My Pittsburgh Parking Court Battle

When I visited Pittsburgh in December, I helped the economy by staying at a hotel, eating at restaurants, and visiting several attractions. Sure, there were taxes associated with all of these purchases, but I also gave money directly to the city of Pittsburgh courtesy of a parking ticket. I paid the ticket by mail but then received a letter regarding late fees. I was not happy, so I sent my own letter back appealing the fee. I'm sharing all of this since the statute of limitations may have expired by now. At least, I hope they expired.

Dear Pittsburgh Parking Court,

I am writing regarding parking ticket number [redacted]. I received the ticket on Wednesday, December 28, 2022 after the meter expired near Mercy Hospital. I was in Pittsburgh visiting [redacted again] for [a reason] at Mercy Hospital. 

Sean's Note: I probably should have combined these two sentences, but I wanted to make a point that I was at a hospital and not just galavanting around town.

I paid for 2 hours of parking, and when the meter was about to expire, I attempted to add more time using the app. Unfortunately, I had difficulties using the app and then assisting [redacted one more time] during the discharge process. By the time I returned to my car, the meter expired and I received the $40 ticket. I am not disputing the ticket itself.

The reason that I'm writing is about the late fees currently on my account. On January 19, 2023, I called the Pittsburgh Parking Authority since I knew the ticket due date was January 18th, and I was concerned that the check had not been processed and my account showed a late fee. The representative I talked to assured me that there would be no late fee as long as the envelope was postmarked by the due date. However, as of today, January 31st, there is now a second late fee even though the $40 check has been processed. When I talked to the Pittsburgh Parking Authority representative today, she said that the payment must be received by the due date in order to avoid late fees which completely contradicts my conversation two weeks ago. She also suggested that I could appeal the late fee by writing this letter. 

Again, I am not appealing the ticket and paid the $40. I am appealing the additional $38 from two separate late fees since I feel that I paid my original ticket on time. In addition, I question why there is a second late fee when I was led to believe that my original payment was sufficient. 

Thank you for your consideration.

Although I never received a response, when I checked my account balance online several weeks later, it showed $0. I guess case closed!

Now might also be the time to mention one key point to this story. The reason for the late fee was because I didn't want to pay the $2.95 processing fee for paying the parking ticket online. Instead, I spent 60 cents for a stamp to mail the original payment, another 60 cents for another stamp for the appeal letter, and way too much time talking with officials in Pittsburgh (or waiting on hold before talking to them) and writing the letter. I definitely showed that online payment system!