Useless Conversation

[Merusk]

Wouldn't a ticket be issued by license plates, wouldn't it just stop at whoever's plates they were?  What type of shitheel response could they have possibly given to the fact that it's not your God damn car?

Last time I had a parking ticket they also had the VIN# on the ticket, so they probably tracked him that way when the tickets remained unpaid.  Sounds like the guy who originally bought the car didn't register it in his name before moving or registering it out of state.  I understand States are supposed to talk about this sort of thing but don't always.    I had that problem buying a car from my dad while living in KY. It still showed up as his in Ohio for a while.

[Samwise]

My mom had a snafu a couple of years back where she underpaid a ticket (by $20 or something small like that on a $400-ish speeding ticket) due to a glitch in the online ticket paying software.  When she was alerted of the problem, she paid the $20 difference -- and then a few months later, was alerted that she owed late fees on the $20 in the amount of another couple of hundred dollars, and blah blah blah scary language.  Because she is my mom, and also a lawyer, she ended up going in to court MULTIPLE TIMES to get this all straightened out rather than just pay the bullshit late fees.  The unfortunate thing is that the court in question was halfway across the state (where she'd received the ticket), and they kept rescheduling/cancelling court dates at the last second so she made multiple wasted trips out there.

Her takeaway from the whole experience was that there are a number of counties that are desperate for any source of revenue and they'll put you through hell to try to wring it out of you even when they're obviously in the wrong.  She did eventually end up getting the thing dropped, but it was quite an ordeal.

[Paelos]

Her takeaway from the whole experience was that there are a number of counties that are desperate for any source of revenue and they'll put you through hell to try to wring it out of you even when they're obviously in the wrong.  She did eventually end up getting the thing dropped, but it was quite an ordeal.

This is true. Most counties get revenues from property taxes, but those are tied to your assessed value. Guess what happens when the entire real estate market takes a dump for 5 years? People fight their values, get them lowered, and the counties revenue tanks.

So they just shift to their other source of revenue, fines and bullshit.

[Selby]

Last time I had a parking ticket they also had the VIN# on the ticket, so they probably tracked him that way when the tickets remained unpaid.  Sounds like the guy who originally bought the car didn't register it in his name before moving or registering it out of state.  I understand States are supposed to talk about this sort of thing but don't always.

Yeah, I am certain it was the VIN.  My ex-wife still has the California license plates sitting in her garage that have been expired since early 2010.  UCLA insists they have no way of tracking VINs so obviously the officer wrote the correct California plates down (that aren't on or with the car), but I'm suspecting he didn't write any plate down and took the VIN only either because the car had no plates on it or it had Texas plates that didn't show up in their system.  And even better, the Texas DPS does have a record of it being transferred to the new owner back in September of last year.  But guess what?  Because of privacy laws, they won't tell me nor will they tell California who it is because it is a civil, not criminal, matter.

It's amusing how stupid this is and it's obviously just a money grab.  UCLA has someone get a parking ticket and since Texas won't tell them who owns the car, they just go to California's old records and figure "good enough" and send me the tickets 'cause SOMEONE GOTTA PAY for parking a car in an expired time slot.  Even after I went to the DMV and filled out the paperwork (AGAIN) saying I sold this car 4 years ago and it wasn't mine anymore, the university doesn't care because my name is associated with the violation.

I think I sent 3 different letters with all the paperwork attached and made several phone calls.  There comes a time when fine just isn't worth fighting because I'm not going to fly\drive down there just to have them basically say "sorry, we need the money, too bad."  If I hadn't spent most of last year fixing my credit with all 3 credit agencies due to a bank error I might be tempted to fight it another 6 months and argue with collections agents about it, but I've got too much time invested to deal with that bullshit.

[Paelos]

What are the consequences of you not paying said ticket?

[Selby]

What are the consequences of you not paying said ticket?

Collections agency.  Hounding me night and day to pay them their money while putting blemishes back on my credit.

If the DMV in California ever said it was my car, tough, I'd just request a duplicate title and turn it in for junking.  Then it goes on the auto industry's uninsurable list and the guy who owns it gets hosed.  But he isn't actively screwing me, so I'm not that mean.

[WayAbvPar]

He absolutely is actively screwing you by not paying his fucking tickets. Fuck him.

[Selby]

He absolutely is actively screwing you by not paying his fucking tickets. Fuck him.

If he doesn't even know they are his?  Kind of hard to pay for something when the parking gestapo doesn't have his info and is content to bill someone else.

[WayAbvPar]

He is the one who parked there, and then ignored the tickets, isn't he? Also, he is the one who didn't properly register with the state? Or am I confused?

[Abagadro]

How does he not know a ticket is his? It's on the freaking windshield when he came out to his car.

[Strazos]

I think I sent 3 different letters with all the paperwork attached and made several phone calls.  There comes a time when fine just isn't worth fighting because I'm not going to fly\drive down there just to have them basically say "sorry, we need the money, too bad."  If I hadn't spent most of last year fixing my credit with all 3 credit agencies due to a bank error I might be tempted to fight it another 6 months and argue with collections agents about it, but I've got too much time invested to deal with that bullshit.

Fuck that. Did I already tell the story of how I managed to get a medical bill sent to collections?

 - Went to the ER in like, 2008 maybe? It was for a kidney stone. I had insurance, but gave the wrong (old) card with me and was in pretty crazy pain, so they admitted me. I eventually get them the correct info. So, I later get a pretty big hospital bill that I negotiate down and pay off, and a small bill from the radiologist who read my CAT scans. As I'd never been to an ER before, I thought that was the end of it. Then, in 2009 as I'm getting my stuff together for a background check for work, this $650 collections charge gets dropped on my credit (like the week my credit scores are pulled). Argue for hours with these people - what seems to have happened was that the ER doc who saw me briefly to authorize the IV drip, CAT scan, and morphine seems to have been a contractor who bills separately. I never got this bill. His company never billed my insurance. The charge then went to collections. I even managed to finally talk to someone in their billing who admitted it was a mistake and they would take care of it. Last I checked, the charge is still there, which I have no intention of paying - maybe if they go back and charge my insurance company and bill me for maybe $100, then I would pay.

The point of this story is fuck these people - if it's a bill rightfully-charged, fine. But if it's some stupid fuck up and you're expected to accept it, I wouldn't pay it just based on principle...though I'll admit that I'm not in a normal situation - I won't need to give my credit reports to anyone to buy property or a car or rent for many years, so getting something stupid like this on my credit report would mean fuckall to me...YMMV.

[Paelos]

I've had collections people bother me about things before. Once, a hospital wanted $1700 because I took an amubulance a mile to the hospital when I had a hemmorage issue post-surgery. My insurance refused to pay for it, so they tried to stick me with it.

I politely explained to the guy that:

A - if you want to pester someone, go pester the insurance company
B - they can threaten to ruin your credit, but they actually can't damage you that much for isolated incidents. Patterns are much worse if you have a history of running high credit card balances, paying late constantly, and missing payments on credit loans, mortgages, or car loans.
C - I'm a CPA so I know by the time it goes to collections, it's already in doubtful accounts and ready to be written off as bad debt. The collectors make a percentage for what they collect if anything, but they won't vehemently go after people they can't scare or threaten, or for amounts that are less than $500. It's not worth their time to chase that debt.

[Selby]

He is the one who parked there, and then ignored the tickets, isn't he? Also, he is the one who didn't properly register with the state? Or am I confused?

Sure, assuming the ticket was still there.  I've known some people from my high school days and even college days who thought it was funny to pull the tickets they found on car windshields off and throw them away.  And he did register it with the state, Texas, which is citing privacy laws for not giving California the guy's info.

[Samwise]

In that case, fuck him for hiding in a state whose general stupidity has stuck you with the ticket.   

I'm in the camp of do whatever it takes to get this thing no longer associated with your name, otherwise you're going to feel like a major chump when it somehow happens AGAIN five years from now.

[Abagadro]

The registered owner of a vehicle is not private information in any state that I have dealt with. Anyone who told you that was probably lying.

EDIT:

Texas restricts the information available by license plate numbers, including those of state officials. If you know the vehicle identification number, however, you can trace the owner. For more information on this process, contact the Texas Department of Transportation directly at 512-465-7611.

https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/faq.html#car

You could also try to directly make an open records request:

http://www.txdmv.gov/about_us/open_records.htm

[Selby]

The registered owner of a vehicle is not private information in any state that I have dealt with. Anyone who told you that was probably lying.

It actually is private information, you can't just call up the DMV, ask who owns a car based on VIN\license plate and have them give you their name and address.  Years ago, yes you could and private detectives and others did it frequently.  Pay the $10, get the info.  Now because a stalker used that method to kill a famous actress laws have been changed in the last 5-10 years to restrict that information to law enforcement officials and DMV people only for virtually all states now.  I've called those numbers and discussed the situation with an officer.  They flat out aren't going to tell me who owns the car without a court order to do so because I'm not law enforcement and it isn't a criminal matter.  As a matter of fact, if a DMV employee did give me that information and somehow the state found out about it, the employee would be fired (it happened recently in another case).  And I do have law enforcement friends who could do the same, but they won't because it isn't official law enforcement business and aren't going to put their job on the line for me.

[Segoris]

How does he not know a ticket is his? It's on the freaking windshield when he came out to his car.

I have had a parking ticket without it being on my car when I returned to it when I was younger. It was either as a result of someone being a complete shithead by taking it off my windshield or the officer did not put it on securely, but it became much more expensive as a result either way. The guy in question has multiple tickets and is almost definitely aware since this is not likely to happen every time, but this does happen sometimes.

[Samwise]

Yeah, if it accumulated multiple tickets, there isn't someone stealing ALL of them off his car.  He's just being a fucking douchebag and not paying his tickets, possibly even doing so deliberately on the theory that the CA DMV won't bother tracking his ass down in Texas.  I repeat, fuck him.

[Polysorbate80]

If they've been living in California long enough to accumulate a crapload of tickets but still haven't registered the car there, then I'm guessing they're probably in violation of the state's DMV regulations.  Which would technically make it a criminal matter (albeit pretty minor.)

[Numtini]

My ex-wife still has the California license plates sitting in her garage that have been expired since early 2010.

I don't know about California, but here in Mass you have to turn in the license plates to the registry. There's a blanket assumption that no matter what else, if you have the plates, you still own and are driving the car.

[Chimpy]

My ex-wife still has the California license plates sitting in her garage that have been expired since early 2010.

I don't know about California, but here in Mass you have to turn in the license plates to the registry. There's a blanket assumption that no matter what else, if you have the plates, you still own and are driving the car.

This is the first I have ever heard of a state requiring you to return the plates. In Illinois they tell you to recycle them with your other metal objects no longer used.

[Pennilenko]

You have to return them in Florida. There are licensing and insurance troubles if you don't.

[Lantyssa]

If they've been living in California long enough to accumulate a crapload of tickets but still haven't registered the car there, then I'm guessing they're probably in violation of the state's DMV regulations.  Which would technically make it a criminal matter (albeit pretty minor.)

Probably a student, given this involved the UCLA campus.

[Rasix]

[Polysorbate80]

Probably a student, given this involved the UCLA campus.

It varies by locale; I work for a university in a college town in Idaho, and none of the students usually bother to do it.  Here you'd just get a boot slapped on your vehicle for parking on-campus without a parking permit.

I would expect California to be bitchier about avoiding road taxes or emissions testing, though.

[Lantyssa]

Doesn't mean a student would care.  Long as they keep the residence of the vehicle in Texas and get the yearly registration sticker, why would they register it in California?

[Paelos]

In an effort to stop the car talk and country bullshit:

I had a honeycrisp today for lunch.

[Nebu]

In an effort to stop the car talk and country bullshit:

I had a honeycrisp today for lunch.

Out of season?  BLASPHEMER!

[Polysorbate80]

Doesn't mean a student would care.

I'm not saying you're wrong; they usually figure they can get away with it until law enforcement takes an interest in them for some reason (and for good reason, because it works).  Same way I could have gotten away with a cheaper passenger-car registration for my new pickup rather than an actual truck registration--unless I get pulled over, no cop is going to know or care as long as the tag is on my plate, until they see I'm hauling a trailer with tags only paid for up to 8000 GCVW.  (I paid for 16000, btw--my fat ass and a full tank of diesel pushes the weight to just under 8k for the pickup without a load)

My (admittedly not well made) point was intended to be more that since the owner's info is not available to unwashed non-LEO masses, it might be possible to get actual law enforcement to push the issue--because, y'know, easy money for the county/state/whatever.

A quick browse of California DMV regs indicates that if the non-resident has a local job, rents or leases a residence, sends kids to public schools or applies for resident tuition rates, they're on the hook.

(not sure diverting the topic to honeycrisps is an improvement...)

[Paelos]

In an effort to stop the car talk and country bullshit:

I had a honeycrisp today for lunch.

Out of season?  BLASPHEMER!

Still good! 

[Polysorbate80]

Still good! 

I had Scotch for lunch.

Even Better! 

[RhyssaFireheart]

*sigh* 

Washer has apparently given up the ghost, judging by the amount of water that was under it yesterday after I did a load of laundry.  I guess this also partially explains why the register in that room is rusting along the edges when there was supposedly no water around (we don't have a basin or anything in there).  Marvelous.  Still, I guess 12 years isn't too bad for builder's grade appliances.

[Morat20]

As for running:

1) It was the shoe.
2) Having read up on minimilist and barefoot running, it sounds enticing. I can also see how way too many people shift to it and hurt themselves.

The shoe I was recommended it sorta a best of both worlds, apparently, if I ever get to the "run" part. It promotes a better stride, but is still, you know, a shoe.

Although I kinda want one of those Vibram shoes so I can wander around wiggling my toes at people.

[Viin]

Shark Tank had some naked shoe thingy on, let me see if I can remember what it was .. ah yes: http://www.invisibleshoe.com/

[JWIV]

Shark Tank had some naked shoe thingy on, let me see if I can remember what it was .. ah yes: http://www.invisibleshoe.com/

Used to be invisible shoe, but they changed last year to http://xeroshoes.com/

I switched to those over the summer. Weird as hell to get used to, but awesome for both tactile and audible feedback of how your form is complete shit.   Switching over to minimal is something you want to do slowly - it's a great way to injure yourself (or get tendinitis), but once I understood my limits, it's been fantastic.  It's done wonders for my form and I was able to increase my mileage using those and a pair of Newtons from the 20's to the low 30's with none of the usual nagging IT band issues that I've had in the past. 

But yah, I went from skeptic to true believer with these things.