Just found this post on YELP
http://www.yelp.com/topic/oakland-i-just-beat-a-parking-ticket-in-oakland-whoo-hoo
It shows a sample letter in which "Lisa "Mind-blasting!" T. " Contested her parking citation and actually won! If you plan to contest your citation, help out your fellow citizens and post your letter of contestation in a comment below so others can use it as a reference!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Parking & Street Sweeping Tickets: I HATE STREET SWEEPING TICKETS!
Parking & Street Sweeping Tickets: I HATE STREET SWEEPING TICKETS!: "You got a parking ticket! You have absolutely no idea why on earth you got it! Then you flipped it over and realized it is because apparentl..."
Out of Town
First: Whatever address your car is registered to is where your citation notice will be mailed once it is entered in their system and you can actually pay it by phone or online.
Second: If that is no longer your mailing address...DONT LOOSE YOUR LITTLE GREEN ENVELOPE. You will need it.
Third: Post it near your calendar or somewhere you will see it daily and tag it with a post-it that has the date 15 days from the date of the citation. Then put it WHERE YOU CAN SEE IT! (Bathroom mirror is a great spot! first thing in the morning your always get to see that STUPID TICKET!)
3.5: If you do know the people living at the address in which your car is registered, ask them to keep an eye on the mail. For example: You are going to college in the Bay area and your parents live in Texas and your car is registered in Texas! Your parents will get the citation notice in the mail and need to notify you as soon as they get it so you can pay it. Don't worry...tell them it is not your fault it is a government scam! Send them here http://oaklandparkingtickets.blogspot.com/
PAY ONLINE:
PAY BY PHONE OR MAIL: http://www.oaklandnet.com/government/fwawebsite/parking/parking_payments.htm
You only have 15 days from the time you receive the citation in the mail to pay your ticket. If you do it online and your citation # doesn't work...try the other number printed on the ticket. If it still doesn't work, try again tomorrow because your potentially your citation is not in the system yet. If you have tried for 5 days in a row to pay online...give up and write a check, put it in an envelope, stamp it, and PUT IT IN THE MAILBOX! (don't leave it on your kitchen table for a few weeks!)
I HATE STREET SWEEPING TICKETS!
You got a parking ticket!
You have absolutely no idea why on earth you got it!
Then you flipped it over and realized it is because apparently you parked on the wrong side of the street during street-sweeping and forgot to read the incredibly small public notice sign on the street indicating that on certain days of the month at obscure times you are not permitted to park there.
Anger and rage ensued! Feelings of injustice, frustration, stupidity, and a sudden urge to 'get hyphy' as they say on the streets, overwhelmed you.
So you immediately jumped on Google to try to find a way out of this mess!! You have come to the RIGHT PLACE!
Sadly, I hate to break the news, that the MESS has JUST BEGUN!
Oakland parking tickets are some of the most difficult tickets to actually pay...even though they are undeserved and unjustly issued!
If you are, however, a newbie to the little green envelope on your windshield let me guide you through the process.
It takes somewhere between 15-20 days for your ticket to be entered into the online system with City of Oakland Parking Citation Assistance Center. Payments made before this time will not be properly registered in their system in my experience.
If your vehicle is properly registered to your mailing address then wait for the second notice to arrive in the mail, at which point you will have 15 days to pay your citation without penalty.
If your car is NOT registered to the place where you currently receive your mail see this http://oaklandparkingtickets.blogspot.com/2011/01/out-of-town.html for further assistance.
Once you have waited the 15-20 days for your ticket to be properly entered into the system you can pay it in several ways:
PAY ONLINE:
PAY BY PHONE OR MAIL: http://www.oaklandnet.com/government/fwawebsite/parking/parking_payments.htm
IN PERSON: Yelp will show the way if you desire to pay in person, and also share with you many other horror stories just like yours. It is good reading for therapy...like a support group for other street sweeping ticket victims. http://www.yelp.com/biz/city-of-oakland-parking-citation-assistance-center-oakland
If you have forgotten how much your ticket was or the code section for your ticket, you can find a list of them here: http://www.oaklandnet.com/government/fwawebsite/parking/Pdf/Parkingfineschedule.pdf
If you are from out of town and don't know what on earth 'Street Sweeping Tickets' are, just look here http://www.oaklandpw.com/Page108.aspx
If you are wondering how on earth the City of Oakland gets away with this unreasonable form of punishment for the offense, look here: http://www.youthradio.org/news/unfair-parking-tickets-in-oakland
POST COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS AND I WILL DO RESEARCH AND GET BACK TO YOU! If you have an aweful parking ticket story and just need to YELL or RANT or tell somebody...let it out in the comment box!
DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with any of the linked websites, the government, the City of Oakland, or any other organization or group. I am simply a concerned and OUTRAGED citizen. Outraged at the cost of a street sweeping ticket, and outraged at the obvious and apparent way they are issued and in what targeted neighborhoods. THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. If you need a lawyer go get ONE! If it were me, I would pay your parking tickets on time or the fees just add up!
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