I was late paying my registration. I paid online, with the penalty of $100 and placed the receipt on my dashboard, since, of course, you can't print out your own renewal stickers. According to my receipt, I should have received my sticker within 5 business days. The same day I paid, I received a ticket. A week later, still no sticker, I received another ticket. After 2 weeks I finally went down to a local branch and got my sticker in person. The employee could not tell me where the renewal and sticker was mailed, but she did have my change of address in the system, the one I had made 6 months earlier. I mailed a letter and proof of my paid registration to the Los Angeles City Parking Violations Bureau. Never received a response. I had a family emergency and wound up moving out of state, had my mail forwarded and I was getting all of my mail.
One day I receive a notice from them, with my NEW address listed, (so it wasn't forwarded) informing me that it had gone into collections and what started out as a $50 ticket was now $100, for a total of $200. I wrote them again, I was very polite and humbly requested that they dismiss the tickets. The next letter I received told me that with "proof that registration or violation had been corrected" the fee would be reduced to $10. I thought, why fight over $20, so I sent them the proof AGAIN with a check for $20. Imagine my UNsurprise when I received a letter today stating that because the penalty had already been added, I still owe $180. I am sending all this info to my attorney in LA as well as the Mayor's office. This is pure ignorance and stupidity on their parts. They wonder why offices are closing and people are losing their jobs? And the next time I hear from a government employee that they "don't have time" to look over every individual case, I think I may come through the phone (or screen) at them. That is your job! Go try using that attitude in a private sector, you will be handed your walking papers very quickly!
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