Blogging for Change

Parking ticket trouble

by Kim McGrigg on
11/13/2008
in Personal Finance

I got a parking ticket this morning. I was parked in front of my house in the same spot where I have parked for the past six years. When I called to see what was up, the woman on the phone said I was parked within 20 feet of a crosswalk. Only thing is that there is no crosswalk. The nearest crosswalk is more than 2,000 feet away. (Ironically, it would be great if there were a crosswalk, but as of today, it does not exist.)

Naturally, I expected her to admit that this was a really lame mistake. Instead, I was told that I must dispute the $25 ticket in person or in writing. She also reminded me that if I do not dispute or pay the ticket by December 3, the fine will double.

By this time, I had already spent way more than $25 worth of energy on this issue. Even still, I am not going to pay the $25. In fact, I am sending them a bill along with the dispute. My bill includes expenses for time lost from work, cost of postage and supplies (i.e. paper), value of lost cell phone minutes, and compensation for my angst.

Yes, I know this exercise is a waste of my time, but I do feel a little bit better (and that has to be worth something!)

Have an opinion about this or a similar experience? I’d love to hear about it.

Kim McGrigg is the former Manager of Community and Media Relations for MMI.

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