The Los Angeles Parking Violation Bureau is staffed with either crooks and scammers or incompetent officers who can't read their own signs. LA PVB is a cash cow for the city suffocating with high salaries and outrageous pensions for its public sector workers, using and abusing every possible means to squeeze cash from its citizens. I went in April to YMCA at 1553 Schrader blvd in the late afternoon and parked my car with Disabled Plackard on meter SV-141 (this street block has no other parking but metered ones on both sides).
The meter was close to the signs showing the start of restricted parking zone (no parking from 6pm to 3 am?) which was further down the street. Upon my return, I found a parking ticket by officer Mendieta, serial No. 2724, beat 441, agency 54, as if my car was parked in another place showing instead of the meter No. A non-existing address (1517 Schrader blvd - the place with restricted parking is Money Mart at 1503 Schrader). I was upset for the ticket and sent email to PVB disputing its validity. Somebody sent me a confirming letter asking to do nothing and wait.
Then I received another letter stating that the ticket was valid and I had to pay! I chose appeal - to go to a hearing on June 16,12, where I brought a bunch of pictures of signs and metered spots. The hearing officer (Ms. Judith Segall) was very nice and took all my photos, but the next day I received again the conclusion that the ticket was valid! My only recourse was to appeal to a judge of Superior Court in Downtown LA. Luckily, I'm retired and had time to do just this. I got another bunch of photos and papers necessary to open a case and received a court date at 09/19.
The judge was attentive and quickly understood the mistake of PVB, so that the ticket was dismissed. This took me several days of work to protect my $68! A friend of mine was not so lucky - she got last year a parking ticket in the mail for expired meter where she never even drove - forget about parking! But she had no time to fight it - she just paid. This all looks like a conspiracy to rob the citizens - that's what it is! It's so hard to struggle with corrupted bureaucracy!
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