By  LPJ

Shock and dismay. Together, they equate to totally awful. That’s exactly what I felt today.  Having taken a respite from blogging for a few weeks due to urgent projects, this matter I couldn’t resist reacting to and doing something about it.

I opened my mail today and found a parking citation from the City of Orange for my car parked on August 13, 2024 on a street in Orange when “no parking – street sweeping” sign was up (according to the citation).

For one, I didn’t travel to the Los Angeles area from mid-June to the present.  Neither did my car – or, no one drove my car to LA. My car was parked at my home in Palo Alto that whole time.

Definitely a gross mistake that I stressed over. The citation more than upset me.

I googled telephone numbers to call and found one. The answering machine voice just rattled instructions on where to find data that already were on the citation that I received, like Citation number, date and place of violation, etc. There was no option to speak with a live person.

I googled some more and found information on how to dispute the charge, which meant oodles and oodles of bureaucratic procedures that seemed to be very time-consuming, including consulting with a traffic lawyer.  Awful  punishment for an innocent victim. Remember, I wasn’t in the LA area, nor was my car.

Desperate for help and after an afternoon of information digging on how to resolve the issue, I finally thought of calling the Palo Alto Traffic/Administrative Department. A man answered after the second ring. A good sign. Someone actually answering was huge relief for me at that moment. At least, I could argue and vent and, hopefully, get the help to rectify the mistake.

I am greatly appreciative of the Palo Alto Police Dept. specialist who told me that, to his knowledge, my mischarge has happened to several others in the past and up to recently, and that I am not the only person who complained about receiving a wrong parking citation.  He also explained that this kind of mistake happens when the traffic officer writes down the wrong number in recording the license or other information involved in the violation.

I know that mistakes do happen. But because the mistake charged me wrongly – to be cited for a violation I didn’t commit since myself and my car weren’t in that location at all got me riled up. I’m glad that I had the good sense to call the Palo Alto Police Traffic Department, and spoke with Jarrod Young whom I requested to help resolve this problem.

Speaking with the Palo Alto Police Department has lessened my dismay, though I remain utterly perplexed at this gross blunder from the City of Orange.  I eagerly wait for the outcome. But already, I am thankful to PAPD’s Jarrod Young, who expressed willingness to help.

Linda P. Jacob