By CHERIE TAYLOR in Rotorua
It was only a $10 parking ticket, but John Corcoran reckons it cost government departments a lot more than that just trying to track him down.
The Rotorua sales rep claims he knew nothing about a ticket slapped on the windscreen of his Toyota five years ago, until his wife, Trudi, received a phone call from the Ministry of Justice recently.
The Corcorans were stunned to learn the ticket was a whopping $140 after a court penalty had been added for non-payment.
"We had moved a year before the ticket was supposed to have been issued," he said.
"They asked me to take proof to the courthouse of when we moved and I did but they couldn't find any record of the ticket."
Since then he made attempts on the phone and in person at the Rotorua Courthouse to sort the matter, only to receive a letter threatening to wheel clamp his car, seize his property, make compulsory deductions from his wages or bank accounts, and was threatened with arrest.
Mr Corcoran rang the ministry again.
"I was told the Rotorua court had failed to file anything in the system and I was told the matter would be sorted out," he said.
Eventually, after at least four phone calls and visits to the courthouse, the fine was withdrawn and referred back to the council.
However that wasn't the end of the matter.
To his disgust, he recently received a re-issued parking ticket from the Rotorua District Council.
"How much time and money has been wasted by these incompetent employees of the state?
"Can they not use a phone book?
"It's all bureaucratic nonsense," he said.
Council parking infringement supervisor Jean Douglas said there was no statute of limitations on a parking tickets and that if one wasn't paid within a month of receiving a reminder notice it was referred to the courts for enforcement.
"We send reminders to the address we get from Motor Vehicle Registrations and by law, if the letter is not returned to us, for whatever reason, legislation deems it to have been served on the person," she said.
If the courts wiped their hands of it, council had the opportunity to issue another one, said Ms Douglas.
"It's re-livens the ticket and gives the person a chance to come and give us an explanation.
"If we ignored everyone who didn't pay, no-one would pay their fines," she said.
Rotorua District Court fines manager Ken Runciman said it was up to the fines call centre to track down people who owed fines with the first notification by mail.
All enforcement action incurred a $30 filing fee and without any response from the person responsible, further fees were added to fine.
"The only cost to us to track them down is the cost of a self addressed envelope," he said. "People do have the opportunity to deny the charges or to pay the $10 ticket before it gets to court."
$10 parking ticket turns into $140 ... five years later
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