Dec 8, 2009 4:46 pm US/Pacific
Call Kurtis: Pressured To Pay
ROCKLIN (CBS13) ―
No one likes to get a ticket but it's even worse when it isn't even yours.
When that happened to a Rocklin man and no one seemed care, it was time to call Kurtis.
This ticket came from the City of Victorville in Southern California. He says he's never even heard of that town, until now.
"These are leaves still in here from last fall. This truck has not been moved," says Allen Lunn, Rocklin resident.
Allen 1999 Ford Ranger has been sitting outside his Rocklin home for years.
His neighbors can attest to that.
"I don't think I've seen it move... I think everybody on the street can testify it's been here on the street for 2 years," say Thomas Fairchild and Don Davis, neighbors.
Allen's truck didn't even have an engine inside, until a couple of months ago.
He even got a ticket from Rocklin Police for parking on the street too long.
But he didn't expect this ticket from Victorville.
"In June I got a notice from Victorville, California... What is this? I opened it up and it's a notice.. you haven't paid your ticket.. I said what ticket, I didn't even know where Victorville was," says Allen.
The $160 citation was for an expired registration and illegal parallel parking on Pueblo Lane, Victorville... more than 400 miles from Allen's Rocklin home, where he was working the day that ticket was written.
"I said this is ridiculous. This is really ridiculous," says Allen.
The ticket had Allen's correct license plate and VIN but the color was wrong.
"The color was blue on the ticket and as you can see, it's not a blue truck," says Allen.
The officer also noted there was "No DMV stickers seen" but Allen's truck had a blue registration sticker.
He appealed but Victorville shot him down, saying pay up.
He appealed a second time. Again, turned down, forcing him to pay the $160 fine.
"It really felt like I was getting the shaft. This little town is trying to up their coiffures, since the economy is so bad, they want to bring in a few bucks on their own," says Allen.
Allen has mapped out his route and is ready to drive down to Victorville to fight this ticket in person.
But he called us first.
"Figured what the heck, let's give it a try, he might enjoy it, it might be a fun one.... to stick it to another city," says Allen.
We contacted the City of Victorville. They offered no apology or explanation why Allen's appeal was denied twice!
Instead, they tell us, in an email:
"Mr. Allen Lunn's ticket was the result of a plate read error..."
"While it is unfortunate these kinds of errors do occur, it happens all over..."
A couple of weeks later, Allen got his refund check in the mail for $160.
"I think more people need to be aware, fight these things. Don't let them get away with it," says Allen.
We spoke with the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, who is no stranger to these parking problems.
They tell us the worst thing you can do is ignore the ticket.
You should go through the steps to fight it.
But if that doesn't work, you might want to show up in court.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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