Anyone else with an outstanding parking ticket in dispute for ~7 months?

Submitted by BettyKat7 t3_zxjrlx in CambridgeMA

Title says it all: I disputed a parking ticket online in May of 2022, got an email confirmation that the ticket was disputed which states, among other things, that I "will be notified of our determination in writing." Never received any notification/determination.

I finally called the Traffic, Parking & Transportation folks a few months ago, who told me parking ticket disputes are "slightly" delayed due to volume. When I told them it had been many months, they looked up my ticket number and confirmed it was still in dispute/not decided upon, offered to transfer me to someone who could answer my follow-up question about how much longer it might take to hear back...and then (presumably accidentally) disconnected me. I had to go to a meeting and never called them back.

I searched this group on the topic and found posts from ~2 years ago where folks had heard back on a disputed ticket within weeks of the ticket issuance and subsequent dispute. Is this just like a new, post-covid thing (the extreme delay)? I'm almost afraid to call them back and 'alert' them to the ticket, in case the decision goes against me, so I guess I can just leave it in limbo for....forever?...but wonder if perhaps mine just fell through the cracks or if anyone else is in the same boat.

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tennotenno t1_j20t0me wrote

Mine took ~2 months. Then they mailed me something saying "Too bad, pay it anyway."

You can input the ticket number into their website to see if there's been any progress, I think?

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BettyKat7 OP t1_j20titn wrote

interesting...mine is way outside that time frame.

i wish you were right, but unfortunately, there is nowhere on their website to enter a ticket number and check status--only a website to dispute (if i re-enter the ticket # there, it tells me i've reached the maximum number of disputes for this ticket) or a website to pay it.

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zepporamone t1_j21xtil wrote

So, I actually had an issue with this last year but the resolution was ultimately pretty okay...just took ages.

Got a ticket in August or September of 2021 that I disputed. By January, it was still under review and the fact that it was unpaid was preventing me from ordering my 2022 resident pass. After grumbling about it a bit, I decided the $30 wasn't worth the trouble and just paid the ticket in order to get my new permits. Sometime around February or March, I got a notice in the mail that they had finally found in my favor and were going to toss out the ticket and that I would no longer be on the hook for what was now listed as a $0.00 infraction. I was annoyed, grumbled some more, and went about my life. Then, about two months ago (more than a year after the original ticket, 6 or so months after they tossed out the ticket), I suddenly received a $30 check in the mail from the city.

Took forever and a day but everything eventually worked out.

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BettyKat7 OP t1_j24ab31 wrote

ooooooooo....didn't occur to me that this might impact my ability to renew my parking permit. may have to force the issue in the next few months then. thank you for the extra data point!

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suspiciousvole t1_j20wqnz wrote

mine took ~5 months sadly, i assumed they threw out the ticket because it had been so long, but no i just had to pay it anyway

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BettyKat7 OP t1_j20x3zk wrote

lol, welcome to my own secret hope/desire: that they forgot about my ticket and/or it got lost in the shuffle somehow.

january will mark 8 months and counting with no response. i can still dream, can't it?!

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