In the midst of December, as my wife an I were helping my younger daughter move, from one apartment to another.... we found ourselves parking at a meter in the Andersonville area of Chicago. As I climbed the giant mound of snow, in order to access the parking meter I noticed something unusual.
It appeared that the entire top of the meter was missing... the meter was wide open to the elements,and there was no place to put a coin.
So, we parked scott-free (or so I thought) and went and organized our Elizabeth's new apartment.
Upon our return, there was a ticket attached to our windshield. Seriously?? Seriously!!
In order to write us a ticket, the meter person would have had to look at the meter, and assuredly noticed that the meter had no top. I double-checked to make sure that I had identified the correct meter (I had)... so I could not understand how any meter reader would be able to determine how I was in violation.
I had the presence of mind to take a photo of the "missing" meter head, with my cell phone, and sent in my protest, along with a photo of the damaged meter... to the powers that be, and promptly forgot about it.
Yesterday, we received in the mail, a letter from the Circuit Court of Cook County stating that they had "investigated" my claim that the meter "through no fault of my own" was inoperative... and had found the claim to be unsubstantiated, and the fine remained owed.
Seriously!!?
I paid the ticket.
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Alan, doesn't it seem that sometimes our "rights" are only as present as our ability to pay to defend them? It is illogical that you should be expected to pay in this case and yet what would it "cost" to defend yourself. Unfortunately this is the case all accross the board in our judicial system.
That's exactly right, Charles... it's just not worth the effort (in time and expense) to pursue this further... but i have to presume that they did NOT, indeed, investigate or they would have found the meter was missing.
Who knows.. perhaps by the time an investigator arrived on the scene, the meter had been repaired... but it would have made sense then, to check the records and see if the meter had indeed been replaced/repaired, since my ticket.
But I believe they recognize that most people will do just what I did... give up and pay the ticket.
Anyone that has ever been involved in the courts in a divorce case knows that you can forget about fairness. It is not a good place to be, to be hoping that you will be found in contempt of court so that you will at least have a sense that they got something right:)
Alfonse - Have you grown tired of your new name yet? I thought about calling you St. Alfonse today, but since I'm not Irish, I'm skipping the whole St. Patrick's day excitement (although I might stop off for a green beer somewhere today - just because its fun to drink oddly colored beer). Shocking that they kept the fine intact, but as you and Charles pointed out, the fear (and cost) factor keep most people from fighting. I once had a duel with AT&T over some phones they sold me and it got to a point where I decided I'd rather pay my lawyer (a close friend of mine) than pay them. When I told them I had had enough and was contacting my lawyer, the woman on the phone responded, "That's fine with us, we have a team of lawyers and we're not afraid." At that point, I was on a mission. I told my lawyer whatever it took, he was to get me what I deserved - no matter how much it cost. He laughed at my determination and got to work. Needless to say, two brand new phones soon arrived in the mail with an apology from AT&T.
Charles - I have found that judges often focus on "fair & easy", rather than "justice" (not always the same thing).
Matthew - which new name is that...? Are you referring to "Alfonse"? if so, no... it's fine... I had a good high school friend who always called me Alfonse... it's kinda reminiscent.
I once received a bill from the IRS stating that i owed zero dollars and zero cents. But since I hadn't paid the zero dollars and zero cents in a timely fashion (I'd never been billed for it), I now owed $14.00 in interest and $37.00 in penalty. I consulted my accountant, and he advised that it'd be more expensive to fight, than to simply pay the bill.
As in your example, I was outraged. I told my accountant, that I'd much rather pay him "whatever it takes", rather than pay the damned penalty and interest.
There are a lot of things in this world that simply do not make sense, and I would have to say that this is just one more in my book.
Alan, the way I look at this is, once one get caught in the judicial system in any part of it, you are totally screwed. You are going to pay either with your time or money, it's just of manner of who has more time or money that wins.
~ Life is Good
JL - I'd agree... it just doesn't make any sense... and yet, it also doesn't make any sense (other than the fact that I'm in the right) to continue to fight it.
Roy - I'm afraid that you are correct.
Alan... it does seem to be adding insult to injury, when you print out a picture, write a letter an put a stamp on the envelope only to find you still owe the fine. Second envelope..another stamp..double unfair.
Steve - especially when, as far as I was concerned, it was a slam dunk... for crying out loud, there wasn't anywhere/anyway for me to FEED the freakin' meter. (At least, I paid the fine online, without a surcharge, and no stamp)
Alan - well leave it to Cook County to have you pay the ticket, makes no sense at all.
maria - you and I are in complete agreement.
I'm looking for one of those parking meters that has the flag reading, "Expired". . .I want to put it on my grave when I die:-)
Alan I actually had a run in with the parking brigade in Chicago years ago and they towed my car and it was not cheap to get back. When I asked an officer where I could find my car I was told to go ask at the station. They don't fool around and are serious about there parking.
Similar cases happen here in San Diego, and occasionally some uber wealthy rich person will take the long road since he has extra money to stimulate the economy. The most recent one that I remember was from late last year. The appeals board said something to the effect that since pictures can be photoshopped, one needs witnesses who will show up in court with you and testify on your behalf. Absent that, it is up to you to prove that they replaced the meter and for how long the meter was broken -- more time and money. A fairly valid point, but it sure does cost a lot of time and money to defend oneself....
Alan, this is why government is in trouble, they sweat the small stuff and let big business get away with fraud!!!!
Myrl - that would be just too, too funny. It ought to be a working meter too, so your family can empty the coins from curious passersby, who WILL feed it... funny.
Larry - Steve Goodman, who was a local singer/songwriter wrote and performed a song called "The Lincoln Park Pirates" which was about a notorious Chicago towing company... says it all. It's a perennial favourite, here in Chi-town.
Russel - yep... and just not worth it... as my grandfather used to say "pay the Two Dollars".
Caren - never sweat petty stuff, (and never pet the sweaty stuff)
I had a child attending school at UCLA and he got parking tickets all the time. I was so mad! I said all you have to do is look around and know you can't park there!!!! Visiting him once, I pulled in and parked very carefully. Upon returning to the car, guess what I found! A ticket! There indeed was a sign saying not to park and I hadn't seen it. It all has to be a conspiracy! LOL
Barabara - sometimes the cosmos is out to get you. And I find that sometimes they make it confusing on purpose... like those signs that say "no parking Tuesday" because of alternate street parking for street cleaning ... but then it says in small print "no parking Tuesday 2:00 a.m- 6 a.m.".... which really means... you can't park there overnight on MONDAY night
and of course you wake on Tuesday morning to find a ticket.
You know the parking cops are just guys and gals that got kicked out of every other division in the force, don't you? The one's I've dealt with are frustrated Clint Eastwoods.
Susan, I've always had a love-hate relationship with Lovely Rita Meter Maid... (gawd, I love the outfit)... but this goes way over her heard. This is beaurocracy at it's finest.