It’s bad enough to be stuck with a parking ticket when you deserved to get dinged, but much worse when you were obeying the rules and still got hammered due to a glitch.

Brett says he’s received two Washington, D.C. tickets for violations he didn’t commit. He’s fought them by mail but hasn’t received a response.

He writes:

I am a resident of Arlington, VA. Living in such close proximity to Washington, D.C. means an occasional romp into the city. In the last 6 months the D.C. DMV has fined me for two parking violations I have not committed. I have fought the tickets via their mail adjudication system, yet they are still holding me liable despite seemingly conclusive evidence of my innocence.

The first is for $100 for not registering my tags in D.C. This would be hard to do considering I have been a permanent resident of Arlington since June of 2007. I have had the same landlord the entire time I have lived in VA. The D.C. DMV’s evidence against me is that an officer spotted my vehicle parked on the same street twice within 180 days. It was the street my girlfriend was living on at the time. I have plead my case via mail to the DMV providing overwhelming evidence that I am a resident of VA and therefore not legally obligated to register my car within D.C. Despite this evidence, D.C. is still charging me with the violation. I have contemplated sending them the $100 check with a date of 12/1/2050, but I’m not sure if I can get away with that, legally speaking.

I also received a $25 citation for an expired parking meter. The ticket was issued at 9:26 PM, but the meter did not require payment after 6 PM. I have plead my case via the DMV’s website’s adjudication system. I am still awaiting a decision.

How do I fight the D.C. parking ticket machine? I am innocent and am not high on paying $125 for fines unjustly levied against me. Hiring a lawyer would probably cost more than the fines. Is there any legal action I can take against the D.C. DMV for levying these fines without cause? I’m so frustrated with these municipal monkeys who can’t put two and two together.

The idea to send a post-dated check is definitely the wrong course of action, since banks can and will cash checks regardless of the date.

If you’ve fought parking tickets and won, how did you do it?

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.