$80 in fees?? Argh!! Here's what happened:
On the morning of October 25, I drove up in a rental car from Fremont, where I had visited my mother the day before, to meet Diane at a cafe on Piedmont Avenue. I had never been on that street before but managed to find it with some difficulty, arriving shortly after 10 a.m. When I pulled into a space next to the curb, I saw a parking meter on the sidewalk (above) that was clearly out of commission. Therefore, I didn’t attempt to put any coins in it.
What I didn't know is that Oakland uses the same SmartMeter parking system, requiring display of a parking receipt, as we do in Portland. Problem was, I didn't see any ticket-dispensing machines in the area, nor did I even know to look for one. If I had, I would have paid my $2 or $3 and been done with it. So, when I emerged about 90 minutes later, after nice conversation and a tasty croissant sandwich and coffee that cost about $7 total, I was stunned to see I'd been cited for overtime parking: a $55 fine. (The same citation costs $24 in Portland.).
Diane |
Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. Worse, street repairs near the entrance to the freeway I planned to take to the Oakland Airport forced me to take a slower alternative route through city streets, and I missed my flight and had to wait four hours for the next plane. Argh!!
I wrote a letter of appeal to the city, asking for even a partial refund of the fine but -- no surprise -- it was rejected. The salt in the wound came on Monday, when I received a letter from a company in St. Louis informing me I was being charged $25. Why? Because they had to provide an affidavit to the city of Oakland verifying that I was the driver of the rental car that had been issued the parking citation.
"But I've already paid the ticket!" I protested.
The customer service representative said I could submit proof of payment -- photocopies of the front and back of the canceled check -- and they'd waive the $25 fee. I sent that yesterday, so now I wait for confirmation that they received the information. Argh!!
If any of you are traveling anytime soon, be sure to double- and triple-check the parking regulations in whatever city you visit. You don't want to pay 10 times the cost of a meal for the simple privilege of parking your car.
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