I Hate Los Angeles County Superior Court!

Just_learning · 12-18-2007, 04:03 PM

Soooo....its a long drawn out story, but here is the short version.

I broke the law while I was on business in So.Cal back in June. I got a ticket for changing lanes in an intersection (who busts that). The bottom line is that I did it, and took the ticket, was polite to the officer and got on with my life.

When you get a ticket in Los Angeles, there is not an amount written, you either show up for court or get a letter in the mail with the amount of the ticket. Well, that was the police officer story. Bless his heart for not knowing how the system really works. In early October I got a nice little letter in the mail informing me that I had failed to appear for my court date and that I had been ordered to appear and explain why I didnt show up. Well, when your 3000 miles away, its not that easy to just hop in a car and go.

So i contacted the court and told them my dilema and asked they why i had not received a letter in the mail given my circumstances. The lovely lady "Delores" replied "well, its a courtesy thing, not everyone gets one. But if you write a letter and enclose a check for the fine amount, $150 you can explain to the judge what happened." So i had my secretary draft me a letter explaining the circumstances, and the misunderstanding about the letter with big bold letters at the bottom "IF I DO NOT HEAR BACK FROM YOUR OFFICES, I WILL CONSIDER THIS MATTER CLOSED".

Fast forward two months, I get a letter in the mail from a collection agency saying I owe them $742, minus the $150 original fine I already paid, and that my license is going to be suspended come January 4th. Well, i happen to have business in LA on the 8th. So i hop on the horn and try to figure out what went wrong. Here is a list of the excuses, and how i solved them.

1) We never received the letter, it looks like you paid online.

My Response: Lucky they have certified mail, and I was smart enough to save the receipt. I contacted my bank and got a copy of the check and sent it to them. Within the hour, i had faxed copies of both to them...their response "oh...well, you were late in making the payment...." really....wasnt that already established?

2) You can appear before a judge before the 4th and explain yourself....

My response "that would cost more than just paying the ticket"

3) You can write a letter explaining yourself and enclose a check.....

My reponse "it didnt work the first time, why would it work now?"

So here I am with a $592 bill, a failure to appear on my record and still no resolve. I plan on getting on the horn nice and early tomorrow and figuring out what the hell I am going to do.

Heck, i broke the law, I acknowledge that, and spent about 3 hours today battling phone queus. All i have to say is that

I REALLY HATE LOS ANGELES SUPERIOR COURT RIGHT NOW!!!

seriously...a $600 mark up?

Twitchs_Tackle · 12-18-2007, 04:26 PM

Soudns like a good story to pass on to the media... should get a reaction.

That is a rediculous story, and to think... O.J. walked.

cooky · 12-18-2007, 05:02 PM

Thats exactly why I'll never let them take me alive!

Joe C · 12-18-2007, 05:04 PM

You might not want to hear this, but... At traffic school a few years back, I learned that changing lanes in an intersection is actually legal in California. If the cop wrote that on the ticket, you may have been able to get out of it by showing up in court. There may be a catch that it has to be a safe lane change (and you may need to signal.. I'm not sure) or they could consider it reckless driving, but as far as I know, there is no law against it.

I'll try to find the law somewhere. I don't know if it's too late to get out of the fine, since you already tried to pay...

Joe C · 12-18-2007, 05:10 PM

here's somethin..

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/cur...t.pdf
Search in the PDF for "Change lanes in an intersection" or see 07.A.05, Top of Page 5 of 34.

if you do a google search for "change lanes in an intersection" and california, you'll find some more.

Who knows... maybe you can get out of it somehow....

Evidently a lot of cops don't know about the law, and people commonly wind up in traffic school over it.

I'm driving through LA on thursday or friday for a job.. maybe I can plead your case for you.

Just_learning · 12-18-2007, 05:19 PM

Thanks for the advice, i will look into it, but doubt much can be done due to the time constraints of me having to be out there on business in 2 weeks. So, it looks like it may just be in the best interests of time that I pay the rest of the fine and let it slide. I figure once they have the money, its going to be hard as hell to get it back.

So there you have it, worked over by the gubment.

fishinmachine · 12-18-2007, 07:43 PM

Probably could have got away with it if you were in a white bronco.

Weather or Knot · 12-18-2007, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishinmachine

Probably could have got away with it if you were in a white bronco.

Thats funny, I dont care who you are.

Dave G · 12-18-2007, 08:11 PM

That is just crazy!

anglingaddict · 12-18-2007, 08:17 PM

I'm not intending to sound mean here, but if you travel for business to California why haven't you thought of contacting an attorney regarding this matter with all of the inconsistancies on their part??

I mean it sounds like you have all your ducks in line and have even just plain admitted you did wrong, but are being treated very unfairly. My vote is stand up for yourself and fight back to at least be treated fairly! I know it could potentially cost more to do that but my opinion is that it is worth looking into at the very least!
That's just my unsolicited

.

Good luck with whatever you decide and have a safe trip! :Christmas:

Just_learning · 01-08-2008, 12:38 PM

Well after weeks of phone calls and letter writing I have come to resolution.

In lieu of the $159 base fine, they offered me the option of paying $190 and taking traffic school online....i guess its a good way to burn a day and get paid for it at work.

It sure beats the $750 they had wanted me to pay. The battle between the collection agency and the court was a long and irritating one. But all are satisfied, and life goes on.

i guess, for this instance, there was justice.

Gr8waves · 01-08-2008, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Just_learning

Well after weeks of phone calls and letter writing I have come to resolution.

In lieu of the $159 base fine, they offered me the option of paying $190 and taking traffic school online....i guess its a good way to burn a day and get paid for it at work.

It sure beats the $750 they had wanted me to pay. The battle between the collection agency and the court was a long and irritating one. But all are satisfied, and life goes on.

i guess, for this instance, there was justice.

Small piece of advice, buy a subscription with the credit reporting agencies and monitor your credit for the next year or so to make sure the collection agency doesn't report the "delinquency".

Tom H · 01-08-2008, 02:24 PM

Los angeles county sucks Santa Monica is way worse ,don`t ever get a ticket there

jvp · 01-09-2008, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anglingaddict

I'm not intending to sound mean here, but if you travel for business to California why haven't you thought of contacting an attorney regarding this matter with all of the inconsistancies on their part??

I mean it sounds like you have all your ducks in line and have even just plain admitted you did wrong, but are being treated very unfairly. My vote is stand up for yourself and fight back to at least be treated fairly! I know it could potentially cost more to do that but my opinion is that it is worth looking into at the very least!
That's just my unsolicited

.

Good luck with whatever you decide and have a safe trip! :Christmas:

ever seen the price of an la attorney even a bad one. paying the 1k is cheap in comparison