한번도 가본적 없는 곳에서 부터의 주차위반 고지서

캐나다에서 자주 발생하는 일중에 하나가 주차위반 또는 벌금 고지서이다.

표지판을 잘못읽거나, 서로다른 의도의 표지판으로 발생하는 경우도 있다. 하지만 이것보다 더 황당한 상황도 가끔 발생한다.

사실 꽤 많은 경우, 한번도 가본적 없는 곳에서 주차 위반되었다고 고지서를 받는다. 꽤나 황당한 일이 아닐수 없다.

아래 사진이 필자에게 한달전 위반 했다고 하는곳이다. 몇년전 그 근방을 전철타고 3블럭 정도 떨어진 곳에 가본적이 있다. 하지만, 차를 가지고 간적도, 지나친 적도 없다.

이 경우 한국처럼 경찰서에서 해결하지 않는다. 고지서에 있는 위치인 'Customer Service Centre'에 가서 논쟁을 해야한다.

이곳을 방문할때 분쟁에 대비해, 다른곳에 있었다는 증빙이 있으면좋다. 예를 들면, 회사 출입 카드등이 그것이다. 그리고 차량 등록증과 벌금고지서를 챙겨간다.

아래는, 이런 경우 준비하라고 하는 캐네디언의 권장사항 이다.

- information about the vehicle (차량 등록증)

- gets copy of the ticket (주차위반 고지서)

- you have to provide proof that you are innocent (무죄증빙 할 수 있는것)

토론토 스타 신문에도 이렇게 황당한 고지서를 받는 경우가 많다고 기사에 나왔었지만, 이러한 문제가 해결될 기미는 보이지 않는다고 한다.

기사에서 담당자는 사진에 찍힌것을 자동으로 스캐닝하는데, 문제가 있었다고 해명할뿐이다.

캐나다 정부의 돈벌이란, 국민을 상대로 하고있나 의심되는 부분이다. 국민은 정부운영기구의 덤테기다당 조심해야 한다고 생각된다. 

[기사전문]

Woman who has never been to Ottawa gets a parking ticket there

When Emma Gardner received a letter demanding payment last week, she knew something was wrong

When Emma Gardner received her first parking ticket in the mail last week, she knew something was wrong.

“It said I was parked on private property in Ottawa, where I’ve never been before,” she said.

As well never having visited the capital, Gardner said she was working a 12-hour shift nannying in Milton on Aug. 21, the day of the supposed “unauthorized parking on private property” infraction.

Shortly after getting the $75 ticket, she called the City of Ottawa. City staff quickly realized there had been a glitch and cancelled the ticket.

Although Gardner and her boyfriend, Joe Filion, are relieved the mistake was quickly corrected, they said it’s alarming the glitch happened at all.

“The fact that it could actually happen is kind of nerve-wracking because it almost feels like they could just throw in any (plate) number,” Filion said. “Someone that’s never even been to a city can get a parking ticket.”

The “reading error” happened when the correct, handwritten ticket was scanned into the provincial court tracking system, Christine Hartig, Ottawa’s strategic initiatives project officer, wrote in an email.

“One of the digits of the plate number on the vehicle for which the ticket was originally issued was incorrectly scanned … and therefore was attributed to Ms. Gardner’s vehicle,” Hartig said.

When Gardner called in, staff checked with the Ministry of Transportation and realized Gardner drives a Ford and the ticket was given to a Chrysler parked at the Greenbank Ave. address. Plus, Hartig said, the plate expiry dates didn’t match.

“This is a very rare occurrence,” Hartig said.

She said that to her knowledge, it’s the first time this type of error has been brought to the department’s attention.

Russ Stallberg, who runs fightyourtickets.ca, said it’s concerning because it may indicate parking attendants are rushed, making errors more likely.

The actual owner probably discarded the ticket on the car or didn’t notice it, he said, and the infraction was wrongly linked to Gardner because of the mistaken plate number, so the letter was sent to her.

He said he’s heard of only a few similar situations in Winnipeg and Vancouver.

“I’m not so sure it’s rare, but we don’t hear about it enough to know whether it’s rare or not,” he said, adding some people might just pay the ticket rather than going to the trouble of questioning it.

Gardner, 21, said that although the $75 fine (plus court costs of $16) wouldn’t put a dent in the budgets of some people, it would have been significant for her. “It’s a lot of money,” said Gardner, who purchased her car last year and works two jobs.

At first, she said she thought the ticket could have been fraudulent. But it looked real and had her plate, address and full name.

She said some of the language on the letter — such as “notice of impending conviction” — made her feel intimidated. But she said she didn’t want to give in and pay, in part because she was more than a five-hour drive away from where the ticket suggested she was.

“I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong,” Gardner said. “I knew I wasn’t parked there.”

nerve-rack·ing : causing stress or anxiety.