Not stolen but misused license plates?

[tchrchgo]

This probably isn't exactly budget related, but sort of, and you guys have such great advice!

We received a parking meter violation ticket in the mail today for my husbands car. The location was an hour from his work, and the date and time were when he was at work with his car.

I'm concerned that maybe someone got ahold of duplicate plates of ours. This sounds paranoid, but I know we had a duplicate set around the house a while back, and we had a bad experience with a handyman who stole a camera.

I'm thinking that if someone else had the plates we'd have heard more than just one parking ticket. But I'm wondering if we should order new plates from the DMV, and if so, should we file a police report. And if so, do we file by our house or in the city where we got that mystery ticket?

So nervous!

 

[Malibustyle23]

This probably isn't exactly budget related, but sort of, and you guys have such great advice!

We received a parking meter violation ticket in the mail today for my husbands car. The location was an hour from his work, and the date and time were when he was at work with his car.

I'm concerned that maybe someone got ahold of duplicate plates of ours. This sounds paranoid, but I know we had a duplicate set around the house a while back, and we had a bad experience with a handyman who stole a camera.

I'm thinking that if someone else had the plates we'd have heard more than just one parking ticket. But I'm wondering if we should order new plates from the DMV, and if so, should we file a police report. And if so, do we file by our house or in the city where we got that mystery ticket?

So nervous!

Was it a ticket with a camera proof shown? If not I would call the office of the ticket and file a dispute. I would honestly think that it was an error on the ticket writer's behalf. I am surprised that your state allowed you to get a duplicate set of tags. I don't believe my state would allow that. Have you checked your house to see if the extra set is still around?

 

[tchrchgo]

Was it a ticket with a camera proof shown? If not I would call the office of the ticket and file a dispute. I would honestly think that it was an error on the ticket writer's behalf. I am surprised that your state allowed you to get a duplicate set of tags. I don't believe my state would allow that. Have you checked your house to see if the extra set is still around?

There was no photo, and the ticket does not have VIN or make/model on it, so I don't even know what type of car they ticketed.

 

[Carina]

It's usually just a case of the meter maid punching one # in wrong.

 

[tchrchgo]

It's usually just a case of the meter maid punching one # in wrong.

Well, her miss punch will cost me $20. The appeal board always finds in "their" favor. But I'm going to keep an eye out for any other violations

 

[Iamthequeen]

If your dh has proof that he was at work and not in the location where the ticket was issued, he should be able to beat the ticket. Also, the make and model of the car should have been listed too.

 

[tvguy]

I have never heard of a state issuing duplicate plates, just replacement plates with a different number.

Took me a year to get a red light violation off my record. Some guy with the same first and last name as me (different middle name) from New York (I'm in California) ran a Red light in Beverly Hills in a rented Rolls Royce and then didn't pay the fine or appear in court.
Someone at the court, disregarding this guy had a New York drivers license, attached this to MY license. I found out when my auto insurance went up $1,000 for the 6 month premium. Since it took a year to clear, I had to pay $2,000 extra for auto insurance until it was cleared, then Allstate refunded the money.

The reality is, it will cost you more in time and money to get it corrected than to just pay the $20.

 

[hereyago]

Stop being paranoid OP. This happened to me a few years ago.
While waiting for my vanity plates to be sent, I had regular plates in the interim. Several months later, I get a notice saying my car was ticketed, well the plates were.

I called the number and said I had those plates briefly but,months ago. She looked up what the original ticket said for make model. Then she was able to access the DMV that showed what my car was when I had it etc and it was dropped.

 

[texasroni75]

This happened twice to us. Once with DH's motorcycle. We received a random ticket from a town we've never been to on a day DH was at work hours away. We called and requested a photo proof (it was a ticket for someone who skipped out on paying a toll). It was a man twice DH's size, on a completely different model motorcycle, and there was one letter difference on the license plate. We still had to call twice and mail letters to get them to stop harassing us for the ticket. Took nearly 2 months!

Then, I got a parking ticket in the mail for my vehicle. Whatever car it was, was parked in a town 6 hours away, at a day and time that I was at work (although I don't know if I could have proven it since I didn't punch a timecard or anything). They did not even put down make or model of the car - but it was my license plate number. I called to complain and they said it was a clerical error and cleared it up right away.

It does happen, and could just be a typo. But, it stinks that clerical errors could cause lost time and money for us!

 

[MaleficentRN]

Does it list the make and color of the car on the ticket?

 

[Colleen27]

As others have said, it is much more likely that it was just a transposed number/letter when the ticket was written. Call the issuing department and explain the situation. You should be able to get it resolved in your favor without too much trouble.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I had this happen, and had proof it wasn't me. I called up and they had the wrong number written down. They fixed it .

 

[Swimalie]

This happened to me about 20 years ago. I was 2 hours away at the time at work. I sent them proof I was at work and they cleared the ticket off my license plates. Just show proof and you should be fine.

 

[zoemurr]

Well, her miss punch will cost me $20. The appeal board always finds in "their" favor. But I'm going to keep an eye out for any other violations

Yes.. we recieved a ticket for our vehicle in Long Island and we're 7hrs away in Upstate NY. It had a photo of a car different from ours, but the pic of the plate sure did look the same as ours.

I took it to the local sherrif. He knew exactly what the problem was. My plate has a Y in it, and his had a V. In the photos they look identical. He ran the plate w/a V and it was the vehicle pictured.

We sent in a letter and it was cleared up immediately. Isn't the make/model of the car listed? Go talk to someone local and see if they will help you.

Good luck!

 

[NYCDiane]

Plates aren't reissued with the same number.

It was almost definitely a mis-write with the numbers/letters if you're saying your car was over an hour away while your husb was at work

The vehicle year/make/model is written on the ticket at the time the ticket is written. If this was not your car, it should not match up.

 

[tchrchgo]

Thanks everyone. I called today and the car they ticketed was a Honda and our plate is registered to our dodge. Once she pulled up the DMV listing and saw the discrepancy she dismissed the ticket.

 

[ceemys]

I would call definitely!

I have duplicate places. I have special places though. IN changed the look and size of the letters/numbers. My old plate is still in the trunk of my car 10 months later. lol

ETA...Just saw your response on the 2nd page. Glad you got it taken care of.

 

[plummer925]

Thanks everyone. I called today and the car they ticketed was a Honda and our plate is registered to our dodge. Once she pulled up the DMV listing and saw the discrepancy she dismissed the ticket.

Glad you were able to get it resolved without an issue! Teenie bit of hassel for you...and a break for the person who parked wrong (who obviously knows about it since they had a ticket on their window).

 

[Lewisc]

Didn't post quick enough. I was wondering if your DH has a girlfriend near the location of the ticket.

Sorry, this was a bad joke.

 

[plummer925]

Didn't post quick enough. I was wondering if your DH has a girlfriend near the location of the ticket.

Wow - that is uncalled for and rude!!