hello,

i got two parking violation tickets a few months ago. i was told by friends that you dont really have to pay for it as they dont really care.

however, i got a letter @ home asking for $135. for ministry of transportation search fee, admin fee and all that junk.

im just wondering if anyone here has ever gotten parking tickets and how they dealt with it.

obviously the "right/ethical" action is to pay but....im broke from books.

so...
should i just pay?

thanks

Originally Posted by kenz

so...
should i just pay?

Yes.

The parking ticket is now linked to your licence plates -> car -> you. I would say it's been escalated if you got a letter at home and the MTO is involved.

Originally Posted by kenz

hello,
i was told by friends that you dont really have to pay for it as they dont really care.

I think that Mac gives you a warning ticket first with no fee on it, then gives you a ticket with a fee if you re-offend. Maybe your friends got the warning one?

i have three in total.

first was the warning.
2nd & 3rd were fines.

i saw a few posts on RFD where some people from york/waterloo got over $1500 in parking violations.

i think ill just go in and talk to them.

btw, the car isnt under my name. but if they really wanted to know who i am, they can find out easily.

address car is registered to is the same as my address on file.

You will end up having to pay the tickets. If they know it was you through the address the car is registered at they will hold your grades, transcripts and everything until the tickets are paid. I would think it would be better to pay them now before they start sending you more.

I'd pay them asap for everything Jeff said plus the fact that eventually these cases will get referred to a collection agency. That then shows up on your credit record and does more damage to your credit than a $135 dollar fine should have any business doing.

Yes, I agree with everything people have said here. I work alongside the parking office and they DO CARE when you don't pay your tickets. If you don't pay and continue to park on campus your car will be towed and then not only do you have to pay the towing company (storage fee plus the tow fee, and the storage fee is per day) but you'll also have to pay the parking department. Just go pay that ticket, borrow the money from your folks if you have to but get it out of the way.

Also, avoid getting tickets by knowing when and where you can park. Click here for the fees and rules regarding parking at McMaster.

thanks for the input guys/gals.

two 30 dollar tickets turned into 135.

oh well.

It could be worse kenz, I saw a person come in once all hysterical because their car had been towed due to a 1000 dollar bill on parking tickets. That's some crazy business there.

From what I've heard..

If you park on campus and get a ticket, the university is allowed to ask you to pay. They can mark down your licence plate and they can check if you have another parking violation next time. But since the university is not working with the Ontario government, they can't look into who OWNS the car, where you live and stuff like that because it's government information only.

That's only what I've heard through other students. It could be (and probably is) completely wrong, so I would suggest paying the tickets - especially if they've mailed you at home.

I've heard from other students as well, though, that they've been able to get away without paying the tickets. I don't know how it works.

Originally Posted by HeatherH

From what I've heard..

If you park on campus and get a ticket, the university is allowed to ask you to pay. They can mark down your licence plate and they can check if you have another parking violation next time. But since the university is not working with the Ontario government, they can't look into who OWNS the car, where you live and stuff like that because it's government information only.

That's only what I've heard through other students. It could be (and probably is) completely wrong, so I would suggest paying the tickets - especially if they've mailed you at home.

I've heard from other students as well, though, that they've been able to get away without paying the tickets. I don't know how it works.

ya you're wrong. all they do is do a search with the MTO and the MTO will tell them anything, for a fee which is inturn billed back to you.

i dealt with this in january. s'all good now

I've gotten a parking ticket today because I was unaware that they changed the parking rules.

But anyways, on the ticket it shows my license number as Plate Information:ON 368P NA

Thats not exactly my number. I'm not too sure if they trimmed some of my number off for privacy or if its a genuine typo that I use to avoid the expense. Does anyone know about it?

Its abbreviated on the ticket I believe. You could try to fight it but I don't think it's worth it.