ARGH!! This had better not mess up my plans.

[kteire]

Well, so I am supposed to be moving to the UK on the 13th of October to be close to my SO and then shortly after close the distance...

So after getting my visa and booking all of my flights, trains and accommodation to get to Dublin, London and then Edinburgh... I got a letter in the mail today being told I'm going to be taken to small claims court over a parking violation.
I don't even know what to do. I refuse to pay this stupid ticket, as it is not from a municipality, but from a private parking company. It's very scammy. In most cities I have researched, it is illegal for a private company to issue tickets, and if it were taken to court, they would have no legal backing. I also have proof I was at work that day in a city 3 hours away at the time that the ticket was given, and my car had been parked in the lot for 2 nights prior to this and the permit fee was paid (my sister had borrowed my car). So basically, I would not have to pay anything, and it's extremely likely that the case would be thrown out.

But the issue is, they've already put a collection agency on my tail (which had better not mess up my good credit!!), and if I'm given a court date, I will have to postpone all of my plans, and lose all the money I've paid for my tickets. They can take me to court even if it won't hold up, and that will be enough to get me into legal trouble if I leave the country with this hanging over my head. I am trying to figure out what the hell to do here... My mum is consulting a lawyer to see if we can get this taken care of before it gets worse. My sister's boyfriend is checking to see if there is any signage about parking permits at the building where the ticket was issued... and I'm trying not to freak out too much.

This week sucks.

Does anyone happen to know about parking by-laws in Oakville Ontario?? Haha.

[Sierra]

Call the court and change the date.


Oh, I just read the end and figured out your Canadian. I don't know if you can do that in Canada.

[kteire]

I dunno if that's an option I probably won't even get the court date for another week or two apparently, so it's likely I can't have it before I'm supposed to go. I wish this were from a reputable source... but the ticket's massive and I can't afford it or the legal fees without having issues with money later. I can't make my sister pay it either as she's about to be in law school and doesn't have the money either. It's such rubbish, I've never had a legitimate parking ticket for more than $20 and I just found a by-law for that city saying the ticket cannot be for more than $50...

[Sierra]

IDK, I really wish I could help you because I do work in the legal field but I have no clue how the Canadian legal system works. If I were you, I'd call the court right now, if the date isn't set you can say that you won't be in the country from __________ - _________ but would gladly appear after that. Here, in small claims court you cannot have an attorney present.

[lucybelle]

Don't know anything about laws, especially not in Canada, but if you can't get a different court date, would it be cheaper to just pay the ticket rather than lose the money on your plane tickets, etc? A week before I left the USA my car got towed and I had to pay a shit ton to get it out. I just looked at it like "this is my last car-related bill I'll have to pay in a long time" (since I don't drive here).

[kteire]

The ticket price is actually for more than the cost of my plane ticket (it's $370...) so it's a catch-22. Paying the ticket and rebooking my flight would both be expensive... I'm consulting with a lawyer to send them a letter stating my legal rights. Apparently there is legislation province-wide making these tickets illegal, and that should scare them off... Guh.

[JennyRW]

Well I would try with the lawyer, but if he cannot do anything I would just pay the ticket, i know it's unfair and you have all the right to feel mad, but at the end if you pay it, that nightmare end there and you can go to UK and ejoy that time with your SO. If you decide to stay you lose the money for the tickets, you won't enjoy time with your SO and the whole fight for the ticket it's going to be a big nightmare in the court and lawyers... Which can end in losing a lot of time and more money that you think

[kteire]

It's not actually an option for me to even just pay the parking ticket now, apparently. I called an offered to pay the amount that would usually be expected for parking ($3.50) or the fee for the original ticket ($40) and they laughed and said something along the lines of "Nice try." They informed me that now, there's not a way of settling the account before I get a lawyer. And to be honest, I absolutely wouldn't pay them even if I could. That's a massive amount of money to me, and I refuse to give it to an organisation that is actually a complete scam. I've been doing a lot of looking into forums online, and it sounds like the majority of people who've had issues with this same company had them back off when they involved a lawyer.

My sister's heading back to the same place she was ticketed tonight actually, so she's going to talk to the owner of the property. She has credit card bills proving she did pay for parking apparently, so we'll see.

[lucybelle]

Goodness! What BS! I hate those parking guys and tow truck guys. What an effing scam.

Good luck getting it sorted out

[kteire]

Well, sent my letter off and collected evidence that I was parked in a lot that has no legal ability to ticket cars... We'll see.