Stop! You are in Violation of the Law!

Last night while I was perusing my mail I came upon a piece from the City of Los Angeles. Inside was a bright red notice stamped “Delinquent Status”. The letter says that I have failed to satisfy parking citations AND that they have notified the DMV to withhold renewal of my vehicle registration pending resolution. The best line is the following, and I quote: “If you have delinquent citations, your vehicle may be seized.” The amount they say I owe is $110, $17 for a Collection Fee and another $93 for Fine and Penalty. This is for a parking ticket I received on June 3rd. Funny how the city is right on top of anything that is owed to them. When I got this ticket it had actually been quite a while since my last one. I believe it had been over a year since my last, which is pretty rare when living in LA. So, I specifically remember when I paid this one. The ticket said that you could now pay it online. Of course that was my first choice so I logged on and quickly found out there was a $2.00 Processing Fee. Absolutely not, will I pay this fee! Tell me, who processes the payment if you mail it in? Jesus! Next, there is an option to pay by phone. I dial the number and guess what? Yes, another $2.00 Processing Fee. Not gonna do it! It’s principle, dammit. So, I search the house for stamp. Take out my checkbook, and write out a good old fashioned check. I make sure to include the citation number on the check. Then, I place it in the envelope, which is conveniently the ticket itself! Wow, how thoughtful. It’s even pre-addressed! Lovely. The next day, off it goes, into my work “Outgoing US Mail” box. Last night I thought there was a chance it may have gotten lost in the mail. What would happen then? Damn me and my damn principles! I should have just paid the fucking two dollars! Today I look at my checking account online and there it was, check number 1074 for the amount of $45.00, negotiated on June 23rd. I place an order for a copy. The bank has a $3.00 Check Copy Fee. Fuck. Moral of the story, kiddies? When you have a choice, always pay online and get that confirmation number. This is not only going to cost me $3.00 but I now will have to go spend time and money getting this straightened out. Oh yeah, and the kicker is nowhere on the notification does it say anything about what to do if the notice was sent in error. It gives you a choice to Pay by Web, Pay by Phone, By Mail or In Person. The “In Person” option is only a cashiering office. Good luck trying to get it resolved there. In any event, I am going to make sure this gets resolved and that the DMV is notified of their error. I SHOULD get my $3.00 back that I had to pay to get the check copy. Mmm hmmm, that’s gonna happen.