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Philadelphia's Malicious PARKING TICKET SCAM



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 9th 05, 09:29 PM
Freedom Fighter
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Default Philadelphia's Malicious PARKING TICKET SCAM

PHILADELPHIA'S MALICIOUS PARKING TICKET SCAM

Parking spaces reserved for the handicapped are desirable, but
from the number of them in Philadelphia PA one would think half
its population is in wheelchairs. These spaces do not exist
through kindness though, but as an unscrupulously administered
means of raising revenue through exhorbitant fines. And this
"city of brotherly love" is not above having its cops write
completely UNJUSTIFIED $300 FINE TICKETS on out-of-state
residents' cars as a means of extortion!

I live in NYC and occasionally visit Philadelphia. I do not get
parking tickets because I always carefully read and obey the
signs. I was amazed one Sunday in January 2004 to find my car
ticketed for parking in a space reserved for the handicapped at
some times, but not on Sunday, when the facility I was parked
in front of (801 Arch Street) was closed. A bright orange "TOW"
sticker was glued to my rear window, but fortunately I got
there before they came to steal my car. And to this day I have
not been able to completely remove these vandals' glue from my
window.

I have PHOTOS that PROVE I WAS LEGALLY PARKED and falsely
ticketed!

I responded promptly with a certified letter stating my
innocence. I received a reply "- suspending any further action
pending the outcome of this investigation," and stating,
"PLEASE DISREGARD ANY FURTHER NOTICES YOU MAY
RECEIVE BEFORE A FINAL DETERMINATION IS MADE
CONCERNING THIS."

That was DELIBERATE LIE NUMBER TWO, the first lie being the
ticket itself. Further action was NOT suspended as I was told;
HARASSMENT AND THREATS then began. First a NOTICE OF
DEFAULT, adding a $38 penalty to the $300 fine. Then an OFFICIAL
NOTIFICATION AND FINAL ORDER. I continued to do as instructed -
disregard further notices pending a final determination. Next
came a CIVIL DEFAULT ORDER threatening to sieze my car, and
then a COLLECTION AGENCY warning containing more threats. Next
came a CREDIT RATING WARNING, followed soon afterwards by "YOUR
ACCOUNT HAS BEEN REPORTED TO A CREDIT BUREAU," which if
true would constitute LIBEL, as no official determination had yet been made.

At this point I replied with a strong letter insisting that the
harassment stop and that a final determination be rendered.
That came quickly - finding me LIABLE for the alleged
violation! I was told I had the right to appeal, and if I did
so I would be informed of the hearing date. Guilty until proven
innocent!

I submitted a notarized sworn statement testifying to my
innocence, and indicating that merely examining the signs at the given
location would
exonerate me. I received a reply setting a hearing date and stating that I
may attend,
but if I did not the review would proceed in my absence and I would be
notified of the final determination. Two weeks before the
hearing date however I received another letter CONTRADICTING
THIS, stating, "IF YOU FAIL TO APPEAR, YOU WILL BE FOUND
LIABLE FOR THE FULL AMOUNT OF ALL APPLICABLE FINES
AND PENALTIES."

Philadelphia is over 90 MILES from my New York City home. They
demand that I take a day off and travel there and back to prove
my innocence, though they are incapable of proving me guilty -
and should I fail to appear, that alone proves my guilt! This
confirmed the suspicion that my out-of-state license plates
were why I was chosen for a false violation ticket - easy prey.
Or so these extortionists thought!

I found a means of having the signs photographed to prove my
innocence, postponed the hearing, and sent in the photos. This
brought my total expenses caused by Philadelphia's deceitful
extortion attempt to roughly $70 - plus about a thousand
dollars worth of inconvenience and aggravation.

The hearing was rescheduled for April 19th. Two weeks prior to
this I get another letter, again stating "IF YOU FAIL TO
APPEAR, YOU WILL BE FOUND LIABLE FOR THE FULL AMOUNT
OF ALL APPLICABLE FINES AND PENALTIES." A few days before the
hearing however I get yet another letter saying if I do not attend the
review will proceed in my absence and I will be notified in
writing of the final determination.

I did not attend the hearing. I received no notification of the
outcome, but one month after the hearing date I received
another threatening letter demanding payment of the $338, and
only two days later another such letter. I responded with a
certified mail request for the hearing outcome notification due
me, and that the harassment for payment cease.

My request was received but ignored. One month later I receive
another threatening letter on a letterhead from the "CITY OF
PHILADELPHIA LAW DEPARTMENT" - but the envelope it came in was
from the Parking Violations Branch, as were all the other
letters I received. It now became clear that the "Bureau of
Administrative Adjudication" I had been dealing with does not
adjudicate at all - IT IS MERELY AN UNSCRUPULOUS
COLLECTION AGENCY!

Seeing I could get no justice from these local-level thieves, I
then wrote to Pennsylvania Governor Rendell regarding the
matter. My letter contained all of the above information. I
received a buck-passing reply from the Department of Community
and Economic Development, from which I quote: " - resolving
disputes regarding parking ordinances are matters of local
jurisdiction and must be resolved at that level - you may wish
to consult an attorney to provide further advice on this
matter."

One hundred dollars or more for a lawyer? No thanks! Let the
*******s come to New York and try to make me pay. I'll deal
with them like the lowlife criminals that they are!


"When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the
people fear the government, there is tyranny." - Thomas
Jefferson


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  #2  
Old July 9th 05, 10:08 PM
Dave
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Freedom Fighter" > wrote in message
...
> PHILADELPHIA'S MALICIOUS PARKING TICKET SCAM
>
> Parking spaces reserved for the handicapped are desirable, but
> from the number of them in Philadelphia PA one would think half
> its population is in wheelchairs. These spaces do not exist
> through kindness though, but as an unscrupulously administered
> means of raising revenue through exhorbitant fines. And this
> "city of brotherly love" is not above having its cops write
> completely UNJUSTIFIED $300 FINE TICKETS on out-of-state
> residents' cars as a means of extortion!
>
> I live in NYC and occasionally visit Philadelphia. I do not get
> parking tickets because I always carefully read and obey the
> signs. I was amazed one Sunday in January 2004 to find my car
> ticketed for parking in a space reserved for the handicapped at
> some times, but not on Sunday, when the facility I was parked
> in front of (801 Arch Street) was closed. A bright orange "TOW"
> sticker was glued to my rear window, but fortunately I got
> there before they came to steal my car. And to this day I have
> not been able to completely remove these vandals' glue from my
> window.
>


Had something similar happen in Worcester, MA several years ago. I parked
between two signs that had arrows pointing at each other. They were marked
"No Parking after 5PM". So you could park between the signs, but NOT after
5PM. I parked there around noon, and returned about 2PM to find a parking
ticket on my windshield. Now, I had to travel to the local traffic ticket
office (forget the name of it) to dispute my ticket IN WRITING. I never
learned the outcome of my dispute. I renewed registration on that same
vehicle in MA a couple of times after that, so I *assume* the matter was
resolved in my favor. Otherwise, MA would have held my car registration for
ransom, like they do for unpaid tickets.

I also view this as a parking ticket scam. The person who wrote the ticket
KNEW that I was not in violation of any parking ordinance. So it was a
transparent attempt to extort money from me. In the state of Massachusetts,
you pay parking fines or your car registration is suspended. That's why I
call it EXTORTION. You give us money you don't owe, or we make it illegal
for you to drive to work. Yup, extortion. -Dave



  #3  
Old July 10th 05, 08:14 AM
Cory Dunkle
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Freedom Fighter" > wrote in message
...
> PHILADELPHIA'S MALICIOUS PARKING TICKET SCAM
>
> ...
>
> "When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the
> people fear the government, there is tyranny." - Thomas
> Jefferson


It's liek that everywhere. I've been through similar things here in NJ. I
call to chedule a court date, they tell me to call back later as they don't
have the ticket yet and not to come to the date on the ticket. After
comfirming that 3 time swith the woman I do not go to the court date on the
ticket. I then receive two threatening letters claiming I owe them several
hundred dollars and giving me a new court date. I call and tell them I cna
not come to court on that date and it must be rescheduled to a time I can
come to court. They reschedule for another week and tell me not to come to
the one they sent me.

After not appearing at that court date I get a letter saying there is a
warrant out for my arrest. It happens to be Friday and the court office is
not open Friday through Monday. I was unable to reach any police on the
phone and my local PD is closed. So I set out driving to find a cop running
radar or stopped anywhere so I can find out how to have this taken care of.
When I find a cop and tell him about ym predicament he said I can't do
anything about it until Tuesday when the office is open. My response to him
was along the lines of 'So I can be arrested wrongfully on the weekend but I
can't clear up _your_ mistake on the weekend?' He said yes, and to 'get lost
and hope no one stops you'. He was very rude and unhelpful. Yeah, protect
and serve... Rrrriiiiggghhhttt. That's not their job description at all.
It's just a marketing slogan made up by the PR department of some department
out in CA.

They have the power to do whatever they like. No one in power wants to fix
it, as it works to their advantage. It's disgusting what they do to people.


  #4  
Old July 10th 05, 10:32 AM
Skip Elliott Bowman
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

You guys quit way too easily. There are ways of dealing with this so that
the ticket goes away and you don't have to pay a dime.

"Cory Dunkle" > wrote in message
...
> "Freedom Fighter" > wrote in message
> ...
>> PHILADELPHIA'S MALICIOUS PARKING TICKET SCAM
>>
>> ...
>>
>> "When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the
>> people fear the government, there is tyranny." - Thomas
>> Jefferson

>
> It's liek that everywhere. I've been through similar things here in NJ. I
> call to chedule a court date, they tell me to call back later as they
> don't
> have the ticket yet and not to come to the date on the ticket. After
> comfirming that 3 time swith the woman I do not go to the court date on
> the
> ticket. I then receive two threatening letters claiming I owe them several
> hundred dollars and giving me a new court date. I call and tell them I cna
> not come to court on that date and it must be rescheduled to a time I can
> come to court. They reschedule for another week and tell me not to come to
> the one they sent me.
>
> After not appearing at that court date I get a letter saying there is a
> warrant out for my arrest. It happens to be Friday and the court office is
> not open Friday through Monday. I was unable to reach any police on the
> phone and my local PD is closed. So I set out driving to find a cop
> running
> radar or stopped anywhere so I can find out how to have this taken care
> of.
> When I find a cop and tell him about ym predicament he said I can't do
> anything about it until Tuesday when the office is open. My response to
> him
> was along the lines of 'So I can be arrested wrongfully on the weekend but
> I
> can't clear up _your_ mistake on the weekend?' He said yes, and to 'get
> lost
> and hope no one stops you'. He was very rude and unhelpful. Yeah, protect
> and serve... Rrrriiiiggghhhttt. That's not their job description at all.
> It's just a marketing slogan made up by the PR department of some
> department
> out in CA.
>
> They have the power to do whatever they like. No one in power wants to fix
> it, as it works to their advantage. It's disgusting what they do to
> people.
>
>



  #5  
Old July 10th 05, 04:35 PM
Dave
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Skip Elliott Bowman" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> You guys quit way too easily. There are ways of dealing with this so that
> the ticket goes away and you don't have to pay a dime.
>


Yeah, but first you have to convert that AR15 to full auto, and the parts
can be a real bitch to acquire. -Dave


  #6  
Old July 10th 05, 08:21 PM
Arif Khokar
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Cory Dunkle wrote:

> It's liek that everywhere. I've been through similar things here in NJ. I
> call to chedule a court date, they tell me to call back later as they don't
> have the ticket yet and not to come to the date on the ticket.


Your mistake is that you fail to get things confirmed in writing.
Always send correspondence by certified signatured required mail. Do
not take anyone's word for anything and just follow instructions as
detailed in written correspondence.
  #7  
Old July 11th 05, 03:44 PM
Ceegardave
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Posts: n/a
Default

In this burg the cops no longer give out parking tickets. It's been
privatized using minimum wage bozos instead. They must get some kind of
commission or bonus. Around the university here they regularly run tags
of cars legally parked at meters hoping for a hit. I've seen them hang
around one spot until the last few minutes tick off a meter and then
ticket the vehicle. From my window, I've actually seen them watch a
student get out of the car and forget to feed the meter. Then they will
walk straight to the car and ticket it. Could've just as easily
reminded him/her to cough up a couple coins.

  #8  
Old July 11th 05, 03:49 PM
Matthew Russotto
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article >,
Freedom Fighter > wrote:
>PHILADELPHIA'S MALICIOUS PARKING TICKET SCAM
>
>Parking spaces reserved for the handicapped are desirable, but
>from the number of them in Philadelphia PA one would think half
>its population is in wheelchairs.


10% of the spaces are reserved for the handicapped. Curiously enough,
about 10% of the population has handicapped placards. It's rather
unlikely that anywhere near that many are actually handicapped, of
course.

>These spaces do not exist
>through kindness though, but as an unscrupulously administered
>means of raising revenue through exhorbitant fines.


Welcome to the big city. I thought you came from New York?

>I live in NYC and occasionally visit Philadelphia. I do not get
>parking tickets because I always carefully read and obey the
>signs.


And you thought that would help? Ha! Some of the signs are deliberately
written to be confusing and occasionally ambiguous.

>I was amazed one Sunday in January 2004 to find my car
>ticketed for parking in a space reserved for the handicapped at
>some times, but not on Sunday, when the facility I was parked
>in front of (801 Arch Street) was closed.


Nope. Handicapped spots are _always_ reserved for the handicapped. A
metered handicapped spot is only sometimes metered, but is always
reserved.

>I have PHOTOS that PROVE I WAS LEGALLY PARKED and falsely
>ticketed!


Photos prove nothing; the accusation is irrebuttable evidence of
guilt. Again, I thought you lived in NYC?

>I responded promptly with a certified letter stating my
>innocence. I received a reply "- suspending any further action
>pending the outcome of this investigation," and stating,
>"PLEASE DISREGARD ANY FURTHER NOTICES YOU MAY
>RECEIVE BEFORE A FINAL DETERMINATION IS MADE
>CONCERNING THIS."


>DEFAULT, adding a $38 penalty to the $300 fine. Then an OFFICIAL
>NOTIFICATION AND FINAL ORDER. I continued to do as instructed -
>disregard further notices pending a final determination.


Err, you realize that the "FINAL ORDER" was a "FINAL DETERMINATION".

>and should I fail to appear, that alone proves my guilt! This
>confirmed the suspicion that my out-of-state license plates
>were why I was chosen for a false violation ticket - easy prey.


Nope, they ticket locals all the time. Most of whom either just pay
up, or simply ignore the notices and hope the city can't do anything
useful about it.
--
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but certain accounting practices can
result in a fully-depreciated one.
  #9  
Old July 11th 05, 03:52 PM
Matthew Russotto
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article . net>,
Dave > wrote:
>
>
>I also view this as a parking ticket scam. The person who wrote the ticket
>KNEW that I was not in violation of any parking ordinance. So it was a
>transparent attempt to extort money from me. In the state of Massachusetts,
>you pay parking fines or your car registration is suspended. That's why I
>call it EXTORTION. You give us money you don't owe, or we make it illegal
>for you to drive to work. Yup, extortion. -Dave


It's not extortion. It's the backing up of the smallest law with
overwhelming force. Don't follow the small one and don't pay the fine,
they'll force you to violate a bigger one to continue living. Don't
follow that one, they'll escalate some more until they have an excuse
to shoot you or jail you.



--
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but certain accounting practices can
result in a fully-depreciated one.
  #10  
Old July 11th 05, 04:11 PM
Ceegardave
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In this burg the cops no longer give out parking tickets. It's been
privatized using minimum wage bozos instead. They must get some kind of
commission or bonus. Around the university here they regularly run tags
of cars legally parked at meters hoping for a hit. I've seen them hang
around one spot until the last few minutes tick off a meter and then
ticket the vehicle. From my window, I've actually seen them watch a
student get out of the car and forget to feed the meter. Then they will
walk straight to the car and ticket it. Could've just as easily
reminded him/her to cough up a couple coins.

 




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