$52 parking ticket becomes $1,010

BALTIMORE, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A Seattle man says he is paying a $1,010 parking ticket from Baltimore because he can't afford to fight it in court.

Josh Roberts said he received a notice in February of this year informing him he owed $948 for a parking ticket issued in Baltimore in May 2004 that began at $52 and grew by $16 in late fees each month since the ticket was issued, The Baltimore Sun reported Thursday.

Roberts, who moved from Baltimore to Seattle the month of the ticket, said he does not remember receiving it but he does not contest it. However, he said he never received anything about the ticket in the mail, despite filing correct change-of-address forms at the post office, until 2009.

Roberts said he tried to fight the ticket by phone but was told he would have to contest the fines in a Baltimore court. He said he estimated it would cost him well over $1,000 to travel to Baltimore and acquire legal representation.

Roberts said he contacted the law firm employed by the city to collect the fines and he was told his bill had grown by an additional $64 since he received the notice, bringing the total to $1,010.

The Seattle man said he is paying the fine and sent a letter to Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon about his experience.

"You get (the money) at considerable bureaucratic cost as I have wasted a lot of city worker time attempting to resolve this issue," Roberts wrote. "In the end you are taking it unfairly but legally."