“I Was Wrongfully Accused!”

I received a letter today (Notice of Impending Conviction) in the mail from "Brampton Provincial Offences."

Its stating that I have a "Parking Infraction Notice that has not been paid" from a location that I've never been to in my life at 6:55am on Nov 12, 2012 (a Monday)

I haven't been to Brampton since October, I live in Hamilton.

Why would I be at that location at that time on a Monday when I live in Hamilton?

Anyway, what do you advise I should do about it? Do I have a good chance to fight it? I know its only $40 but its the principle. Is it too much hassle if I don't pay it?

If I go to the Brampton Office they'll just tell me that I have to book a time to go to court correct?

Parking tickets usually have the make of the vehicle, 2 door/4 door, and sticker info. Was any of this enclosed with your letter?

As for whether it's worth fighting or not, the answer with parking tickets is usually no.

bend wrote:Parking tickets usually have the make of the vehicle, 2 door/4 door, and sticker info. Was any of this enclosed with your letter?

As for whether it's worth fighting or not, the answer with parking tickets is usually no.

None of that was enclosed in the letter. Maybe they have that information on file somewhere at their office. I could go to the office or call them to find out perhaps. That would probably solve this problem. I'm sure all tickets have vehicle descriptions. Just strange they didn't have the info when I received the letter.

CardPlayer wrote:

bend wrote:Parking tickets usually have the make of the vehicle, 2 door/4 door, and sticker info. Was any of this enclosed with your letter?

As for whether it's worth fighting or not, the answer with parking tickets is usually no.

None of that was enclosed in the letter. Maybe they have that information on file somewhere at their office. I could go to the office or call them to find out perhaps. That would probably solve this problem. I'm sure all tickets have vehicle descriptions. Just strange they didn't have the info when I received the letter.

It's all available when you file for disclosure. The problem is you need to request a trial first and file for disclosure while you wait for your court date. Whether or not it's worth the trouble is up to you.

Id say its certainly worth looking into. Maybe its just a case of fumbling fingers typing in your plate by mistake (which sucks), but make sure. Many of the ticketing devices take a photo of the car as well, which would certainly confirm if its your vehicle or not.

Do you have any old vehicle plates by chance? Did you leave any plates on an old vehicle you sold, etc? Id certainly want to make sure that it isnt the case of someone else using old plates that are still registered to you.

Stanton wrote:Id say its certainly worth looking into. Maybe its just a case of fumbling fingers typing in your plate by mistake (which sucks), but make sure. Many of the ticketing devices take a photo of the car as well, which would certainly confirm if its your vehicle or not.

Do you have any old vehicle plates by chance? Did you leave any plates on an old vehicle you sold, etc? Id certainly want to make sure that it isnt the case of someone else using old plates that are still registered to you.

No old plates. This is my first car ever, so brand new plates.

bend wrote:

CardPlayer wrote:

bend wrote:Parking tickets usually have the make of the vehicle, 2 door/4 door, and sticker info. Was any of this enclosed with your letter?

As for whether it's worth fighting or not, the answer with parking tickets is usually no.

None of that was enclosed in the letter. Maybe they have that information on file somewhere at their office. I could go to the office or call them to find out perhaps. That would probably solve this problem. I'm sure all tickets have vehicle descriptions. Just strange they didn't have the info when I received the letter.

It's all available when you file for disclosure. The problem is you need to request a trial first and file for disclosure while you wait for your court date. Whether or not it's worth the trouble is up to you.

So, if I go into the office and request a trial and file for disclosure. The disclosure is the ticket information that the officer write down, pictures etc so I can use that information for my trial?

Thank you, sorry I'm a newbie.

CardPlayer wrote:So, if I go into the office and request a trial and file for disclosure. The disclosure is the ticket information that the officer write down, pictures etc so I can use that information for my trial?

Thank you, sorry I'm a newbie.

Usually, you'd get an officers notes so whatever relevant information you request. In this case, it's just a parking ticket so all you're really expecting is a copy of the ticket which you haven't seen.

I would call them before doing anything else, and see if this is a problem that can be solved over the phone. In many jurisdictions the city clerks are allowed to cancel tickets themselves if there is an obvious error. Even if you have to go to their office in person there is still a good chance that the clerk will cancel the ticket if the make of car on the ticket is completely different from yours. If they refuse to cancel the ticket or if the car that got ticketed is similar to yours then you will have to request a trial and request disclosure etc.

daggx wrote:I would call them before doing anything else, and see if this is a problem that can be solved over the phone. In many jurisdictions the city clerks are allowed to cancel tickets themselves if there is an obvious error. Even if you have to go to their office in person there is still a good chance that the clerk will cancel the ticket if the make of car on the ticket is completely different from yours. If they refuse to cancel the ticket or if the car that got ticketed is similar to yours then you will have to request a trial and request disclosure etc.

I recently went in, and got it cleared. You are right the clerk can just clear up the mistake.

She also told me I could do it over the phone like you said but when I called the machine said I had to go in for parking ticket disputes. What you can do is select the customer services option and talk to a clerk to sort it out.

Thanks guys

Did they just take your word for it? Or did they notice there was a mistake?