Dear Parking Guru,

Five months and three days after following your advice, which was to immediately request an in-person hearing with an SFMTA parking administrative judge and use the 72-hour law as my defense, I am declaring victory on this fine San Francisco morning.
I just received a letter stating, "After review of the testimony, the parking control officer’s photos, the citation, permit records, Google Maps, and a call to the complainant, the preponderance of the evidence supports the conclusion that although the location had a valid special event no parking permit, it was not properly posted 72 hours in advance as required, and your vehicle was parked outside the restricted area. The citation is dismissed and grounds for a refund."

I think the fifteen minutes it took to attend a hearing was well worth it. Your advice to schedule the first hearing of the day and to use the 72-hour rule as my defense worked like a charm.

Thanks again for your support and insight.  

Regards,
Positive Cash Flow

Dear Positive,

Congratulations! Your experience is a great example of just how easy it is to set up a hearing, contest a ticket, have your five minutes of being heard, and get your money back. The administrative judges who I’ve spoken with are incredibly nice people with one of the most difficult jobs on the planet.

Everybody who comes in to see them every hour of every day of their workday is angry. And about half of them leave even angrier.

However, the other fifty percent, like you, who know the obscure parking laws like the 72-hour rule, the 100-foot rule, and the 3% rule, and use them in their defense, will find that the judges know the rules extremely well and are fair.  When the judge clearly sees that a car was ticketed or towed erroneously, they will own it and do the right thing.

Well done, Mr. Positive Cash Flow. Thanks for sharing your story.

For those of you who can’t spare fifteen minutes to contest your car being towed, here is one person’s creative (but not recommended) alternative.