A WEB SITE FOR PARKING TICKET HELP
By Larry Jacobs, ABCNews
August 26, 2002
Ever feel like you've been unfairly issued an illegal parking ticket? Rather than just blindly pay the fine, Glenn Bolofsky says his Internet company may be able to help you get the ticket dismissed outright.
At Bolofsky's ParkingTicket.com Web site, drivers can sign up to create an online account that will act as a central help desk for parking violations.
Members pick the city in which they received the parking ticket and provide all of the relevant information.
"Plus we have a list of compelling questions to ask you," says Bolofsky. "Were you dropping off a passenger? Was your vehicle disabled? Was there a medical emergency?"
Bolofsky's staff -- which includes a retired New York City police officer and a former New York City parking violations judge -- will review the information to judge if the ticket is legally valid and determine the best course of action.
If the staff comes up with a valid legal defense, it's sent back to the member via e-mail. Members print out the letter and send it via ordinary postal mail to the appropriate city judge to have the ticket dismissed.
Members will have to pay to use ParkingTickets.com's letter, however. But Bolofsky says the cost -- about half of whatever the original ticket's fine would have been -- is fully refunded if the company's letter fails to get the summons dismissed.
For now, the site can only evaluate parking summonses issued in New York, Washington D.C., and San Francisco. But Bolofsky says the company hopes to add other cities soon.
And of course, not every parking ticket will have a valid defense or legal loophole. If ParkingTickets.com can't find a good defense, it will charge the member a "modest fee" and advise to pay the ticket's original fine.
Sometimes you just can't fight City Hall.
