You are probably thinking didn’t she mean that it “pays to read?” In this case I saved money by reading. Last week I was rushing to the hair salon and had to put money in the automated parking meter. I paid for as much time as the machine would allow and as always I asked for a receipt.
People please always get a receipt.
Two plus hours later I come out of the salon and there is a ticket on my car. I snatched the ticket and saw that is was for $25 dollars. Wow that is a pretty big add on to the cost of my hair and what happened to those $10 tickets? I looked at the time on the ticket and realized that it did not match what I had paid for, there was no way I should have gotten this ticket. I headed back into the salon to show it to my stylist. I pulled the receipt out of my purse and compared it to the ticket because I was now ready to go to traffic court and fight and then I saw it. The ticket was for a red four door Ford and I drive a white Honda. Someone had actually taken their ticket and placed it on my car. This scam must have worked for them before. Because I was ready to just go ahead and pay the ticket and get it out of the way. The ticket was dated the first of July, if you waited until after July 12, the ticket goes up to $48 and on August 1, it skyrockets to $63, so I surely did not want to hold on to it if it was actually mine.
If you are parking in the city it is a good idea to pay for your parking. I absolutely hate parking tickets. And let me remind you to always get a receipt if one is available.
If the driver of the red Ford is in a habit of doing this it will soon catch up them in the form of a boot. You know all about that thing called karma, well it can sneak up on you when you least expect it. According to my good friend the Internet unpaid parking tickets, when left unresolved, can cause double or triple fines to be imposed, your car to be towed, and even your license to be suspended. Oh no!
Did you know that your car insurance could increase if you don’t pay your parking tickets? Did you know that you could have a warrant issued for your arrest? Did you know your license could be suspended? Mr. or Ms. Red Ford must like living dangerously. Well I’m not going to pay your ticket. I hope it catches up with you down the road long after you placed it on my car. The next time you get a ticket and you think it is undeserved read it well before you pay it. It just might not be yours.
(Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com)
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