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We got a cryptic notice in the mail last week, informing us that a warrant had been issued by the County because we had failed to pay a parking ticket. Since the alleged violation took place on a Monday in a neighborhood and street we seldom frequent, my gut reaction was to reject the assertion that a ticket had been placed on Biscuits & Gravy and that we had failed to notice it.
This is where record-keeping is really handy. Neither Roomie nor I spent any money in that neighborhood that day, and moreover the time of day of the violation was 10:34 am, when she and I both are likely to have been working.
Using my flex day for errands like this, I drove down to the County Courthouse to contest the ticket. The rent-a-cop security guard said to me "Did you read the sign on the door? No lighters, knives, or chains allowed?" Then I saw that a chain connected my wallet to my keys (so I don't lose one or the other). I walked outside, disconnected the chain and dropped it in a large empty planter just outside the courthouse. I read the sign on the building and it did not mention chains. I mentioned this to the rent-a-cop. Then I walked through the metal detector and subjected myself to a weapons search, including pulling up my pant legs to show that I did not have any carbon fiber weapons.
I took a number and walked right up to clerk window 14. I told the handsome young woman behind the counter that I believed my ticket was issued in error. "What makes you think it was issued in error?"
— I was at work around the corner from here all day, and my wife works at home.
— [Looking at screen] You mean you don't have a silver Honda?
— No I don't. As you can see on the warrant, my car is a Ford. Plus the color is wrong.
The clerk called over a supervisor and asked her if I would have to go to court to contest it. The supervisor instructed her to make a copy of the warrant, and write down a telephone number on it so I could check in a week or so to make sure the case was dropped.
Not only was I presumed guilty until I proved myself innocent, I had to take time out of my schedule to show them their error. More than the $30.00 savings, righteousness drove me downtown on a precious day off.
Posted by Underblog at July 21, 2006 1:23 PM
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i used to chain my wallet to my keys to my pocket watch until i kept losing all three. -gb
Posted by: GB at July 22, 2006 9:36 AM
Hooooray!!!!
Posted by: LarZ at July 22, 2006 1:51 PM