3 On Your Side: Bogus Parking Ticket
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It was a whopper of a ticket, over $300 for parking in a handicapped space. But there was just one problem, the spot didn't exist! One man faced an uphill battle getting anyone to check it out, that is until 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan got involved.
"I wouldn't have been there and I would never park in a handicapped spot," says George Paxon after he received a parking violation in the mail months after it was issued. The infraction? Parking in a handicapped designated space at the corner of 73rd and Elwood at 1 a.m.
By the time George got the notice, the $301 fine had jumped to $333 with penalties and when he checked the location at for himself he says, "there is no handicapped zone, there is not a sign."
That's right, George got a ticket for parking in a space that didn't exist and when he disputed the ticket he says, "Nobody wanted to listen, they didn't want to see evidence, they didn't want to see pictures, they didn't want to see anything, they just wanted me to pay the fine and move on."
George could have gone through a lengthy appeals process but instead a friend suggested that he reach out to 3 On Your Side. When we checked out the location we found plenty of street cleaning signs, but nothing that said handicapped parking.
Corrine O'Connor with the Philadelphia Parking Authority says they had no record of a handicapped parking zone at that location either. She says if anyone finds themselves in a similar situation they "can call the number on the back of the ticket and request a sign investigation."
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As a result of our inquiry the Parking Authority canceled the ticket, making it another 3 On Your Side problem solved.
Even though the ticket was cancelled because the handicapped parking space didn't exist. There's still no explanation as to how George got the ticket, as he maintains he was never in the area in the first place. Regardless, now you know, if you get a ticket for an infraction that involves a posted sign ask for a sign investigation if you plan on disputing the ticket.
Reported by Jim Donovan, CBS 3
