“Received Suspension Because Notice Sent To Old Address.”

I got two tickets on Feb 20 2011. One for red light, and the other for Stop sign. I knew I had a good chance at getting off on the red light, because the officer couldn't actually see the light facing me. He was at an opposite angle, further up the street.

I set a court date for both tickets. On April 22 I moved to a new place. I went to the Service Ontario location and renewed my licence and changed the address. The girl seemed new, and she handed me back the green master form. I asked her "isn't this your copy?" she said, don't worry about it. I don't ever rember walking out with that form before. I didn't think anything of it.

I waited quite a while and didn't receive a court date. I just assumed the courts were busy. A few days ago my old tennant where I used to live called me, and said he noticed a couple of letters. One was a notice to for a court date (for a red light CAMERA ticket). Then just today he told me I received another letter from the city prosecutors office. The letter said the Red light CAMERA ticket has been dismissed. This is great, but it gets horrible.

I received a letter at my new address (they finaly figured it out) that my license has been suspended for something that happened on the 17 of October.

I asked my friend to try to find the court date notice, because I am certain it was sent to his house. Unfortunately he couldn't find it. He said it very likely got lost.

Why are all my tickets going to my old address? What is my next step? My record is otherwise clean, but I had a heart transplant and can't really afford higher insurance. In fact, the last few months I have been in and out of hospitals with a serious infection. They can't find the cause just yet, but it may be a parasite.

I've been going through hell,... and now this! Do I first go to the MTO and explain my address has been wrong for the past few months. Shouldn't all of these letters have arrived at my new address?

Please give me a step-by-step. Do I immediately go talk to the JOP or prosecutor at the Markham Courthouse?

Any help would be great.

I just looked at my Ownership card, and sure enough it has my old address. This must have been because the lady at the booth said "This is yours" and let me walk out with the Application form. This is the form where you write the number of kilometres, insurance etc...

And now I can't even find it. So do I have any chance if I just tell the truth? Who do I speak to first? Can I just go to Markham Rd and just ask to speak to the JOP.

Any answers are appreciated. I'm pretty desperate. Should I just hire a paralegal? I really want to make these tickets vanish, or at least get rid off the license suspension on my record. What would a paralegal charge for something like this? I've used one before to completely fight a ticket, and it was about $300.

Should I just say I wasn't able to come to courton Oct 17, because I was really sick. This wouldn't be a lie, since I was in hospital so many times the last couple months.

Or should I just say, "I'm going to be honest with you, the ticket went to my old address, but even If I had received the notice, I was in no mental or physical shape to appear that day?

I have a feeling that even though the ownership shows my old address, It might actuallly show up in the computer as my new address.

Service Ontario hasn't kept those licence renewal documents for a few years now. They simply input all of the data and give it right back to you. They also don't always print off a new permit for you for an address change unless you ask for one. It's probably been changed on the computer system though.

Decatur wrote:Service Ontario hasn't kept those licence renewal documents for a few years now. They simply input all of the data and give it right back to you. They also don't always print off a new permit for you for an address change unless you ask for one. It's probably been changed on the computer system though.

Thanks for the response. So If I update my address on my drivers license, is it mandatory for them to send all tickets (even ones that are ongoing) to this new address? What about if my vehicle ownership has my old address? I'm assuming this has been updated in the system though.

Does anyone know why my "ticket-related" mail was going to my old address. Isn't that supposed to stop after updating my licencse?

Does anyone think I have a valid arguement, that by showing two of my past tickets have gone to my old address, an error must have been made? It's too bad my friend hasn't been able to find the actuall notice for the Oct 17 fine. Is it possibe it got lost in the mail, maybe during the strike?

I was thinking of going to court towmorrow and see what happens. But maybe I would be better off with a paralegal?

Thanks.

The reason most of the mail for your ticket went to your old address is that tickets are processed through the Provincial Offences Court in the municipality where you got the ticket, not through the Ministry of Transportation. So changing the address on your licence with the Ministry of Transportation doesn't do anything to tell the Court that is handling your ticket that you have moved, the only address they have for you is the one the police officer wrote on the ticket. You will need to call Court Services in which ever city you got the ticket and tell them you have moved otherwise they will continue to send mail to your old address. The phone number should be on the back of your original ticket.

The reason your notice of suspension went to your new address is that the city in which you were ticketed forwarded your case to the Ministry of Transportation for collection action after you missed your court date. The Ministry of Transportation has your new address, since you changed it on your licence, and thus they were able to send the notice of suspension to the right place.

As for getting your case reopened, you will have to go down to the court house and apply. Once you have filled in the correct forms with the clerk you will given a chance to make your case to a Justice of the Peace. I don't know what the JP will decide, but if you explain that you were moving and that some of your mail got lost in the shuffle you may be able to get them to reopen your case and assign you a new court date.

daggx wrote:The reason most of the mail for your ticket went to your old address is that tickets are processed through the Provincial Offences Court in the municipality where you got the ticket, not through the Ministry of Transportation. So changing the address on your licence with the Ministry of Transportation doesn't do anything to tell the Court that is handling your ticket that you have moved, the only address they have for you is the one the police officer wrote on the ticket. You will need to call Court Services in which ever city you got the ticket and tell them you have moved otherwise they will continue to send mail to your old address. The phone number should be on the back of your original ticket.

The reason your notice of suspension went to your new address is that the city in which you were ticketed forwarded your case to the Ministry of Transportation for collection action after you missed your court date. The Ministry of Transportation has your new address, since you changed it on your licence, and thus they were able to send the notice of suspension to the right place.

As for getting your case reopened, you will have to go down to the court house and apply. Once you have filled in the correct forms with the clerk you will given a chance to make your case to a Justice of the Peace. I don't know what the JP will decide, but if you explain that you were moving and that some of your mail got lost in the shuffle you may be able to get them to reopen your case and assign you a new court date.

Thanks so much !!! It all makes sense now. I guess I have nothing to lose at this point.

The strangest thing just happened. My friend came to my house, and tried to convince me to go to the Markham court and try to plead my case. I didn't feel comfortable doing this myself, so I told my friend to drive me to my paralegal. Unfortunately my regular paralegal wasn't in the office, so I spoke to his partner. He told me he was failrly confident he could get the reopening, and then fight the charges, Red light + Stop Sign.

I told him about my poor health and financial situation, and he agreed to do the case for $350. He took the case on Oct 27, and I would call every second day to find out the status of the case. I always spoke to his secretary who claimed he was trying to find a date when their was s sympathetic Justice of the Peace.

I finally received a response after 12 days of waiting without a licence. His secretary called me and informed me that the two tickets were never filed by the officer. She also told me the licence suspension was because of an unpaid red light ticket I received in 2002. How in the world was I allowed to keep renewing my licence if I really had an unpaid ticket that was this old. I would have sworn I paid this ticket, but who keep receipts going back that far !!!

The lady kindly told me to just go pay the ticket ($210) plus $150 reinstatement fee and have a nice day. I asked her if we could reopen the case. She said it was too old. I asked her if the licence suspension would stay on my record, and she said it wouldn't. I personally don't believe her.

I'm going to go pay the ticket tomorrow. What do I do aobut the $350 I paid to the parralegal? Can I expect any kind of refund? Obviously there was no case to begin with. The case was thrown out, because of the actions I did. I'm the one who filed the papers to get a court date.

What do other people think? Obviously I owe the paralegal money for making phone calls to the Court. He may have even gone to the court in person, but I have no proof. Is $200 fair?

Thanks.

The suspension will stay on your record.

Simon Borys wrote:The suspension will stay on your record.

Thanks. That's what I thought. Should I tell my insurance company?

Whether you have a proactive obligation to report you suspension or charges (even if they were withdrawn or never filed) will likely be determined by your policy. Obviously if they ask you, you must be honest about it.