You may remember that on my birthday I rear-ended someone. It was a silly little fender bender and I told the police officer exactly what happened. He gave me a ticket for following too closely.
I decided to pay the ticket online. So, I filled in all the appropriate info and bada-boom my ticket was paid. Lovely.
Until a few days ago when I got a notice that my license is going to be suspended on August 13rd if I don’t pay the ticket. Whaa? So, I look through my credit card statement and notice that no, it was not paid. Weird. I knew I did it. I even looked through my computer’s internet history to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
So, today I carted the kids up to the municipal court to pay for the ticket. I get there and show her my you’re-about-to-be-a-criminal notification and she turns around to get my file. She opens it, looks at it and then hands to another clerk. They look at each other with knowing eyes then turn on the speaker to talk to me, “I’m sorry. You’re going to have to appear in court.”
Me: Court?
Clerk: Yes, it says it is a “must appear”.
Me: Is this because I didn’t pay this on time? Because I tried. And your website didn’t work.
Clerk: Oh no. You can’t pay a ticket like this online.
Me: Well, thank you for notifying me of all this beforehand. Do I still need to pay my ticket?
Clerk: Yes.
Me: Here’s my credit card.
Clerk: We don’t take credit cards.
Me: Well, I checked the website before I came here and it says you do.
Clerk: We only accept credit cards online.
Me: Also. Very helpful.
After loading the kids up 45 more times I finally get a money order and return to my friendly neighborhood Municipal Court Clerk…
Me: Hello again. I’m here to pay for my ticket. And I just have one question. Why am I paying a fine BEFORE I even go to court? What if the judge decides I’m not at fault?
Clerk: I don’t really know anything about that. That’s the court side of things.
Me: Indeed. So helpful.
Will someone please explain this to me? I have a ticket for FOLLOWING TOO CLOSELY. Not a DUI. Not SWERVING AND ENDANGERING SMALL CHILDREN AND ANIMALS. I just let go of the brakes as I was waiting for the girl in front of me to go!
Now WHY do I have to appear in court for a ticket that I’ve ALREADY PAID? Oh wait, I forgot, there’s more…
Me: So, when do I have to come to court?
Clerk: September 29.
Me: I’m going to be out of town that day. What happens if I don’t show up to the hearing about a ticket that I’ve already paid?
Clerk: They’ll issue a warrant for your arrest.
Me: Alright-y then.
Clerk: Have a nice day!
SERIOUSLY. Are you kidding me?!!
Oh my goodness! I have never, ever heard of anything as silly as this. Serious silliness. If you have any connections, I would suggest asking someone who works on the inside. (and when you get this figured out, you need to blog about it so we know how to avoid this silliness!)
.-= Heather @ Not a DIY Life´s last blog ..Tiny Talk Tuesday =-.
Holy cow. This is hilarious in a not-so-funny sort of way. I can’t believe that!! No wonder our judicial system is clogged up.
Ok, I’m trying to rack my brain but can’t figure it out. It’s got to be b/c you were “late” – right? Did they ever answer that question? I mean if they sent you a notice to pay it online then it probably would have been all fine & dandy but because it didn’t go through (and their files were showing it as unpaid) then they would want you to come to court – right?? I have a cousin that I haven’t seen in over a decade in your county. But mom has talked to him on FB:) Or try Erin … her husband’s a different county but detectives always know other people in other counties.
.-= mandi´s last blog ..It’s a full on party! =-.
Oh.dear.lord. That is some kinds of freaking ridiculous! I can’t believe that! I am so sorry you are dealing with such crap. Good luck!
.-= Rachel´s last blog ..Reader Participation =-.
WHAT!?!? I HATE how no one can tell you anything – or how no one is proactive in helping someone out with some info…
Not fun, not fun!, especially with 2 kids in tow! So sorry, hope it can be resolved soon!
Erin’s husbands brother works in Cherokee. FYI
I feel your pain.
I got a speeding ticket in Randolph County, NC on my way to Alabama several years ago. The court date was in early December, but I had a Christmas party planned for my house (Sunday School) so I hired a lawyer to appear for me. Well, the GREAT ICE STORM hit and all of the cases were continued until January. I still kept the lawyer because I had already paid him, etc., etc. Fast forward to January when I receive a letter that says everything has been taken care of. Fast forward again to the police officer at my door serving me a court order for failure to pay my ticket fine. HUH?!?!?!? Several phone calls to the attorney and the State Bar later, I receive a receipt that says the fine has been paid. But I still have an active court order/warrant. I show up for my court date (take the day off, drive over several counties) and talk to the clerk about what I need to do…only to find out that they canceled my appearance when the fine was paid. THANKS FOR THE GREAT NOTIFICATION RANDOLPH COUNTY!!!!!
Fortunately, I only had one kid at the time and he was in preschool. sigh
You’ve gotta love the neverending circle of the law!
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I don’t really know where you stand politically so I probably shouldn’t say this, but these are the people we want to have handling our health care system??? Government run crap is never efficient!!
.-= The Diaper Diaries´s last blog ..Works For Me Wednesday- Back To School Edition =-.
How ridiculous. So frustrating when the system just sends you around in circles. I hope you sort it out and don’t have to go to court over such silliness!
.-= Kacey´s last blog ..On the passing of time =-.
oh holy cow! what a load of… ugh!
.-= KT´s last blog .. =-.
Years ago, when I was living in FL, I got a speeding ticket. Was going to cost me almost $100!! What?? My Stepdad… who gets many tickets, lol, gave me the number to his lawyer. I paid her $50 to go to court for me. They wiped my ticket out, because there was no way I could’ve been going as fast as this guy said I was. No points on my license or anything.
I would look into seeing if you can find a lawyer that deals specifically with traffic tickets. Good luck! I hope it all turns out OK.
Yeah, I had an issue last year when I was in a fender bender. It’s a long story, but I didn’t have insurance because it had lapsed and didn’t know it when I was in the accident. Accident wasn’t even my fault, but no witnesses were there to confirm that.
I went to pay the ticket a couple weeks later, and the clerk told me my license would be suspended. That was a shock, but the bigger shock was when I went online to check my license status several days later and it was already marked “suspended”. Well, that was awfully strange, seeing as the clerk had told me I would get a letter before it went into effect, and I wouldn’t wake up surprised one morning with a suspended license. I would definitely be notified. Well, SURPRISE! I wasn’t notified until after the fact, and I had been driving for days with a suspended license and didn’t know it.
We did a lot of running back and forth between the BMV and the county office because we were confused about conflicting info they kept giving us. It was very distressing.
I hope your situation gets taken care of without too much more trouble.
.-= Liz´s last blog ..Link Love =-.
My mom has been a municipal court clerk for over 20 years, so the advice I would give you (and believe me they are all the same…not very pleasant 😉 )-
Obviously things are a little different from state to state, but in Jersey this is how things happen:
She said that they (state of NJ) won’t let you make a payment if you have to appear in court (so that was strange). In Jersey that is a 4pt ticket- mandatory court appearance.
If you are going to be out of town on that day you can try to have the court date rescheduled. My mom said they will only reschedule a court date if the person can prove they will be out of town (hotel reservations, hospital note..etc)
I know in NJ when you go to court for a ticket with points you can talk to the prosecutor and have the points reduced so that you have less points on your license and your insurance doesn’t go up. This is worth it!
If you were in Jersey, I could help you a little more. Good luck!! If you have any basic questions you can email me. Sorry you have to deal with this.
.-= Toni´s last blog ..NJ State Fair 2009 =-.
ohmygosh! i just…i can’t imagine how irritated, frustrated, livid, confused you must be. that is so bizarre! i would call back tomorrow and talk with someone in charge. the cronies who are at the desks just do what they’re told and most of the info they give is passed down, passed down, etc. and it gets junked up. so sorry tho – what a headache! and you can’t go to jail, you’re too cute. you better be someone’s bff fast, preferably someone big but 100% hetero. (haha don’t mean to be crude but couldn’t let the potential jailbait joke pass).
.-= Candace´s last blog ..The great re-organization of 2009, part one =-.
Amen to Jill’s comment. So sorry, A. Maybe call again and reiterate you paid the ticket and so what’s the court appearance for?
.-= Moriah @ Please Pass the Salt´s last blog ..Well, THAT was an experience. =-.
I thought paying a ticket was pleading guilty. I am most confused with this.
.-= Coralie´s last blog ..Wednesday Morning Weigh-In – Week 5 =-.
Oh my! Was it in Cobb? B got one for that a few years ago. Not sure if he paid it online, but I am 100% sure he didn’t have to go to court for it! That’s crazy! Hope they figure out what the heck they’re doing, and you don’t need to go in again. 🙁
I got a speeding ticket about 18 months ago … going 44 in a 35 zone … out on a country road a mile from my house where they had no business setting up radar … would you please go to Nashville and catch some REAL criminals. When to court since I had not had a ticket recently and figured I could do the driving school thing and then be done. And I figured it would be cheaper than the $150 ticket.
Wrong.
Court costs were about $150 and driving school tacked on another $45. And like you, they sent me to pay and there was the sign: Cash only. Who carries $150 on them? Not me. So I asked, “Where’s your ATM?” No ATM. Had to get in my car and drive to the nearest Mapco and use theirs … and pay a stinking fee to withdraw my own money from my own account. Talk about insult added to injury.
I’m scheduled for Federal jury duty next month. I’ll see what I can do to remedy this situation. (Yeh, right.)
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