7.25.110 Penalty Payment Letters.

City Code Section

(Amended by Ordinance Nos. 186267 and 189333, effective February 1, 2019.) 

A.  If the Operator does not receive payment within 10 days from the day the Operator affixed the Penalty Notice to the vehicle, the Operator may mail a Penalty Payment Letter to the last-known registered owner(s) and any other persons who reasonably appear to have any interest in the vehicle.  The letter must be mailed no earlier than 10 days nor later than 30 days from the Penalty Notice issuance date.  The letter must include:

1.  The amount demanded;

2.  Acceptable method(s) of payment;

3.  The schedule of increases for continued non-payment as described in Chapter 7.25;

4.  Space for the recipient to inform the Operator that the person to whom the letter was sent is not the current registered owner of the vehicle;

5.  A statement that the vehicle owner may submit a written complaint to the Division if attempts to resolve any disputes with the Operator have been unsuccessful;

6.  The mailing address of the Division and the website address for the Parking Penalty Notice Complaints webpage, and

7.  A statement to the effect that the Division will only investigate complaints by Parkers regarding the issuance of a Penalty Notice filed within 90 days of the date of the first Penalty Payment Letter.

B.  Administrative Fees.

1.  If an operator incurs costs from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in its efforts to obtain the name and address of a vehicle’s registered owner, the Operator may add a one-time Administrative Fee in addition to the Penalty, provided that:

a.  10 days have elapsed since the Penalty Notice issuance;

b.  The Operator indicates the amount assessed as a separate itemized amount on the Penalty Payment Letter;

c.  The amount assessed is no more than the amount charged to the Operator by the DMV.

2.  Operators may not demand payment for Administrative Fee until they have been charged said fee by the DMV.

3.  Although operators may only charge the Administrative Fee once, the fee may be a combination of more than one DMV charge if the first attempt to obtain registered owner information resulted in invalid information. In no event may an operator charge for more than two attempts.