Pam Zekman Strikes Again
Pam has struck another blow for parking ticket justice!
Just this past week, CBS 2′s Queen of Investigative Reporting, Pam Zekman did a report on motorists contesting “bogus” parking tickets but still being found liable for the violation.
Read Zekman’s full story, Chicagoans Frustrated By Bogus Parking Tickets, and you can watch her video report here.
The one woman’s plight spotlighted in Zekman’s piece, is found liable by a hearing officer for a meter violation even though the time on her receipt had not expired.
Zekman asks someone at the Dept. of Administrative Hearings to review the case, and the decision is reversed and the ticket dismissed.
But from Zekman’s story, I can see where the problem occurred. For some inexplicable reason, the women sent in two receipts with her letter contesting the ticket. The Administrative Law Officer (ALO) got confused and ruled against her.
That was a mistake on the woman’s part.
What purpose will a second receipt serve that’s unrelated to your story, but to just confuse matters?!?
IMPORTANT GEEK ADVICE: For God’s sake, just send the one receipt that proves you were not in violation!!!
Just keep it simple stupid. Always make sure the letter and evidence you send in when you contest a ticket by mail is logical, organized and makes sense to a 6th grader.
Have a friend or spouse read over your letter before you send it to make sure it can be readily understood.
Zekman also points out in her piece, a minor change in receipt display policy.
Originally, you were instructed to place your receipt on the dashboard on the driver’s side.
Now, the new receipts instruct to display on the dash curbside. This could mean passenger or driver’s side depending on whether you are on a one-way street or not.
My guess is that this “curbside” policy makes it safer for the PEA’s enforcing the meters, which is of course a good thing.
Zekman goes on to report, even though the instructions on the pay boxes contradict the receipt instructions currently, all the pay boxes will eventually be changed to reflect the new policy soon.
In the meantime, we are told, ticket writers are told to check the entire dashboard and even on the rearview mirror.
One final piece of advice, if you lose contesting a parking ticket, when you should have legitimately won, just give Pam Zekman a call. It’s less costly than filing an appeal in Circuit Court.
The Chicagoan thing to do when you see someone get a parking ticket and you have valid parking meter receipt, just sliping it into there parking violation envelope.
Chicago Dan…brilliant! The Geek will be sending you an envelope full of belly button lint as a reward!
On the other hand Chicago Dan, I was thinking you have to save a pile of receipts in case a ticket shows up in the mail, preserving evidence just in case. Like that guy who kept getting tickets when he was nowhere near the citation.
Actually, that is really brilliant.
With the meters, the violation has the meter number on it. But with the pay boxes, it doesn’t, so in a way, this works against the city because the exact location isn’t noted.
Which brings up a question for someone in the know – what is listed on a meter violation from a pay box as location – just an address? Because these are often approximations.
Several theories on Bogus Tickets:
-Your receipt can fall off the dash if you do not stick it after you close the door.
-You have a bunch of paper work on your dashboard that it is hidden.
-If its at night, small chance the ticket writer could not see it.
Point is that if you have your receipt contest by mail, make a copy and send it with the ticket.
Now if your getting ticketed every day while your paying thats a different story.
Mistakes do happen and People do write Bogus tickets but Evidence is key for Ticketwriters and MOtorists.
Finally, There is not anybody out there who enforces improper display of receipt for expired meters so its irrelevent where you put it.
Greg………the Pay Boxes Have a Meter number on it and We put it onto the ticket when we issue is.
How do i know that?
We have to check the pay box to ensure it is working before we write a single violation. Policy.
And Zekman is a moron…
Hello Readers,
Management has also informed us that the receipts are transferable from one zone to another provided that A. there is still time remaining on the receipt and B. the area is at the same rate or cheaper. For example: you can take receipt bought in the CBD, and use it out in the neighborhoods, however you cannot take one from the neighborhoods and use it in the CBD.
Hope that helps.
DoR Employee Writes
“We have to check the pay box to ensure it is working before we write a single violation. Policy.”
And just how do you do that and what proof do you have or retain that you conducted this test?
“And Zekman is a moron…”
Perhaps so but it appears that many of your fellow co-workers are as well!
“DoR Employee Says:
Greg………the Pay Boxes Have a Meter number on it and We put it onto the ticket when we issue is.”
But according to what Ticketmaster just said, it doesn’t matter where the receipt is from, as long as it isn’t from a cheaper zone.
And chances are if you happen to come across a situation like this, it is going to be in the same area as where your car is parked anyway.
dor is right……pam is a moron…..think if she actually talked to a ticket writer the story would be so good???? hey pam..sweetie….did it ever occur to you that people might lie???….instead of filming, be a real reporter and give our job a try…..
How long does it take to contest a ticket by mail? I got a bogus one in early June for not having a zone sticker since I had put on my new city sticker before June 30th and the cop at the time apparently didn’t know the new stickers have the zone printed on them. I contested it like 3 days later and now its been 2 months and it still says hearing scheduled.
>Greg………the Pay Boxes Have a Meter number on it and We put it onto the ticket when we issue is.
right, but the pay box # is the same for the 4,6,8,10 cars that use that pay box. Unless they print a credit card # on the recipt, there’s no way they’d know that any receipt from that pay box wasn’t the receipt that the ticketed person received.
DRIVE THE CHICAGO SKYWAY EAST OR WEST FROM THR SKYWAY TOLL BOOTH OVER THE
BRIDGE TO 106th STREET EXIT AT THE SPEED LIMIT 45mph AND GET PUSHED OFF
THE ROAD. OR,DRIVE WITH TRAFFIC 55mph AND ENJOY RECEIVING YOUR MOVING
VIOLATION. THIS REQUIRES ONE OF TWO CHOICES,PAYING YOUR TICKET BY MAIL OR
SPENDING YOUR DAY AT 50 W WASHINGTON-LLO CHICAGO, IL. 60602-1340 TRAFFIC DIVISION. GO TO COURT,THE TICKET WILL BE DISMISSED BECAUSE THE OFFICER
WON’T BE IN COURT.FOR SAFTY REASONS THE SPEED LIMIT SHOULD BE 55mph BUT
THIS IS CHICAGO,S CASH COW SAYS TRAFFIC JUDGE AND HE HAS NO ABILITY TO
CHANGE THE SPEED LIMIT OR TELL YOU HOW TO APPEAL TO ANYONE TO POST THE
SAFE SPEED LIMIT ON THE SKYWAY BRIDGE.