Here are 3 parking ticket mistakes to avoid

One of the benefits of being a member of a NYC parking ticket community is to learn from other member’s mistakes.

1. Lights, camera…action

When you return to your car, and find the orange icon under your windshield charging you with a parking violation, please, please, please, take a photo before you go. The photo should clearly show the location where your car was parked. You may wish to include a store with a visible street number in the backgound, a street sign, the parking signs regulating your space, and any other landmarks to assist in identifying the location of your car.

Here’s why…A client of ours is charged with “NO STANDING M-F, 8A-5P. He insists that he was parked in a space that was regulated by a different sign; but failed to take a photograph of his car, in the space, with identifiable landmarks, at the time he was issued a NYC parking ticket. So, he cannot prove his defense, and will have to apply for a reduced parking fine.

A couple of clicks of the cell phone camera will keep your hard earned dough where it belongs…in your wallet.

2. My NYC parking ticket was scanned so there can’t be any mistakes.

Absolutely, positively, wrong, wrong, wrong. Always check the front of your parking ticket for mistakes. If a required element is omitted, misdescribed or illegible, you can beat your parking ticket.

We find about 1-2% of the scanned parking tickets were review contain mistakes. That’s right, 1-2%. What is 2% of 7M parking tickets? One of the best places to look is “place of occurrence.” Another great place to look is “expiration” (registration) for vehicles registered out-of-state.

If your expiration date is clearly displayed on your license plate, the parking ticket warrior must insert the month and year in the space provided on the front of your parking ticket.  Oftentimes, the warrior will insert, “N/S” (not shown). You win, upon application.

3. You can’t beat City Hall, so I paid my NYC parking ticket

When you’re right-FIGHT! This isn’t about money, it’s about the freedom to move about your City without fear of an unwarranted $115 parking ticket. It is about justice, and doing the right thing.

If you did the parking crime, and there are no mistakes on the parking ticket, apply for a reduced fine. If there isn’t a reduction (fire hydrant, pedestrian ramp, etc.) pay the fine.

The big but is if you didn’t do the parking crime, why pay the fine and make a donation to the NYC parking ticket fundraiser? NYC raised about $650 in parking ticket revenue last year. The more unjustified parking tickets you pay without a fight, the greater the reward for NYC and warriors engaging in evil parking ticket tactics.

In most cases where we fight for a client who is right; and present the proper proof, properly, we win. So will you!

Please share your parking ticket mistakes with us. We can use your help.