Three tickets - all obviously not mine - except to PVB

[EricMacWright]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY.

I have a situation, which in my mind (and anyone else's I've told the story to) shouldn't even be a situation.
I've received three separate tickets from the North Babylon area (close to NYC):
- No registration
- No inspection
- No license plates

I found out about these tickets in the form of a letter that said I was delinquent in payment, so the original $275 bill for the tickets was now $500 with late fees. The problem is, none of these tickets are mine.
Here are the facts about the tickets:
The description of the vehicle on the ticket is a White Dodge Ram, my vehicle is a Grey Ford F150.
The area of the tickets is nowhere close to where I live (approximately 6 hours away), and I haven't been anywhere within 100 miles of the ticketing area in the last 3 years.
My truck at the time that the ticket was issues was un-drivable. I blew a solenoid coil in the beginning of the winter and waited unit spring to fix it. Received the ticket in Feb. My mechanic can vouch for the trucks condition.
I was at an appointment the day that the ticket was issued, which I could get proof of if need be.
The truck is something I use to work on my house, to go back and forth to home depot/lowes, it's not reliable enough to drive to NYC.

I've spoken with multiple people in the Parking violations bureau, as well as the town attorneys office, and they all tell me that I need to show up in person to fight it. This seems ridiculous to me given the situation. I work 2 jobs, so in order to fight it in person I'd have to take a minimum of one day, most likely two days off of both jobs to go down there. Then there's gas, hotel, food, etc. I've explained that I can provide them with any proof they need, but I've insisted that the description being completely wrong, and there being no plates that I shouldn't have to. The one thing they keep repeating to me is that the original ticket written had the make of the vehicle written as Ford, which was then crossed out, and replaced with Dodge...which is "peculiar", and they tell me requires me to show up. I think it makes logical sense. The officer/issuer grabbed the vin number, walked back to his/her car, punched in the number and it came up with my information. They started to write the ticket, with the make of car the vin number was attached to (Ford), and crossed it out and replaced it with the description of the truck they were looking at (White Dodge Ram). Why they didn't double check the vin number, or throw the ticket out I'll never know. I can't think of one reason that they would be looking at a Grey Ford F150, punch in the vin number, see Grey Ford F150 on their screen, and then write the ticket out for a White Dodge Ram.

What can I do to get this taken care of, without having to needlessly drive 12 hours and take 2 days off to fight this?

 

[Zigner]

You may be able to hire an attorney to handle this.

 

[You Are Guilty]

At the risk of improper "advertising", if you google "ny parking ticket attorney", at least two of the results from the front page are outfits who specialize in parking tickets, one of which is located in Long Island.

Might want to drop them a line.

 

[BL]

Why not gest go and request them to be dropped with your proofs. Cheaper.

 

[HighwayMan]

What information on the tickets identifies the vehicle if there were no license plates?

 

[FlyingRon]

what information on the tickets identifies the vehicle if there were no license plates?

vin?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

 

[EricMacWright]

The only thing that "identified" this as my vehicle, and I use air quotes as strongly as I can, is the vin number. There were no plates, no registration, only the vin number. Which I'm continually told, comes back to my vehicle and plates. By which they mean the vin number that was entered belongs to my truck, which has the plates (they listed as not being on the truck at the time) registered to.
I've been trying to get them to take care of these for well over a month...keep moving to the next person. Someone is supposedly looking into it and said they'll be asking for more information, which I've said I can supply pictures, affidavits, anything that they would like.
What I'm not understanding, with tickets like this, is if literally nothing matches (wrong make, model, color, location) then how is the answer that I need to do one of the following:
1. Drive down and pay however much money and take 2 days off of my jobs to fight these.
2. Pay a lawyer to fight these tickets.
3. Pay the tickets.

Seems like the answer is, there is an obvious mistake, they should be just thrown out.

 

[BL]

Why two days ,you complainn set up a time ,that's it.

 

[EricMacWright]

Why two days ,you complainn set up a time ,that's it.

It's a 6 hour drive each way for me. I'd have to show up by 9 in the morning, and people are taken on a first come first serve basis. So I'd have to leave the day/night before, meaning I'd have to take a day off of my night job. When I get done, even if it was at 10 am, I wouldn't get home until 4/5 o'clock which means I would miss a day from my day job. So 2 days.

And the meeting that I'd be driving down for wouldn't be with the judge that ultimately decides, it's a preliminary hearing with the town attorney who decided whether or not to make me come back for court.

 

[Zigner]

Look, it's simple. Pay it, go in and contest it, or hire an attorney. Those are your three options as I see them. It's all about the money at this point.

 

[HighwayMan]

Well, DOES the VIN on the tickets match the VIN on your truck?

If you don't have the tickets then contact the court to get copies of the original tickets.

This should be fairly straightforward to fight.