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few hour later for pay my speeding ticket. need help

joe choijoe choi Registered User regular
edited December 2014 in Help / Advice Forum
I got a ticket last month. and the due day is yesterday before 9 am.
But i went there at 3 p.m
they told me to pay the late fee,$250.
I don't want to pay it. so the worker arrangement me to go to court next Monday, and see what the judge will do.
I think it is unfair fee.
before that, i tired to pay it online, but i can't found any record about my ticket online. so i can not paid it online.
I am an international student. i had a hard time to understand what the police told me.
I believed he told me to wait until i get a ticket in my mailbox. then i can pay it.
but i receive no letter.
I know is my fault to being late. but i am an international student, and first time to get a ticket($120 speeding ticket)
I really don't know what to do.
I am not rich enough to pay this unfair late fee.
will the judge remove my late fee? I just being late for few hour...
I am so sad right now.
i can not sleep because of the unfair late fee....
I hope some one can help me. and i will be very appreciative

joe choi on

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    joe choijoe choi Registered User regular
    joe choi wrote: »
    I got a ticket last month. and the due day is yesterday before 9 am.
    But i went there at 3 p.m
    they told me to pay the late fee,$250.
    I don't want to pay it. so the worker arrangement me to go to court next Monday, and see what the judge will do.
    I think it is unfair fee.
    before that, i tired to pay it online, but i can't found any record about my ticket online. so i can not paid it online.
    I am an international student. i had a hard time to understand what the police told me.
    I believed he told me to wait until i get a ticket in my mailbox. then i can pay it.
    but i receive no letter.
    I know is my fault to being late. but i am an international student, and first time to get a ticket($120 speeding ticket)
    I am not rich enough to pay this unfair late fee.
    will the judge remove my late fee? I am so sad right now.
    i can not sleep because of the unfair late fee....
    I hope some one can help me. and i will be very appreciative

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    PacificstarPacificstar Registered User regular
    Get a friend to go with you, you can contest the ticket. Sometimes the cop doesn't show up and then you just win automatically. If he shows up, then you'll probably have to pay the ticket then. Since you already said you are contesting ticket, now you just need to show up in court.

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    joe choijoe choi Registered User regular
    what do you mean? I don't know what i have to do. the worker just told me to ask for remove the late fee to the judge.
    I don't want to fight for the ticket. cuz i feel guilty. but i want to fight for the late fee, cuz it is unfair
    the police will be there too? I don't know what will happen. and what will going on. I am so confuse :[

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    belligerentbelligerent Registered User regular
    I have to ask, are you in the united states? Different places handle traffic violations in different ways.

    In the US, even if you are guilty, you can still contest the actual ticket. You get assigned a court date and you have to show up. Sometimes, the officer who wrote the ticket will also be there. If they are there, it is likely that the actual fine will be enforced. If they do not show up, you will not have to pay the ticket.

    What the employee was telling you was that you should contest the ticket, show up in court, and even if the ticket is upheld, ask the judge to remove the $250 late fee. You can explain that you attempted to pay online, and also showed up to pay in person but they assessed the late fee even though you attempted to pay on the last day possible. It's likely that a judge will waive the @$250 because you at least tried to pay within the time frame, but it is not guaranteed.

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    joe choijoe choi Registered User regular
    Thanks. it is very helpful
    if i go to the court. the thing i mostly worry about is.
    The day the police caught me. I only have a permit license.
    The police just give me a speed ticket and let me go.
    If he show up in the court, i am worry he will tell to the judge.
    then i will have big trouble. that why i don't want to fight.
    i just want to pay. but i can not pay the late fee. it is unfair....

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    AiouaAioua Ora Occidens Ora OptimaRegistered User regular
    joe choi wrote: »
    Thanks. it is very helpful
    if i go to the court. the thing i mostly worry about is.
    The day the police caught me. I only have a permit license.
    The police just give me a speed ticket and let me go.
    If he show up in the court, i am worry he will tell to the judge.
    then i will have big trouble. that why i don't want to fight.
    i just want to pay. but i can not pay the late fee. it is unfair....

    Are you in the US?

    This isn't a thing they can really do in the US.

    life's a game that you're bound to lose / like using a hammer to pound in screws
    fuck up once and you break your thumb / if you're happy at all then you're god damn dumb
    that's right we're on a fucked up cruise / God is dead but at least we have booze
    bad things happen, no one knows why / the sun burns out and everyone dies
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    joe choijoe choi Registered User regular
    edited December 2014
    yes i am in us now. I am in illinois.
    you mean? i will have no trouble?

    joe choi on
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    XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    go to court
    tell them this is your first offense and that you can't pay the late fee
    odds are they will waive the late fee but you will have to pay the original fine

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    joe choijoe choi Registered User regular
    edited December 2014
    What is the court will like? I am Hong Kong.
    I really have no idea what will be look like.
    do i have to talk to the judge in front of many people?
    or just face to face?
    cuz i am afrid that my English is not perfect enough to make people fully understand me.

    joe choi on
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    DraygoDraygo Registered User regular
    Do you have a friend that can speak fluent English?

    Are you at school? I would seek some help through your school.

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    XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
    agreed, if you are in school, someone there can probably help you talk away your late fee.

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    joe choijoe choi Registered User regular
    all right. i will try to get more information from school.
    thank you very much.

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    XaquinXaquin Right behind you!Registered User regular
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    zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    joe choi wrote: »
    What is the court will like? I am Hong Kong.
    I really have no idea what will be look like.
    do i have to talk to the judge in front of many people?
    or just face to face?
    cuz i am afrid that my English is not perfect enough to make people fully understand me.
    Depends on the court.

    Sometimes you just wait in line, talk to the DA and either work out a deal or go to court.

    In other cases the judge calls cases based on the officer, and does them in groups asks each person, the cop will just go through his notes for each person, and takes into account all aspects of the case.

    You can ask for a translator if you need one. Dress nice. I am generally dressed nicer than most of the room. In a sea of sweat pants and jeans, if you are wearing slacks, or a suit, it really helps. The court treats you more professionally.

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    joe choijoe choi Registered User regular
    edited December 2014
    Yeah. I will wear nice .
    Do I have to pay for a translator?
    I don't know will the police be there or not.
    If He Is there, will him tell the judge I drove without license.
    I Really don't know. Will this happen in Us?
    That make me worry a lot

    joe choi on
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    TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    Depending on where in Illinois you are, there may be a local Chinese/Chinese-American community that can offer help with translation and other issues.

    steam_sig.png
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    JohnnyCacheJohnnyCache Starting Defense Place at the tableRegistered User regular
    Yeah, do you have a dean's office for international students or something at your school?

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    see317see317 Registered User regular
    joe choi wrote: »
    I don't know will the police be there or not.
    If He Is there, will him tell the judge I drove without license.
    I Really don't know. Will this happen in Us?
    That make me worry a lot

    I'll start off with a classic "I am not a lawyer" here, so what I'm writing may not be completely accurate (also, I'm in a different state and that can also cause inaccuracy in legal matters), but it's from my own experience with speeding tickets.

    If the officer does show up (and it's possible that he won't), chances are the only thing he'll say is what's written on the ticket. If you didn't get a ticket for driving without a license than it shouldn't come up. If it does come up, it's more likely to make the officer look bad than to reflect criminally on you, since he didn't issue a citation for it at the time of the offense.
    The officer should have given you a copy of the ticket at the time of the offense, if you still have it review it and see exactly what you're being charged with. $100+ seems a lot for a speeding ticket (unless you were really going all out). Nothing should come up in court aside from what's on the ticket.

    It's been said already in this thread, but show up on time for your court date, dress nice and explain to the Judge what you've told us here about potentially misunderstanding the officer regarding mailing you the ticket, and that you tried paying it online but were unable to do so for whatever reason. If at all possible to find a translator, that would be helpful for everyone involved to insure clear communication.

    At that point it's up to the judge as to what he wants to do. If he's a decent human being, he'll probably drop the late fee, though you'll still have to pay the ticket.
    If he's not, he may decide that you get the late fee and add court costs onto it.

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    joe choijoe choi Registered User regular
    I will try to go to dean's office tomorrow before Monday.
    thanks for you guys proposal.
    So, if the police show up. Than i may have a big trouble...
    I have a question about the court costs.
    Do i have to pay it no matter i win it or lose it?
    how much is it?
    if it is too expensive. I may just pay the late fee.
    cuz the lady worker just told me to go to court.
    no body told me that i have to pay court cost.
    I feel like the Government try everything to take money form us.

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    DevoutlyApatheticDevoutlyApathetic Registered User regular
    joe choi wrote: »
    I will try to go to dean's office tomorrow before Monday.
    thanks for you guys proposal.
    So, if the police show up. Than i may have a big trouble...
    I have a question about the court costs.
    Do i have to pay it no matter i win it or lose it?
    how much is it?
    if it is too expensive. I may just pay the late fee.
    cuz the lady worker just told me to go to court.
    no body told me that i have to pay court cost.
    I feel like the Government try everything to take money form us.

    If you can't pay right away ask about a "payment plan". They should be willing to work something out where you pay a small amount each month until you have paid off your entire fine. It will still be a lot of money but you should no just ignore it or it will get worse.

    Nod. Get treat. PSN: Quippish
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    zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    edited December 2014
    In regards to court costs. I get a ticket about once every 2 months for various shit. I have never paid more going to court than I would pay mailing it in or paying online. I always come out ahead when I go to court and talk to the DA or judge.

    zepherin on
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    LostNinjaLostNinja Registered User regular
    joe choi wrote: »
    I will try to go to dean's office tomorrow before Monday.
    thanks for you guys proposal.
    So, if the police show up. Than i may have a big trouble...
    I have a question about the court costs.
    Do i have to pay it no matter i win it or lose it?
    how much is it?
    if it is too expensive. I may just pay the late fee.
    cuz the lady worker just told me to go to court.
    no body told me that i have to pay court cost.
    I feel like the Government try everything to take money form us.

    You keep saying things like this and how it's unfair. You broke the law by driving without a license and failed to pay the ticket that the officer generously gave you for a lesser offense by the time that was most likely clearly stated in the ticket (as well as instructions on how to pay it so I'm not sure why you were waiting for a letter). At a certain point you need take responsibility for these things. Yes the late fee seems really high, that's because it is intended as a deterrent so people will pay on time.

    If I were you I would just pay the late fee if that's possible and be done with it, because if I were the officer I would make sure that I showed up for this because I would be mad that someone I tried to give the benefit of the doubt to decided to create more work for me.

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    EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited December 2014
    I agree with LostNinja. You can contest the ticket on grounds of not being able to pay it, but you did break the law and you did wait until the day the ticket was due to try and pay for it. Nothing about the situation is unfair, it's the basic rules and responsibilities for driving in the US. That said, contesting the ticket isn't a bad/notorious/dangerous thing to do and is very common among people who are willing to take the time. The fact you are apparently driving illegally would make me more inclined to just pay the ticket as a whole because that could be a big deal.

    Also: get a real license, insurance, and the rest of the minimum criteria for driving legally in the states and obey speed laws. Its law for a reason.

    Enc on
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    JohnnyCacheJohnnyCache Starting Defense Place at the tableRegistered User regular
    if you have to pay "court costs" in this type/size court, it will probably be in the neighborhood of $25

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    TofystedethTofystedeth Registered User regular
    Enc wrote: »
    I agree with LostNinja. You can contest the ticket on grounds of not being able to pay it, but you did break the law and you did wait until the day the ticket was due to try and pay for it. Nothing about the situation is unfair, it's the basic rules and responsibilities for driving in the US. That said, contesting the ticket isn't a bad/notorious/dangerous thing to do and is very common among people who are willing to take the time. The fact you are apparently driving illegally would make me more inclined to just pay the ticket as a whole because that could be a big deal.

    Also: get a real license, insurance, and the rest of the minimum criteria for driving legally in the states and obey speed laws. Its law for a reason.
    Though I will say having the due date of the payment being at the open of business instead of the end of the business day is weird.

    steam_sig.png
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    EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited December 2014
    It's not uncommon. A lot of regions have online direct pay or drop off for people who cannot make regular business hours, so they make the deadline the morning when they get in and check the online systems or dropbox. Anything that came in overnight up to opening of business is credited as on time, anything after is in violation. It's actually a thing to be more inclusive than less.

    Enc on
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    ThreelemmingsThreelemmings Registered User regular
    edited December 2014
    Enc wrote: »
    I agree with LostNinja. You can contest the ticket on grounds of not being able to pay it, but you did break the law and you did wait until the day the ticket was due to try and pay for it. Nothing about the situation is unfair, it's the basic rules and responsibilities for driving in the US. That said, contesting the ticket isn't a bad/notorious/dangerous thing to do and is very common among people who are willing to take the time. The fact you are apparently driving illegally would make me more inclined to just pay the ticket as a whole because that could be a big deal.

    Also: get a real license, insurance, and the rest of the minimum criteria for driving legally in the states and obey speed laws. Its law for a reason.
    Though I will say having the due date of the payment being at the open of business instead of the end of the business day is weird.

    The reason it works that way is that a ticket is not a "due date" for payment, a ticket is a summons to court for a certain time and he didn't show up.

    Actual advice: Get someone who understands English, call up the clerk of court, and go to your next court day to find out what you need to do. Very often judges will suspend court costs or work out a payment plan if you explain your situation, and as a student your income level may qualify you for that kind of stuff. If your state does prayers for judgment, you may qualify if this is your first ticket.

    Threelemmings on
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