Booted!

[gwuMACaddict]

ARGH!

Left work today to find that my car had been booted. Too many unpaid DC parking tickets.

Stuck at work for another 1-2 hours until someone comes to remove the boot.

ARGH!

oh, by the way... ARGH!

 

[iGary]

ARGH!

Left work today to find that my car had been booted. Too many unpaid DC parking tickets.

Stuck at work for another 1-2 hours until someone comes to remove the boot.

ARGH!

oh, by the way... ARGH!

That sucks...and oh, christ, I have an unpaid DC ticket somewhere....

 

[gwuMACaddict]

Eligable for a boot after two tickets, unpaid, older than 30days.

I knew I had a few, just thought I was safe

 

[clayj]

I agree that it sucks, but surely you didn't think you'd be able to avoid paying those tickets forever? Actions have consequences.

 

[gwuMACaddict]

I agree that it sucks, but surely you didn't think you'd be able to avoid paying those tickets forever? Actions have consequences.

of course i knew i'd have to pay them, but i hadn't gotten around to it. i figured that you had to have WAY more than just 2 outstanding fines to be booted.

but thanks for the smart remark

 

[iGary]

Eligable for a boot after two tickets, unpaid, older than 30days.

I knew I had a few, just thought I was safe

That's one thing I hated about DC. My car was broken into, a brick was thrown through the windshield and the roofrack was ripped off my boss' truck all on the same street, and I got the following warning one morning (it was left on the car at 3 a.m.):

Your car has been parked in this zone more than twice in the last 180 calendar days. You must register your vehicle in DC....blah de blah de blah...

This was when I had just moved to DC.

So they have meter maids out at 3 a.m., but no cops apparently.

Hate that effing city.

 

[mac-er]

of course i knew i'd have to pay them, but i hadn't gotten around to it. i figured that you had to have WAY more than just 2 outstanding fines to be booted.

but thanks for the smart remark

I just read on the DC website that you pay double the fine after 30 days, and they sent a letter to your house.

You weren't planning on paying because I don't know anyone who wouldn't take the time to pay online so they wouldn't have to pay double the ticket amount.

If you don't pay or contest the parking ticket within 30 calendar days, a penalty equal to the fine amount is added. The ticket is now considered delinquent, and a notice will be mailed to the registered owner's address of record.

If you fail to respond to the ticket within 60 days by paying or contesting the ticket, the ticket goes into default. You may not contest a ticket in default and must pay all fines and penalties (A $5 default fee is added to the ticket after the 60-day period).

Vehicles can be booted for 2 or more delinquent tickets.

 

[clayj]

of course i knew i'd have to pay them, but i hadn't gotten around to it. i figured that you had to have WAY more than just 2 outstanding fines to be booted.

but thanks for the smart remark

Oh, you're quite welcome.

Seriously, what happens when they come to remove the boot? Are you expected to pay the fines before they'll remove it? And how big of parking tickets are we talking about, anyway?

 

[gwuMACaddict]

Good Grief...

Little sympathy on a wednesday afternoon, eh?

I never received letters, and when i paid online (after being booted) none of the tickets had doubled- and one was older than 60days.

 

[gwuMACaddict]

3 $30 tickets, plus a boot fee of $50

 

[Lord Blackadder]

3 $30 tickets, plus a boot fee of $50

Sheesh, a cheap angle grinder costs way less than that. Cut those b*stards off and chuck 'em.

Good Grief...

Little sympathy on a wednesday afternoon, eh?

Don't feel too bad....just go dig up my speeding ticket thread and see all the guff I got instead of commiseration.

 

[watcher2001]

i figured that you had to have WAY more than just 2 outstanding fines to be booted.

Used to be in the old days of towing that was true.

Think about the time and effort it took
1: you had to get a tow truck out to tow the car to the impound lot. (This costs time for the tow truck driver, the truck itself, the officers time waiting on the truck etc. That plus the time and expense of maintaining the impound lot.

2: If the owner of the car does not come out while this is happening then they usually have to deal with a stolen car report. (This happened to my wife one time at school.) Once again more time taken up by the dispatcher and the officer.

With the boot it is soooo much easier for them. All they have to do is pull it out of their trunk and screw you. Takes all of five minutes. Then once you have paid not only your tickets, but the $50 "boot fee" you are off the hook. What a scam

 

[dodonutter]

Whats Booting?? assuming its clamping a car (as its called in the UK).

ie this <<

 

[Lord Blackadder]

With the boot it is soooo much easier for them. All they have to do is pull it out of their trunk and screw you. Takes all of five minutes. Then once you have paid not only your tickets, but the $50 "boot fee" you are off the hook. What a scam

You see, it used to be about punishing us for breaking the law. But nowadays third-rate city bureaucrats have discovered that they can use traffic/parking violations as a means to extract money from the residents of the community.

 

[mac-er]

Sheesh, a cheap angle grinder costs way less than that. Cut those b*stards off and chuck 'em.

Glad to see you have such respect for the laws of man. I'm sure you extend your morals to all parts of your life. I wouldn't trust you farther than I could throw you.

You see, it used to be about punishing us for breaking the law. But nowadays third-rate city bureaucrats have discovered that they can use traffic/parking violations as a means to extract money from the residents of the community.

I love how everything is a scam or whatever. Of course, only people who think laws don't apply to them think these things are scams.

Booting is a cost-effective way to get people who cannot respect the law to pay their tickets (or follow the parking laws in the first place).

 

[Jon'sLightBulbs]

Sheesh, a cheap angle grinder costs way less than that. Cut those b*stards off and chuck 'em.
.

OH. Moderators. This guy is advocating illegal action! Seize him!

Has it ever occured to anyone that you don't get cited if you don't break rules? Here are a few words of commiseration for you: Ha. Ha. Ha!

 

[Jon'sLightBulbs]

You see, it used to be about punishing us for breaking the law. But nowadays third-rate city bureaucrats have discovered that they can use traffic/parking violations as a means to extract money from the residents of the community.

Parking violations are laws too!

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Glad to see you have such respect for the laws of man. I'm sure you extend your morals to all parts of your life. I wouldn't trust you farther than I could throw you.

Of course you are entitled to your opinion, but there's no need to jump behind the pulpit. Re: the angle grinder - I was excercising wit, perhaps? I don't think it would be possible to make an accurate judgement of my true character based on forum posts...

Most civic governments prefer to use monetary fines as a way to encourage abing the law. But oftentimes it gets a bit excessive. I suppose that's the point (and it's better than jail or community service etc.), but I can hardly be expected to like it.

Booting - not neccessarily a bad idea. But fines can get gratuitous - they can make them as large as they want, or rather as large as they think they might actually be able to collect.

 

[mac 2005]

Ever hear of karma?

For all of you who think you're a bit better than the poster because s/he got a car boot and saw fit to share an ARGH! with the rest of us, may karma soon visit you! And it will.

 

[clayj]

For all of you who think you're a bit better than the poster because s/he got a car boot and saw fit to share an ARGH! with the rest of us, may karma soon visit you! And it will.

Karma has nothing to do with this. He got parking tickets (presumably, because he parked illegally), he failed to pay them, and the wheel of fortune happened to come up with "his car + alert parking patrol officer = boot". It's not like they booted his car for no reason... he's admitted to 3 unpaid tickets and the rules say if you do that, you get booted.

I ain't laughing, and I don't think it's funny that this happened... it's just what happens when you break the rules. Were I in the same position of having received parking tickets (as I have done a couple of times in the distant past), I would have paid them right away. I don't need The Man hassling me any more than he already does.

 

[gwuMACaddict]

I posted to let off a little steam...

The boot has already been removed, and I'm already home. There was some minor frustration.

You folks that tell me I got what I deserved- yes, I guess I did- but I bet if you wanted to blow of some steam, I'd listen to you and not act like a wanker.

 

[andiwm2003]

For all of you who think you're a bit better than the poster because s/he got a car boot and saw fit to share an ARGH! with the rest of us, may karma soon visit you! And it will.

unless kharma's car goot booted too.

 

[mac-er]

For all of you who think you're a bit better than the poster because s/he got a car boot and saw fit to share an ARGH! with the rest of us, may karma soon visit you! And it will.

No one said he or she was better than the bootee.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

OH. Moderators. This guy is advocating illegal action! Seize him!

Has it ever occured to anyone that you don't get cited if you don't break rules? Here are a few words of commiseration for you: Ha. Ha. Ha!

That's simply in bad taste.

I'm not shirking responsibility or advocating lawlessness, merely expressing frustration. Law enforcement, like any bureacracy, can be clumsy and heavy handed at times.

 

[mac-er]

OMost civic governments prefer to use monetary fines as a way to encourage abing the law. But oftentimes it gets a bit excessive. I suppose that's the point (and it's better than jail or community service etc.), but I can hardly be expected to like it.

So, how do you propose governments punish people who don't pay those fines? More fines?