The independent student news site of San Marcos, California

The Cougar Chronicle

The independent student news site of San Marcos, California

The Cougar Chronicle

The independent student news site of San Marcos, California

The Cougar Chronicle

LETTER: Unjust treatment while paying day pass prices

parking+structure
Photo by Anne Hall
parking structure
CSUSM offers ample parking for visitors, students, faculty and staff if willing to pay the price. Photo by Anne Hall

By Anderson Gould

Contributer

I parked in the parking structure and I purchased a parking pass for the day with my credit card.  I placed the ticket in the window in the driver side window as advised.  However, as I closed the door and unforeseen circumstances the ticket fell off the dashboard.

I was on campus on a Wednesday, which is the day I am on campus the longest.  I have a class at 2:30pm and another at 5:30pm.  These classes are back to back and the last class ends at roughly 8:15pm.

When I returned to the parking structure and I approached the vehicle I noticed there was a green envelope on the windshield.  I was shocked knowing that I had paid for parking.  I looked in the windshield and the parking permit was not there, it was on the floor of the car.

I immediately called campus police and explained the situation.  I was told it could be resolved by stopping by the campus police office and filing the paper work.  I did and I waited to receive a letter of a waiver or warning for the ticket.  When I received the letter I was denied and forced to pay the ticket for $65.

I was flabbergasted because I had proof that I had paid for parking.  Secondly, the charge was on a credit card and the last for numbers from the card was on the parking permit ticket.  I could not believe I was denied knowing I had honestly paid and with proof of paying.

In the end, I paid for a day pass of parking $9 and for a ticket for not paying for parking of $65.
Accidents do happen that are out of our control.  I would understand having to pay for the ticket if I did not have the proof of paying.  I thought what would have been more reasonable would have been getting off with a warning and having this incident being filed under driver/vehicle information so if it happened again there would not be excuses.

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    NicoleMay 15, 2014 at 1:13 am

    In your article you talked about how you purchased a parking ticket and unfortunately it feel on the floor causing you to get a parking ticket. When you went to fight it, even with proof, you still received a citation.

    The same situation happened to me. However I doubled check my permit to make sure it was visible before I left. From my standpoint it would be beneficial to double check the parking pass after you close the door and before you leave for class. If you had proof of purchase why would you still receive a citation? My friend also received a citation but she just showed proof of her ticket and it was cleared. I just do not understand why you would still get one if you had proof. If anything like that ever happens again If I were you I would take a picture also to have it as support for your claim and include a history of your credit card payment.

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