Failure to appear for traffic citation

[brittfish1]

California, L.A. County

I received a ticket in May for my brake light being out. The ticket was for $25 and I was supposed to go to the police station to to prove I fixed it. I fixed the brake light the next day but forgot to pay the ticket and did not show up for my court date, which was in July.

I just got a letter in the mail from a collections agency saying I now owe $879.00 for not showing up for my court date. The letter says "a civil assessment in the amount of up to $300 has been added to your unpaid balance." I don't understand why the fine is now $879.

Is there any way for me to fight this or at least reduce this fine? I know I made a mistake in not taking care of this in a timely manner and have to face the consequences, but I don't have the money to pay this whole fine. I would at least like an explanation of the extra charges.

Thanks!

 

[CdwJava]

California, L.A. County

I received a ticket in May for my brake light being out. The ticket was for $25 and I was supposed to go to the police station to to prove I fixed it. I fixed the brake light the next day but forgot to pay the ticket and did not show up for my court date, which was in July.

That's bad. The $25 fee would have been for showing proof of correction by the court date. You did not do that so you will be liable for the FULL fine.

I just got a letter in the mail from a collections agency saying I now owe $879.00 for not showing up for my court date. The letter says "a civil assessment in the amount of up to $300 has been added to your unpaid balance." I don't understand why the fine is now $879.

Fines, penalties, assessments, and collections fees.

Once upon a time they used to issue arrest warrants for this. Now, you only have to deal with money.

Oh, and your driver's license will probably be suspended.

Is there any way for me to fight this or at least reduce this fine? I know I made a mistake in not taking care of this in a timely manner and have to face the consequences, but I don't have the money to pay this whole fine. I would at least like an explanation of the extra charges.

The collections agency should be able to provide you this information.

You can also contact the court and see if there is any chance to get the matter before a court, but that is unlikely at this point.

 

[asiny]

Is there any way for me to fight this or at least reduce this fine? I know I made a mistake in not taking care of this in a timely manner and have to face the consequences, but I don't have the money to pay this whole fine. I would at least like an explanation of the extra charges.

Thanks!

Yes. You do have to pay the whole fine. You can certainly request for an explanation but "a civil assessment in the amount of up to $300 has been added to your unpaid balance" seems to be an explanation.

You forgot to respond- the court had ruled against you- case closed. Lesson for next time- don't forget your legal obligations next time.

 

[Captain Picard]

I wonder why I have turned down job opportunities in CA? hummm, cause they are crazy out there? Bingo !

You can file to vacate the default judgment...don't know it such a mistake would allow the court to re-open the case but you may get a judge that sees a 900 fine as excessive for such a minor issue.

A request to vacate default judgments have no strict time limits but good cause is usually needed to be shown.

 

[HighwayMan]

Failing to answer a traffic ticket is NOT a minor issue.

 

[CdwJava]

I wonder why I have turned down job opportunities in CA? hummm, cause they are crazy out there? Bingo !

I see .. it is "crazy" to seek to hold people accountable for failing to appear in court? Really? The answer to that is real easy, I suppose. We can just do away with citations and send everyone to jail even for traffic citations. Would that be LESS "crazy?"

Fortunately for the original poster, CA has largely done away with issuing "bench" arrest warrants for FTAs. Unfortunately, the OP now has a huge fee to pay and, possibly, a suspended license.

Unfortunately, it will be an uphill fight to get a court to vacate the matter without a REAL GOOD excuse.

 

[asiny]

I see .. it is "crazy" to seek to hold people accountable for failing to appear in court? Really? The answer to that is real easy, I suppose. We can just do away with citations and send everyone to jail even for traffic citations. Would that be LESS "crazy?"

I thank you for backing me up on this- Much appreciated... at least I got one thing right
When I know I am right on something, it really makes me question myself when someone returns with reasoning that sounds like it could be valid, even though I know I am right....

Unfortunately, it will be an uphill fight to get a court to vacate the matter without a REAL GOOD excuse.

I don't think 'I forgot' falls under that category

 

[brittfish1]

It's a relief to know there's not a warrant out for my arrest, b/c I wasn't sure how that worked. Like I said, I know I made a huge mistake and have to pay the consequences, I just want to exhaust all of my options and get as much information as I can since this is such a huge amount of money.

I'm going to the Chatsworth court tomorrow to see if I can talk to someone about revisiting this case. Since I have no experience with challenging a ticket (I've paid all my other traffic/parking tickets without contest), I'm wondering if anyone has more advice on what this process would look like?

CONSTRUCTIVE ADVICE ONLY, PLEASE! If you're just going to tell me how I screwed up and have to pay the price, please don't bother responding to this thread.

Thanks!

 

[asiny]

I'm going to the Chatsworth court tomorrow to see if I can talk to someone about revisiting this case. Since I have no experience with challenging a ticket (I've paid all my other traffic/parking tickets without contest), I'm wondering if anyone has more advice on what this process would look like?

CONSTRUCTIVE ADVICE ONLY, PLEASE! If you're just going to tell me how I screwed up and have to pay the price, please don't bother responding to this thread.

Thanks!

There is no process. Your chance to challenge sailed back in July.
At this time your only recourse is to pay the fine and move along.
Have you been to the DMV to see if your licence has been suspended for not paying a fine? It could well be, you just have not been pulled over yet and- when you are (if suspended)- you could be facing charges for driving on a suspended licence that will make these fines look like pennies.