When the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing...

I'm so freakin pissed right now!

Lemme give u a quick background to the story...

Ok, so back in July I got a parking ticket for Double parking. It was a BS ticket in the first place b/c my grandfather was in the car at the time and could have moved it but the cop was being an asshole and gave the ticket anyways. It was for $115 (yeah, ouch).

So I was pretty aggravated by that and was gonna fight the ticket but I really just did NOT feel like going back to the place to fight tix b/c I had JUST been there like barely over a month before to fight another stupid ticket (which i did wind up winning and thus not having to pay). But yeah, I just so was not in the mood to have to go back. So i decided to fight the ticket by mail (which in retrospect was a dumb move but I didn't know better at the time... oh well).

So it took a few months to get a response. I wound up getting it at the end of November and sadly it was Guilty. I was pissed but there wasn't much I could do, so I just paid the ticket on 12/3/04 (I sent it by mail and it was within the 7 days I needed to pay it).

So that's that right?

Well apparently not. At the end of January I get a form in the mail saying I owe $145 for the ticket (the $115 ticket plus $30 in late fees, b/c they said it was 2 months late). This was obviously a mistake so I called the number on the form to ask what was going on. I told them I paid the ticket, they looked it up and they saw I was correct and they said, it must have just crossed in the mail and not worry about it.

So while I found it kind of odd that it could have "crossed in the mail" considering I sent it the first week of December and I was getting this letter the last week of January, they had it in their system that it was paid and said not to worry, so i didn't.

So now THAT's the end of the story right?

Well while on all accounts it SHOULD have been, apparently the Dept of Finance thought otherwise, as just last week I got ANOTHER notice this time saying i owe $60.

I was just like "wha???" It shows that i paid the $115 but that I owe $60 in late fees. This just didn't make sense b/c it was PAID ON TIME!!!

So i looked on my bank statements to prepare to call and complain and I noticed. Despite the fact that I made AND MAILED a check to the Dept of Finance on 12/3/04, it was not cashed until 1/25/05... which is like a month and a half later!

So now I knew why they thought the payment was late, BUT that is not my fault, it's THEIRS!

Having this knowledge I called the help hotline that was on the summons for $60. (Oh and btw, this isn't just any old summons, this sucker says "The Dept of Finance has entered a judgment against you... "and that "NOW YOU ARE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES..." which include things like "assigning your judgment debt to a collection agency" and "SEIZING ANY OF YOUR MOTOR VEHICLES AND SELLING IT AT AUCTION, etc"

This of course has me freaking out a bit. So I call and explain to the lady on the phone this situation and how the late charges are incorrect and that they need to be removed. She goes on to inform me that they are just a help hotline that tells people where to go or what to do, but they can't do anything about any summons.

She gave me an address to write to, but I didn't wanna wait for things to happen by mail, so I asked if there was anywhere i could go. She told me I could just go to the normal Traffic Violations Office over on Williamsbridge Rd. So that's where i went yesterday, and that's where things got even more confusing.

I get on the line (which thankfully wasn't that long) and speak to the lady there and try to tell her my story but she isn't interested and just asks what I want. I give her a brief rundown just saying that I got late charges that are a mistake. She looks at my paper and tells me "there is nothing we can do for you here, you've already been found guilty, this is a Notice of Judgment Enforcement." I told her "but I PAID it, and I have proof (I had brought my bank statements, etc) and she said I would need to speak to an executive judge. But instead of giving me a number and having me wait she told me to just go to the guard in the front and to ask to speak to an executive judge. So I did that and the lady took my name down.

I waited for about 15 mins and then a lady came to the front and called my name. But instead of having me go to the back and discuss everything,she just talked to me right at the entrance.

Thing is, she wasn't much of a help. She obviously had NO interest in what I had to say. I tried explaining what was going on but she just kept cutting me off all like

"Have you had a hearing?"

I was like "well I got this ticket in the summer..."

"But did you have a hearing already?"

"Well I got this ticket..."

"But did you have a hearing? I need to know so I can get an idea of where we stand..."

I was still determined to try and give my story though so I continued- "Well I got this ticket in the summer, and I fought it by mail..."

"So you did have a hearing?"

"Well yeah..."

"So what was the verdict?"

"It was guilty, but that's not what I am fighting... I keep getting these late fees, but I have proof I paid it on time..."

"Well you need to go to the office there to your right and find out how much you owe..."

"But I don't owe anything, i paid it, and they're still saying i have $60 in late fees..."

"Like I said, you need to go to that office to find out how much you still owe..."

At this point i was getting frustrated so I just spit out "BUT I KNOW HOW MUCH I OWE!!! it says $SIXTY DOLLARS but this is a mistake, cuz I paid the ticket on time!"

She was then just like "oh...." and went on to babble stuff about how I need to appeal that, but it can't be done here and gave me a form for appeals and told me I have to mail that in.

I was just like "but when I called they said i needed to come here. if I do it by mail, then isn't there a chance that while this is going on in the mail, I could accrue even more late fees?" She flat out told me "yes, you probably will. So what you should do is pay it, and then appeal that decision."

I tried to argue with her saying that I shouldn't have to pay it b/c it's a MISTAKE and I had proof, but she just pointed to the form she gave me and continued about how i needed to mail that in all filled out. I then asked "but wait, can't I just do it here?" She told me no, and I was like "so there is NOTHING that can be done for me here right now?" And once again she told me no, and that I just had to mail that form in. She then said good day and left.

So I'm still all pissed and as I'm walking away I start reading this form, and it just so does not match up with what I really need. It says "Use this form ONLY if you want to request an appeal of your hearing decision."

I don't want to appeal my decision... Hell i COULDN"T b/c it's well past the 30 days. I just want them to take off the damn late fees they are trying to charge me b/c they are saying I am 3 months late when I am not.

So now I just have no freakin idea what I should do. I know if I pay the late fees and appeal it, that I will never see that money again. But if I wait and try to do this stuff by mail, I will prob accrue MORE fees (and the next fee will jump up to a total of $100 and the one after that would be $150- even more than the ticket itself) and THEN there is the possibility they may tell me there is nothing I could do and would have to pay that amount (which would absolutely suck).

So right now it's looking like a "Lose-Lose" situation. And it's just so not freakin fair...

I'm gonna try calling the people again and explain what happens, b/c like I said, people are telling me all sorts of different things proving that as my title states- that the left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing, b/c if they did, they could just give me a straight answer of what I actually need to do to get this taken care of.

So wish me luck everybody, and if anyone has ANY suggestions or information on what I should do, it would be greatly appreciated.