Parking ticket issue

[bigbadberry3]

Today I received a letter from a local police department that I had illegally parked in their town and owed them some money. They listed , the time, date, offense and license plate number.

Problem is, the license plate number is for a plate 3 years old that is still in the shrink wrap from the DMV and was never renewed.

I called the police department from an online number to make sure it wasn't a scam and it is legit. They said I had to come appear before a committee this Friday to appeal the ticket, which I obviously will.

So any ideas on what I should bring to the hearing or any ideas how this happened? I have both original plates and have never renewed them so I'm quite confused.

Help appreciated!

[darylzero]

Sounds like a crooked town. Did you ever see Nothing But Trouble? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102558/
It's even worse than the 4.4 rating, but what happened to them might happen to you

[C-Kwik]

Its likely an issue of a license plate being written down incorrectly by parking enforcement. You might provide more detail as to why your plates are still in shrink wrap and perhaps, the status of the vehicle so we might better advise you. Shouldn't be too hard to resolve this, but the circumstances may dictate what evidence they will need to absolve you of this.

[bigbadberry3]

Thank you both.

The plates are in the shrink wrap because I never repaired the car to the point where it was streetable, so they stayed inside with me. Like a present I never got to open.

The car is gone, over 2 years now. The VIN of the offending car was not written down if that matters but no issues with that . . . yet . . .

[Bubba1]

Thank you both.

The plates are in the shrink wrap because I never repaired the car to the point where it was streetable, so they stayed inside with me. Like a present I never got to open.

The car is gone, over 2 years now. The VIN of the offending car was not written down if that matters but no issues with that . . . yet . . .

The the VIN is not required but they commonly write the make/color of the vehicle that's ticketed. If they did, I'm sure it's different than the one you registered the plate for. In that case, you simply bring the registration to the car it was registered. it should win your case immediately. But you might not want to mention that you no longer have the car to which it was registered or you face a different potential problem.

Some states require you to return the plate if you get rid of the car (to prevent illegally reusing it on another vehile without registering it). I don't know if your state is one of those that have the statute, or if they carry a fine if you don't return it, but that's something to consider before claiming in court that you no longer have a car for that plate. Might want to double check the laws in your state about that before going to court.

Good luck

[ImStricken06]

any chance that the car that you sold, is somehow BACK in the area?

lets say the person that bought your old car, never registered it. An ALR (automatic license-plate reader) caught the parked car with a fictitious plate(stolen or "not on file" plates often), if they then ran a VIN# due to not being able to verify if the car is "lost or stolen", guess what- its your butt thats getting the citation since you were the last owner of it.

[bigbadberry3]

Thanks for the help.

I went to the DMV today to see if I could gather any information about the plate. I was informed the plates have been expired for 2 years (which is a good sign I think). There have been no reissues of the plate either. The two people working at the DMV came up with the ideas:

1) Error by the reporting cop
2) They recorded the right plate number, but wrong type of plate

Tomorrow I am going to the PD to see if I can get a copy of the ticket. Appreciate the help.

[bigbadberry3]

Update:

Copy of the ticket not available but they did give me the print off.

No VIN but it is being used by a blue Chevy. I don't even like Chevy. Will let you know what happens after the hearing this Friday.

[bigbadberry3]

Dismissed after I produced the plates still in DMV plastic

[Zydeco]

win, nice job

[Dattebayo]

I just love how the burden of proof is on the little guy. As if the make and model of the car wasn't enough, sheesh...