enforceable parking citations are. I've seen parking company employees going out issuing the citations. They also have garages that have gone to pay kiosks and an app for payment. But there's also an option for up to 30 minutes free parking. I haven't really looked closely, but they've changed the parking meters to ones that accept credit cards and I think also the option to use their parking app for payment. The city ordinance does mention the "street parking" and "off-street" meters, even though it may be on private property where the revenue is shared with the city.

4-10.14 Allocation and Expenditure of Parking Meter Funds.​

(a) For parking meters located on public property, all of the gross revenues received from all on-street parking meters shall be deposited by the City Treasurer in the general fund as unrestricted funds, unless otherwise specified by the City Council.​
​
(b) In cases where the parking meter controlling parking on a street, right-of-way, or off-street public parking lot is located on private property, the revenue from such parking meter(s) may be allocated between the City and the owner of the private party as may be agreed upon between them. (Sec. 3 (part), Ord. 20-001, eff. Mar. 19, 2020)​
 
MRC01 said:
Agreed. The parking mobile app is more complex and error-prone than a parking meter or kiosk. That's one of the reasons I fought this ticket even though the dollar amount was so low - the city can't fix a problem they don't know exists.
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Cities near me use Park Mobile and my cars are saved in the app. I just park, pick my car in the app, enter the zone, and I'm on my way.
 
Phone and app use should not be mandatory as not everyone has a cell phone or a 'smart' one.
Imho, if they want you to use call phone and app - they must provide you with a phone with app.
 
dubber09 said:
Phone and app use should not be mandatory as not everyone has a cell phone or a 'smart' one.
Imho, if they want you to use call phone and app - they must provide you with a phone with app.
Click to expand...
Exactly. At least the first time used, the app is a lot more work and more error prone than a kiosk or parking meter:
  • You might not have a smartphone
  • You might not have the mobile app already installed
  • You might not have mobile data service at that location
  • The mobile app might not install or work properly on your device
  • Instead of simply swiping your card or inserting a buck like you'd do at a kiosk, you need to type your credit card info into the app, as well as your billing address.
  • You need to enter your license plate (and change it if the app picked one that is incorrect).
However, after this painful first time experience, the mobile app becomes less painful to use, though still not as easy as the kiosks. The prior time I used the mobile app, it triple-billed me and I had to contact customer service to refund 2 of the 3 charges. That's never happened at a kiosk.
 
i am actually very curious on how this system work. since you pay online , how does the parking enforcement know you paid? do they have a license reader on the vehicle and person?
 
It seems to me that a situation like the one described by the OP should ideally be resolved without bringing a judge into the picture. I can't help but imagine a judge, adorned in a robe, solemnly presiding over a court where the primary dispute is over parking violations. It's almost like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

While it's heartwarming to see our tax dollars hard at work ensuring justice even in the smallest matters, one can't help but feel that our society might be straying a bit too far into the weeds here. I mean, what's next? Will we have formal hearings over mismatched socks?

Jokes aside, it does highlight a growing concern that we might be complicating things that should essentially be straightforward. It's almost as if we are evolving, but perhaps not in the direction we intended. It's a gentle reminder to keep things simple and user-friendly, lest we find ourselves in a world where you need a law degree to understand parking signs.
 
dubber09 said:
Phone and app use should not be mandatory as not everyone has a cell phone or a 'smart' one.
Imho, if they want you to use call phone and app - they must provide you with a phone with app.
Click to expand...
Bingo. I still have a flip-phone and I despise there being a requirement to have an app.

If a vendor or other entity requires an app, I turn for the door.
 
Slick Pixel said:
It seems to me that a situation like the one described by the OP should ideally be resolved without bringing a judge into the picture. ...
Click to expand...
Agreed. The dispute process I used was an informal and streamlined, online video chat with a judge. But still, even that is a waste of time & effort for a parking ticket. But they must have some kind of dispute resolution for cases when the system doesn't work properly. All the more reason to have simple, reliable systems.

Slick Pixel said:
... Jokes aside, it does highlight a growing concern that we might be complicating things that should essentially be straightforward. It's almost as if we are evolving, but perhaps not in the direction we intended. It's a gentle reminder to keep things simple and user-friendly, lest we find ourselves in a world where you need a law degree to understand parking signs.
Click to expand...
Agreed. As I said above, the old system is simpler and more robust. Swipe card or insert cash, put printed ticket on your dash. No need for a mobile phone, app, internet connection, manually entering data, etc. and fewer ways it can go wrong.
 
When I escaped Chicago years ago my parking contretemps followed me like a hungry Pinkerton's detective. They finally grew tired of badgering me and moved on to easier prey. I feel for anybody that has to live in an urban dystopia today.


1695156938398.png
 
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