Detroit Parking Violations Bur — Attraction in Detroit

I received an over due parking notice in the mail for a date and time that I was NEVER in Detroit. I was at my place of employment on this date / time that I can prove by time stamps. Clearly, this was an instance of someone writing down the wrong license plate number and it happened to match mine. I called the City of Detroit Parking Violations Bureau to get this issue resolved, naively thinking I would have a conversation that would have a positive outcome. Instead what I was faced with was the most unprofessional conversation I have ever had. The ever so charming, Crystal, who works for the department, was completely rude with me from the beginning when I explained my situation. She accused me of lying about my car not being in Detroit at that time and hung up on me - twice. Never have I been treated so poorly by someone on the phone, and this is supposed to be a "representative" of Detroit - what a joke! My only options are to now take time off work to contest it and I do not even live by Detroit. Also, on my over due notice there's no accountability. There's no officer, no description of my car etc. The only proof they have is my license plate number, which as I was saying, must have been written down wrong in the first place. Just be warned, even if you get a over due notice for never even being in the city or remotely near it- don't bother holding your breath for professionalism or decency and be prepared to lose your cool. They don't care about you at ALL and just want their money...

I had a parking ticket due 8/31 and I tried to pay it on 8/28 online/by phone. Phone system was down and hung up on me repeatedly, website wouldn't even load, app wouldn't load, so I said ok their system is down and mailed a check on 8/29 at the post office, thinking they'll honor the postmarked date. The city didn't cash it until 9/5 and sent me a late fee notice (dated 9/3 which I didn't receive until 9/14). They said IT DOESN'T MATTER WHEN MY PAYMENT IS POSTMARKED, only when the person processes it. Are parking tickets due in 30 days, or whenever someone gets around to it? Do I pay a late fee if someone has a sick day? How would I know they would wait 6 days to cash it from the mail date? I would have been diligent to pay it before it was due if I'd known, obviously. The unsympathetic CSR told me I "had other moments to pay," and yes, that's not a fact I'm disputing, but what is the point of "due in 30 days" if you don't follow your own rules or have functioning payment options, Detroit? Your "sent" dates matter, but mine don't?! They issued me a late fee, didn't send it for over a week, still cashed my check, and then told me I'm in danger of getting a 2nd late fee on a ticket I already paid on time. Thousands of my income is taxed as a resident for these services, and apparently late fees for your negligence are mine...

I parked 10 feet away from a crosswalk, with a sign right next to the spot which says "Park Detroit, pay at the meter" (See photo) What a scam to ticket people $45 dollars plus the parking they already paid. There was no danger to anyone in this situation and plenty of space.

The hearings lady didn't budge when I went to explain this. She told me that the law is the law and it should be enforced. She didn't care at all that I've never had any violations in 16 years of driving. She didn't care about the sign inviting people to park. Why couldn't they have placed the sign 20 feet away from the crosswalk? Why not write on the sign, parking/no parking with arrows?

Sure, we can follow the law 100% to the letter, losing all elements of decency and humanity, being exactly like machines. What purpose do you serve if you can't take the spirit of the law into consideration? Detroit can do better than this. Please judge lady, find the love buried in your sad, cold heart.

I'm appealing this decision. I will update the post later on. I still have some hope that the magistrate will fix this. Finally, I will say that the security guard and front desk lady are very nice people. God bless them....