Ontario family frustrated as stolen licence plate racks up parking tickets
CBC
A Brampton, Ont., family say they've endured weeks of stress and frustration after one of their licence plates was stolen and more than $400 in parking tickets landed on their lap.
Priyanka Kashyap has been issued a total of nine parking tickets from the nearby town of Milton since late May — six of them after she had reported the plate missing to Service Ontario and paid for new ones.
"It's just frustrating," said Kashyap, who for weeks has been trying to dispute the tickets.
The family say they've received different information from police services and the town as they fought to have the tickets dismissed.
Local police agree their story highlights a lack of cohesion between the Ministry of Transport, police forces and municipalities.
On May 24, Kashyap's brother noticed the plate on the front of her car was missing. Based on home security footage and retracing where she had travelled in recent days, Kashyap believes it was likely stolen while her vehicle was parked at a mall two days earlier.
Kashyap says she called Peel Regional Police on May 27, and was told there was no need to file a police report. She also went to police in person the next day.
Her mother, Caroline Novak, who went to the police station with her, described the police reaction as "very nonchalant."
"I was quite flabbergasted that the police weren't at all concerned," Novak said.
On the advice of police, Kashyap and Novak went to Service Ontario on May 28 to report the plate missing, and paid for new ones.
Peel Regional Police confirmed to CBC News that it does not file police reports without specific evidence of a theft or other crime — noting that licence plates sometimes fall off.
"You'd be surprised at how often members of the public come into the police station with licence plates that they've found just on the roadways," said Const. Tyler Bell, a public information officer with the police service.
More than two weeks later, Kashyap received notices in the mail from the Town of Milton for two overdue parking tickets.
"I was really confused because I don't live there," Kashyap said.