Warning: Miami-Dade County Florida is corrupt, sends bogus parking citation

11/8/2018 | Self-vanity

[mtrott]

Just a heads up to anyone who may experience something similar. First, I have been a resident of TX since 1972 and have never lived in Florida.

This last March, I received a parking citation from Miami-Dade County, Florida for "RESTRICTED OR IMPROPER PARKING" on 02/12/2018. Somehow, they found my TX license plate number for one of my vehicles.

The first problem is, neither I nor any of my vehicles has been in Florida since 2015. In 2015, I was in the panhandle of Florida. I have never been in Miami. Secondly, the citation indicates the offending vehicle as a black 4-door Volkswagen. But my vehicle with that license plate number is not a black Volkswagen, but rather a tan Hyundai.

After receiving the citation, I contacted the Miami-Dade County Clerk office and explained to a lady there that I was not there and that it wasn't my vehicle. She stated that the officer must have made a mistake and that it would be taken care of.

Well, a couple months later, I received the first of three(so far) mailings from a collection agency, indicated that the matter had been turned over to them. I immediately contacted them and explained the same facts to them. The lady there said to write "disputed" on the letter and send it, along with my documentation to them", which I did. I sent them a copy of my Texas auto registration, which clearly indicates my license plate number and make and model of my Hyundai vehicle. However, I have subsequently received two more letters from them demanding payment. It's as if they don't care whether the citation is legal, or not.

I also contacted, by email, Pam Bondi's Florida Attorney General office and detailed to them what is going on. I did speak to one man there the first time I called them, but have not heard anything back from my emails. The man with whom I spoke agreed that something seemed fishy about this matter.

My suspicion is that there is some sort of racket going on, in which they attempt to collect money on the basis of fraudulent parking citations. I hope that I'm incorrect and that it was simply a mistake. But somehow, they got my license plate number and found my mailing address and sent me the citation.

[klgator]

Not quite as deceptive, but, in October of 2012 I traded in my Altima for a Ford C-Max and transferred the tag. Toward the end of the year I got a letter from Miami Dade regarding two parking tickets I had received on 11/11 and noted my tag number.

I sent them an email explaining that, on that date, I was not in Miami but Gainesville attending a football game. Three months later I hear from a collection agency. I sent them documentation concerning the car purchase and transfer of my tag to the new car. I also explained to them I was not in Miami that day.I heard nothing more from them.

This April I received a postcard from Miami Dade informing me that I still owed fines for the two parking tickets and a penalty for late payment. This time I went on their website and researched the fine and found it was for the Altima I had traded in a month earlier. They must have gotten the tag number from the vin number that had not been switched over yet.

I contacted them again and had to jump through hoops to prove that the Altima was no longer owned by me on the day of the parking fines. After two notarized documents on the trade in of my Altima, they finally informed me the fines were dismissed.

[dunblak]

Have repeatedly been contacted by collection agency claiming non-payment of a toll on a highway in Okaloosa County...called the toll officials, county commissioners, sheriff’s office...all told me to ignore it...they finally went away.

[Mozzafiato]

You need to send a letter citing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). I had a similar situation a decade ago regarding a debt that was not mine. Debt collectors harassed me for weeks. I sent one letter and never heard from them again. There are severe penalties if they contact you after receipt of your letter and are unable to provide the evidence requested. There are sample FDCPA cease and desist letters on the internet.

[CodeToad]

I’m glad you could check, and glad that you did. So many people simply pay without checking.

[eyeamok]

You are doing it wrong. Immediately file an Official Complaint of MAIL FRAUD to the US Postmaster.

The term mail fraud refers to any scheme carried out in a fraudulent manner, with the intent of depriving another person of his or her property, or “honest services,” via the U.S. Postal Service, or any other interstate mail carrier. Since 1872, the crime of mail fraud has been classified as a federal offense in the United States, and carries serious penalties. To explore this concept, consider the following mail fraud definition.

https://legaldictionary.net/mail-fraud/

[posterchild]

Yes, sorry I missed the make/model/color part.

[mongrel]

This. Send this letter to Miami and to the collection agency and it will take care of things. It’s very simple.

---

Your Name
Your Address
City, State, Zip

Date:

Name of the Collection Agency
Address
City, State, Zip

Re: Acct #XXXXX

Whom It May Concern:

This will serve as your legal notice under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), to cease all communication with me in regard to the debt referenced above. Do not contact me, or any third parties regarding this debt.

Furthermore, I formally dispute the validity of this debt. Please provide me with documentation that supports why you believe this debt belongs to me, and why you believe I owe this amount. Please send me copies of the original application for this account, any signatures associated with this account, any bills associated with this account, etc.

You are also notified that should any adverse information be placed against my credit reports, appropriate actions will be taken under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Your Name

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If they keep pursuing this without extensive documentation. they are in a heap of trouble. And FDCPA applies to parking tickets.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

That example letter requests cessation of all communication regarding the debt, and also asks for documentation of the debt’s validity. Is that not contradictory?

[max americana]

No, what I did one time is get an attorney involved and make him do the paperwork. You should do the same. Every time these clowns see some fancy law firm on the top of their documentation, they tend to back off.