Letters: Jumping through hoops for unjust parking ticket

While it was nice to read about a pleasant experience appealing a parking ticket, a typical interaction is far different ("Giving the boot to gruff image," Wednesday).

My wife recently received a ticket in error due to a malfunctioning kiosk, and she was told by the Philadelphia Parking Authority employee who ticketed her that she should fight the violation. (The first frustration: Why even write up an unjust violation?)

During her first hearing (which involved a nearly two-hour wait followed by a less-than-five-minute hearing), the examiner told her that since she did not have a copy of the violation, she would be found guilty. I later checked the city Traffic Code and confirmed that it is the obligation of PPA to present the ticket as evidence of the violation. It does not matter if the person appealing has a copy or not.

After appealing the first hearing examiner's decision, my wife again had to wait more than two hours past her scheduled hearing time only to be told that our information was correct and that her ticket should have been dismissed in the first place.

My wife needed to take off more than five hours from her job to fight a $36 ticket that should have never been written to begin with. I wonder how many people simply pay for a wrongly issued ticket just to avoid the colossal hassle of dealing with PPA.

Robert C. Levicoff

Philadelphia