• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

time given to pay a ticket

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

I

imwillowalso

Guest
Hi,
I live in Southern California.Los Angeles.This is a long story but necessary for it to be one so you can understand the whole deal.I got my first ticket not too long ago.My boyfriend got one also.Both for no safety belts.I admit it was my fault and was willing to pay it.I don't drive and have no past record of even something as minor as a jay walking ticket.I have a perfectly clean record.

There were 2 officers that pulled us over.The two officers gave us tickets.One gave him one-the other gave me one.I asked the officer how long I had to pay it.He told me May 10th.I glanced at my boyfriends ticket which was set on top of mine-it said May 10.I figured they were both basically the same dates so I never looked at mine.(I should have looked at it but considering everything I do have a fairly valid reason for not doing that)

My boyfriends said May 10 .Mine didn't-the officer had written down April 10th-not May 10th but I didn't see that because I hadn't looked at mine.I was figuring that we were both given the same due dates considering we got them at the same time.We recieved the tickets on March 26.I now have $455 to pay for failure to appear charges.

We went to the clerks window at the court house to pay them before May 10.The girl there even agreed that there was a mistake made somewhere.She consulted her supervisor who also agreed something was wrong but said it would have to be cleared by a judge.So she arranged court dates for us on the same day so he could be there too & we could explain what the situation was.

I went in and tried to explain the situation and the judge (he wasn't a real judge either-he was a lawyer acting as a judge)would not even let me finish what I was trying to explain.He was unwilling to hear it.He said did you sign the ticket.I said yes-but the officer told me May 10th-my boyfriends ticket said May 10th so I was figuring mine was too and never looked at it.He would not listen.He set a court date for a trial.

The bail was set at $285 dollars due by June 1.
I will have the money by Friday June 1-but not until after the courthouse closes.My boyfriend does not get paid til the end of the day on the 1st.So-first big questions.Will they add onto it if it is brought in first thing Monday morning ??Will they accept it even?I will not be able to get it until after the courthouse closes.If I went to the 24 hour post office near LAX and sent it registered mail and could show proof I had sent payment on the due date would they still give me even more fines?Or would they have to let it gho because I had sent it in before it was over due?

Also everyone I know & have asked about this has told me they have always been given 30 days or longer before payment is due.I was given barely 2 weeks.

And it's not like i've ever had tickets or had any failure to appear charges on my record.I have never had a ticket until now and had planned on paying before it was due.I cannot afford the $455 owed because of this & I honestly think the officer made a mistake on the date.

Are they supposed to give you a certain amount of time to pay a ticket?Is there any law that states this?If so where can I get proof of this?

I was given less than half the time to pay than my boyfriend was and it's my first ticket ever.My boyfriend on the other hand has a lead foot and a bad driving record for getting tickets.His car insurance is like a yoyo anymore.

Can you help me on this please?I don't mind paying the safety belt ticket.I am guilty of that.It's the failure to appear that's getting me upset because I don't feel it was fair to me the way it all happened.I appreciate any help you can give me on this.I am not trying to avoid paying my ticket either.It's the other problem that I am most concerned about.I don't have the money to pay it and it does not seem right if we were both given tickets but one got 2 weeks to pay and the other well over a month to pay.Plus both my kids birthdays are in the next 2 weeks and this was their present money that I am forced to pay for bail instead.Nice huh?

One thing I forgot to mention.We did recieve notices from the court house on them.The notice from the courts that is.And those were recieved on or around April 20th-it was within a day or two of that date.I can't recall exactly when we got them though-but it was about that time.This was way after my due date on the ticket.I opened only one -his.I saw what his said & I figured I had enough time because we were planning on paying two days from then or there abouts and set mine off to the side til later.I recieved the second one saying I owed $455 for failure to appear 2 days later.Anyways thanks again for any help you can give me
Willow
 



Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top