CA-Attorney collecting on a PAID speeding ticket

Sounds like a good letter to me and I would go a step further by contacting the court and asking them WTF are they up to!

It needs to be sorted out with the court clerk's office. That is really the only way in which this fine will be taken care of.

Best of luck on this, Debtcruncher - I know it has to be frustrating! I experienced something similar last year when I found out that I couldn't renew my driver's license in MI because the VA DMV had suspended my license - which was news to me! Turns out that when I returned my license plates and my VA drivers license to the DMV after moving to MI, they didn't record it properly in their computer system, and it automatically suspended my license because I didn't provide proof of insurance to them. (Of course I didn't - I wasn't living there anymore!) I never got anything in the mail stating anything was wrong, and only found out over 5 years later, when I went to renew my MI driver's license.
:evil:

I'm sure that was the case here--that it was a data entry error at the courthouse and you have the proof with the wrong ID # on the back of your check.
Now they are going to have to go back to the owner of the other ticket and see if they actually did pay (and if they did, did the court refund it?) and if they didn't, they might have to go to court themselves, but Oh well!

Good luck. I've had a similar battle on my hand except I sent a MO. It was about 5 years ago and now I don't have the reciept. I'm stuck paying it all over again!

It's a good thing you weren't stopped in the meantime- they could have put you in jail-or at least here they do. I had a client in a similiar mess-didn't know they had not posted something on his behalf-5 years later he's on his way to work, has a broken tag light and gets stopped-the end result was jail! He got out fairly quick, but that's not the point.

Also, if it was sent to a CA sttorney- make sure they clear that part up and they haven't reported it on your credit- Good Luck..Karen

Thanks everyone for your responses!

Suebee and FYI - doesn't it just make you mad? Sure other people make mistakes and I understand that. At least with regular debts there is a dispute/validation procedure. Here, they screw up and we may get our license suspended over it.

I'm sorry FYI that you don't have your receipt anymore, that is really a bummer! About 2 months ago I was cleaning out my files, and I actually ran across this ticket and said "maybe I'll throw this out because I don't need it anymore." Then I hesitated and figured "better safe than sorry." I'm so glad I kept it now, or else I'd have no proof.

Deep down I know this attorney will just put it on the Court Clerk and tell me I need to fix it with them. I hate going to our court! They're one step short of performing a body cavity search in order to get in the building, then I'll have to wait in line for about 2 hours to speak to someone. Everyone in the county bldg hates their job and has bad attidudes, so I know I won't get someone who *wants* to help and they'll probably redirect me to 20 different departments. I almost would rather just pay it again than deal with all that beauracracy.

Your letter looks good. The only thing I'd maybe change is change 'seen' to 'saw' here:

[quote=DebtCruncher]As you can see, I thought this matter was resolved when I seen the check clear my bank statement.[/quote]

Send it to the attorney's office. You should also CC it to the court clerk's office, with a separate letter asking them to investigate the matter and set the record straight. Good luck to you.

In some cases, yes, it is a consumer debt. For example, the cities which use those "red light" cameras. They are run by private companies, and if you run a red light, you just get a ticket in the mail with no right to your day in court. If not paid, it's turned over to a collection agency. On the other hand, if a cop pulls you over, you have the right to due process.

Those damn red light cameras oughtta be done away with. Or, at minimum, cut the private contractor out of the loop. Lots of places, the company that owns/installs the units gets a percentage of the fines collected. Smell like a conflict of interest to you?

I think our city runs our cameras but I'm not 100% sure. For all the protest about them they did a study on how they have dramatically reduced accidents at intersections. People at still running the lights, they are just more careful about it lol.

Reminds me of the following funny...

A man received a ticket in the mail one day, along with a photo of his car passing through a red light, taken by one of those cameras mounted at intersections to catch just this sort of thing.

Being somewhat clever, he decided to try and beat the police at their own game. He returned the ticked in the mail to them, along with a PHOTO of a check in payment of the ticket. A few days later, he received another envelope in the mail from the police department, this time containing a photo of handcuffs.

He made payment in person the next day.

:lol:

When I first heard that, the man had sent the cops a pic of two twenties. Still funny, though....

Yes indeed, the companies get a percentage of the profits from the tickets. In some cities, I've heard as much as 75%. It's rather like the debt buyers. These companies persuade cities to let them install the cameras, and of course the city agrees, because it will be getting revenues it otherwise would miss, even if only 25% of the take. Maybe all this will be challenged in court one day. That's why these tickets are a consumer debt.

IIRC, there have already been a couple of successful challenges to them. I caught that in a biker rag somewhere a while back. Damned if I can remember where they were, though. North Carolina sounds about right on one, but I may be off.

Too funny,Sue :lol:

I didn't know private companies ran the camers, I thought our city put those up and profited!! I know I am more careful about going through yellow and reds with them :lol:

WELL....

I sent my letter off last December and never heard back. I guess I should have followed up, but never did; hindsight is 20/20 isn't it?

Last week I went to renew my license, and the Secretary of State has a "stop" on my license over this ticket. Told me to clear it up with the court, and then come back.

So I go to the courthouse, and ask the clerk to look up the ticket. "It was never paid." So I showed her the cancelled check and asked her to lookup the "other" ticket number that was written-in on my check when it was cashed.

Seems the ticket my check went toward was about 6 months earlier when I got pulled over and didn't have my insurance card or registration. (I went to court, showed them my insurance and registration, and they dismissed it). She said "Yeah the ticket was dismissed." So I asked why my check would go to pay a ticket that was dismissed? "Oh, but you plead guilty to the registration." I know I didn't, the case was tossed -- If I did plead guilty like she said, it would be on my driving record, and it's not.

So we're arguing back and forth - she's right, I'm wrong - just because she's going off what the computer says. I said your computers are wrong, and she said "no they're not." I asked for a manager, she wouldn't get one. I asked how to appeal the ticket, she said they don't give legal advice.

Well, I didn't want to cause a scene and end up getting arrested for being belligerant. I also need to get my license renewed. So I just paid the ticket. But I still don't believe in paying for it twice, when I know somehow they screwed up.

Does anyone have any suggestions where I go from here? Is there a way to request the court transcripts to prove the ticket was dismissed even though their computers don't show that? Should I just write a letter to the clerk of the court and hope they believe me enough to dig out the paper records? Or am I just plain screwed?

I was told once that in order to get court transcripts you need to get the judge's permission by contacting his/her office. I don't know if there's a formal procedure, such as 'show cause' or if you can just explain the situation to the secretary. Might be a place to start.