how do i dispute this parking ticket?

[joemamma]

i got a ticket parking in a mcdonald's parking lot that was only allowed for customers. i had to run an errand nearby so i didn't want to hunt for parking, so i just parked there. i even knew that i was breaking the law so i walked in the mcdonald's and walked out the other side to make it look like i was going there. i even walked out of the mcdonald's as i left just to be careful, but it didn't work.

the parking attendant gave me a ticket and told me that i could dispute it by writing a letter and i'd get out of paying it. anybody know what i should/shouldn't say in my letter?

it was the mcdonald's on haight street in sf. anybody know what i should do?

 

[Valhalla1]

crumple up the ticket and throw it in the garbage and never think about it again.


works for me anyway.

 

[convex]

you should pay the ticket and stop breaking the law

 

[Valhalla1]

on second thought it would be more gratifying to go down to the police station, blow your nose/wipe your butt with the ticket and hand it back to them.

 

[JohnnyKnoxville]

A parking ticket on private property sounds strange to me, usually the only thing they can do is tow your car.I like the throw it in the trash idea myself because thats what I do with all jury summons.

 

[joemamma]

i dont' know where you guys are from, but this is sf. they will hunt you down, especially with things like jury duty.

 

[Mister T]

was the ticket issued by the town?
or was it some sort of private ticket?

 

[joemamma]

some parking control service located in south sf

i don't understand why they do this. i've done the same thing many times, but this was the first time i decided to be careful by walking into the mcdonald's and they got me.

 

[Pyxis]

Couldn't you just say you were a customer. How would they know if you weren't in McDonalds.

 

[spamboy]

How can they hunt you down for jury duty? What if you didn't speak english?

 

[fake]

How do they know you weren't a customer?

 

[joemamma]

i'm making up a story of how i was in mcdonald's and recieved a message on my beeper requiring me to leave the premesis to find a phone and when the parking attendant saw me walking to my car and not coming out of the mcdonald's she had already written my ticket and didn't realize what my situation was.



spamboy: they just send out notices for jury duty and if you can't go for whatever reason your's may be, you have to show proof. my grandma got called for jury duty and doesn't speak a word of english, so she had to go down and prove it.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

<< i'm making up a story of how i was in mcdonald's and recieved a message on my beeper requiring me to leave the premesis to find a phone and when the parking attendant saw me walking to my car and not coming out of the mcdonald's she had already written my ticket and didn't realize what my situation was. >>



THIS IS RIDICULOUS! Is integrity that meaningless to people nowadays? You are going to make a completely false story to get out of a ticket you richly deserved? No wonder the world is going to hell in a handbasket . . .

If the ticket was given by a private individual I sincerely doubt they have any authority to enforce it, and you are probably OK just ignoring it. But for God's sake, don't make up some stupid lie to avoid taking responsibility for your own conduct.

 

[Adrian1]

dude it is like 1 dollar for a parking ticket but i would wipe my butt with it when i maile it in hahahhah htat whould get em

 

[mollymawk]

joemamma, it would be poetic justice if, the next time you want to eat at a restaurant, you discover that you can't find a place to park because the restaurant parking lot is - surprise, surprise - filled with cars belonging to scofflaws like you.

 

[joemamma]

dude this is sf. finding parking is not easy, nor fun. i'm sorry if i made some people angry, but it's really frustrating finding parking sometimes and sometimes you just take the easy way out. it's just really tiring always looking for parking in this busy city.

don_vito:if you think my story is ridiculous, what about the parking attendant? why would the parking attendant even suggest that i write a letter getting myself out of it?

mollymawk: having said everything above, you'd see that &quot;real&quot; resturants in this city have no parking lots and you have to hunt for parking. but resturants like mcdonald's will. plus the lot has the capacity to hold about 50 cars and there had to be less than 20 when i was there. also, on weekends that particular parking lot is always filled with tourists/shoppers who want to walk down haight street and not eat at mcdonalds. so it's not like i'm the only &quot;law breaker.&quot;

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

<< dude this is sf. finding parking is not easy, nor fun. i'm sorry if i made some people angry, but it's really frustrating finding parking sometimes and sometimes you just take the easy way out. it's just really tiring always looking for parking in this busy city.

don_vito:if you think my story is ridiculous, what about the parking attendant? why would the parking attendant even suggest that i write a letter getting myself out of it? >>



What this is, is BS. I lived in SF for five years, for the most part without a car. Had you ridden a bike or taken MUNI (like I would have), you would not be in this situation.

Are you suggesting it is OK to lie because you think someone told you to? He told you you could dispute the ticket - he did not say you had to fabricate something out of whole cloth.

The fact that you don't see anything wrong with making up a phony cover story to cover your ass tells me you are not a person of integrity - period. Over the years I have parked illegally on occasion, but if I got busted for it I would certainly not have lied about it to save a few bucks.

 

[joemamma]

[/b]don_vito:[/b] to tell you the truth, the parking attendant actually told me to make up the story about going into the mcdonalds and i am not sh!tting you either. in fact, the beeper and broken phone part was her idea. she actually told me that the phones across the mcdonald's were broken so it would be legitimate. to me, it was almost as if she felt guilty for giving me the ticket. and i'm not going to argue with you about me lacking integrity cuz you don't even know me but i realize that it's pretty lame making up a story but sometimes you get tired of these things...

 

[lowfatbaconboy]

don- richly deserved....getting a ticket on PRIVATE property for not being a customer i don't call that richly deserved

since it is on Private property i don't think they could give you a ticket....so ummm i agree with the people saying toss it

 

[joemamma]

i suppose it is a private citation....it says on the ticket, &quot;not a police citation&quot;

 

[Phil21]

then don't pay it.. wtf are they going to do? (I'd not pay it just to find out. )

-Phil

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

<< don- richly deserved....getting a ticket on PRIVATE property for not being a customer i don't call that richly deserved >>



I disagree. I have been booted for just such an infraction, and I betcha it cost me a lot more than this ticket will cost him. And I did NOT make up some sob story to try to weasel out of it. Next time a stranger parks in your driveway, see whether you feel it is appropriate to penalize him.

Your point is really tangential to my main assertion: that it is wrong to lie to cover your own butt.

That said, I already advised joemamma that the ticket is probably unenforceable. He can do whatever he wants.

 

[goodoptics]

how much is the ticket anyway?

 

[joemamma]

32 bucks

 

[Mday]

why don't you ask a cop what you should do, or a lawyer...

--

as for the jury duty, my parents get those, they did not have to do anything to prove that they don't speak english or read it. and that is the truth too, lol.

luckily i am in college, no jury duty for me.