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Despite alibi, City of New Orleans has yet to drop parking ticket
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UPDATE: The city of New Orleans dismissed the parking ticket Thursday after 2 on Your Side's reporting on the situation.
Read the original story here:
BATON ROUGE - It's a parking ticket mix-up that one Baton Rouge woman says is not hers to pay. The City of New Orleans mailed Susan Gould a ticket demanding payment and that payment has now tripled.
The mix-up is causing Gould stress and what she calls an unnecessary effort to prove the truth.
"I haven't been in New Orleans in over 30 years and I flew!" said Gould.
When she first got the notice in the mail in March, she thought it was a scam. Gould quickly learned it was not a scam and what started as a $30 ticket has now tripled. Despite the $90 fine hanging over her head, Gould refuses to pay it.
"It's really just the principle of the thing, I mean, if they're doing it to me who else are they doing it to," said Gould.
She insists the ticket office has the wrong person. The violation was issued on February 20, 2024, around 9:30 a.m. for parking in a cab zone on Loyola Avenue. Gould says she has logged at least a dozen calls about the ticket but can't seem to get the issue resolved.
Her white, 2014 Hyundai Tucson is parked in her garage. The ticket has her license plate, but the car color and the car year are different. Gould says someone made a mistake.
Gould contacted 2 On Your Side in May. The city ticket department suggested Gould mail in an explanation of what happened. This week, Gould heard back from the City of New Orleans and found that she's still responsible for paying the fine.
"They're just not happy with what I'm telling them, I don't know what else to say," she said.
Gould says she is the only one who drives her car. She doesn't go far - only to the grocery store, doctor appointments, and to visit family nearby.
"I only put 60 miles on my car the whole month of February," she said.
Retired from a career in sales, Gould takes meticulous notes. According to her planner, on the morning of February 20, Gould was at home recovering from surgery. A neighbor came by at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to walk the dog and that morning a repairman was at her house working.
"I took my blood pressure at 6:48 a.m. and 8:40 a.m.," she said.
Despite her story, New Orleans wants her $90. She says if she had been in New Orleans on that day, she would have paid the $30 ticket. Instead, her battle drags into the fourth month.
Wednesday, the New Orleans ticket office suggested Gould send in another explanation and photo evidence of her license plate, car color, and registration.
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