Let App WinIt fight your parking ticket.

Renting or buying a parking space just isn’t possible for many city-goers. The most expensive parking spaces in the world can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. That kind of private parking is just plain out of the reaches of most people. For the rest of us, there are parking tickets. If you don’t pay a parking ticket, you can end up facing serious penalties.

Fortunately, the cost of parking tickets isn’t nearly as high as the cost of traffic tickets. But they can still break the bank. These penalties can include late fees, vehicle confiscation, debt collections, and so much more. Although the penalties vary from state to state and city to city, there are a few that are more common than others.

Late Fees

When you get a ticket, first you have to decide whether you want to pay. Three traffic ticket plea options sometimes apply to parking tickets. If you don’t want to pay a parking ticket, you should plead not guilty. That starts the dispute process.

But even if you plead not guilty and miss your payment date, you could be liable for late fees. In states like New York, you usually have about 90 days to pay the ticket. That tends to be long after your hearing, but not always. If you don’t pay your ticket by then, you can get a $60 late fee. That price goes up every month you don’t pay. 

Traffic Enforcement Agents Can Tow or Boot Your Vehicle

From Friends to How I Met Your Mother, most people know the iconic image of a boot on a car. Unfortunately, it’s a lot less funny in real life. If you don’t pay a parking ticket in time, you might find yourself in a similar situation.

Not only can they boot your car, but some cities can even tow your vehicle and hold it until you’ve paid. In those cases, not only could you have to pay the parking ticket and late fees, you might also have to pay the towing fees.

The Court Can Suspend Your Driver License or Registration

Many states have laws enabling courts to suspend your driving privileges for failure to pay. That is often the case for traffic tickets, but it can also apply to unpaid parking tickets.

Failure to pay multiple parking tickets can result in a court suspending your license, registration, or both. This is a kind of indefinite suspension that lasts until you pay the ticket. Sometimes, the court will lift the suspension after one year, regardless of whether or not you pay the fines. But that’s rare.

You Can End Up Dealing with Debt Collectors

Debt collectors know money when they see it. Oftentimes, courts will sell your fines to a debt collection agency, which will then hunt you down and demand payments. These agencies can add attorneys’ fees and court costs on top of what you owe the city. They can then report this debt to credit agencies, which will cause your credit score could drop by 105 points.

The Court can Confiscate Your Vehicle

New York City has a few different laws that allow the government to confiscate your vehicle. One of those has to do with unpaid parking tickets. If you don’t pay a parking ticket, you have the option to give the city your car instead. The city then sells it at action, uses the sale to pay off your parking tickets, and keeps the rest for itself.

The Court Can Issue a Warrant for Your Arrest

Another possible penalty is an arrest warrant. Officially called bench warrants, courts can issue these warrants in the form of a mandatory notice to appear. Police officers will then hunt you down, arrest you, and take you to face the judge.

Fortunately, there’s no such thing as a criminal ticket for parking violations in most places, so you won’t actually go to jail.

If You Can’t Pay Your Parking Ticket, Fight It

If you don’t want to pay a parking ticket or can’t afford to, you should fight it. If you use attorneys like those on the WinIt app, you might save up to 50% on your ticket’s fine. That could go a long way to helping you get out of the rest of the consequences, like surcharges and debt collections.

For more information on parking tickets and how to fight them, comment below. Our parking ticket experts will respond as soon as possible. If you have an urgent concern or a ticket that needs handling right away, contact a lawyer directly via the WinIt App. In the meantime, check our blog for other helpful information.