Traffic Ticket Before Delivery

[Zippy69]

EMail to dealership:

Gentlemen,

I was surprised by a failure to appear notice in my mailbox this evening for a traffic ticket that was incurred on my BMW 1 Series M Coupe in Bayonne NJ on 12/08/11 at 12:39PM... the day before I picked the car up from Greenwich BMW on 12/09/11! This violation is a $68 parking ticket. I really hate to think someone from BMW or the transportation company that you use was joy riding in my car in a residential area of Bayonne NJ on 12/08/11! I did notice that an extra 10 miles were put on the car since it was dropped off in Europe.

I expect Greenwich BMW to take care of this matter. Ticket can be viewed and paid online at:
http://njcourts.judiciary.state.nj.u...swepr2/home.do. Court Code: 0901, Prefix: P28, Ticket # 110017, Lic Plate #: S78BNN.

Please note per the notice that a warrant may be issued for my arrest if this matter isn't satisfied by 1/23/12. Please provide me with proof that this matter has been resolved with an explanation of how this happened.

You just can't make this stuff up.


Thanks,

Paul

[JimD]

Paul,

I would send a certified letter to the dealer and then send that plus a closing document showing when you took delivery on your vehicle to the court. I would also send that certified. Certified letters cost a few dollars and a trip to the post office but somebody has to sign for it so you have proof of delivery. If they do issue a warrant for you or something, the certified letters and closing documents would prove it was not you, you do not owe the fine, and you have taken reasonable steps to resolve the issue. You should be able to settle it with this but you could have a hassle, hopefully not.

You might also want to think about asking the dealership for some compensation for their use of your new vehicle. 10 miles is not a lot, however, and a parking ticket is less troubling than speeding or reckless driving. If they just take care of it by the due date, I might drop it. If they don't, I would definitely think of compensation.

Jim

[Zippy69]

Responses from dealership:

1. Morning Nicole, please read the attached. This was a Euro delivery held up
for some minor damage. Please forward to the appropriate responsible party
at the VPC for review. thanks, peter

2. The city entered the wrong license plate number and the vehicle in question
is not a BMW. The Bayonne Municipal Court will submit the mistake to the
judge and this violation will be dismissed.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

Nicole

My response back:
Gentlemen,

What company does Nicole represent?

Please provide me with proof once this matter is dismissed so I don't have any future problems.

Paul

[JimD]

Paul,

You might want to consider calling the court yourself at some point. Regardless of what the dealer says it would make me more comfortable to hear from the court that the ticket was dismissed. They might even be willing to send you a letter to that effect.

Looks like you are getting it resolved.

Jim

[Zippy69]

Originally Posted by JimD

Paul,

You might want to consider calling the court yourself at some point. Regardless of what the dealer says it would make me more comfortable to hear from the court that the ticket was dismissed. They might even be willing to send you a letter to that effect.

Looks like you are getting it resolved.

Jim

Will do thx Jim

[Dackelone]

Zippy - I would also send the letter(s) by certified mail. You want to have some names to give to the court. I also would contact the court ASAP. You don't want to pay for someone else, draging their feet to "fix" this.


Good Luck,
Dackel

[Artemis]

Amazing frustrating story. They were caught red-handed. Let them have their day in court.

[Zippy69]

Originally Posted by Zippy69

Responses from dealership:

1. Morning Nicole, please read the attached. This was a Euro delivery held up
for some minor damage. Please forward to the appropriate responsible party
at the VPC for review. thanks, peter

2. The city entered the wrong license plate number and the vehicle in question
is not a BMW. The Bayonne Municipal Court will submit the mistake to the
judge and this violation will be dismissed.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

Nicole

My response back:
Gentlemen,

What company does Nicole represent?

Please provide me with proof once this matter is dismissed so I don't have any future problems.

Paul

My sales associate who I call "the clown" had indicated in the first call with him "If I were you Paul I would pay the ticket then work to get it resolved by BMW" My response RIGHT!!

Then during second call the clown says Nicole has taken care of everything so don't worry about it Paul. I pressed... who is Nicole and where does she work? "Don't know who Nicole is or where she works (maybe BMW customer service?) but if I call the court I can verify this has been taken care of." Then in the same breath clown tells me "this is between me and the city of Bayonne NJ and BMW has nothing to do with it!"

Spoke with court clerk in Bayonne and she advised Nicole didn't do anything but inquire about the violation. I explained to her that I didn't even have the car yet. I asked what Vehicle make Merd is? After further investigation by the court clerk this ticket was issued on a Burgandy Mercedes. I indicated I have an Orange BMW. Sent her a fax with color/make discrepency, also indicated I picked up my car the day after ticket was issued and sent copy of my registration.

Perhaps the officer is colorblind and doesn't know his german cars? Easier to prove I have an orange BMW and work to get it dismissed than to deal with BMW or delivery company who went joy riding in my car!

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Zippy69

I indicated I have an Orange BMW. Sent her a fax with color/make discrepency [...]. Perhaps the officer is colorblind and doesn't know his german cars? Easier to prove I have an orange BMW and work to get it dismissed [...]

Ha, another benefit of VO compared to BSM and AW (apart from being 0.1mph faster of course ).
Hazard: VO is a sitting duck in traffic if the cops are tracking it down ("Major Tom to all units: look out for a fast orange BMW on Highway E82").

[HALOTHANE]

If this happened prior to delivery at the dealership and your car was ED, how did it have US plates in the days BEFORE you took posession? Could they have slapped someone else's plates on the car (perhaps a Merc trade in) and had a little fun. Does your plate match the one listed in the ticket?

[JasonCSU]

Originally Posted by 1MVO

If this happened prior to delivery at the dealership and your car was ED, how did it have US plates in the days BEFORE you took posession? Could they have slapped someone else's plates on the car (perhaps a Merc trade in) and had a little fun. Does your plate match the one listed in the ticket?

Perhaps a dealer plate was put on the car for a joy ride? If the plate number on the ticket matches one issued to the dealer, then they are definitely caught red handed.

[Zippy69]

Originally Posted by 1MVO

If this happened prior to delivery at the dealership and your car was ED, how did it have US plates in the days BEFORE you took posession? Could they have slapped someone else's plates on the car (perhaps a Merc trade in) and had a little fun. Does your plate match the one listed in the ticket?

Plate on ticket matches plates that were issued to me 1 week later. Not sure how this happened?

[Zippy69]

Originally Posted by Zippy69

My sales associate who I call "the clown" had indicated in the first call with him "If I were you Paul I would pay the ticket then work to get it resolved by BMW" My response RIGHT!!

Then during second call the clown says Nicole has taken care of everything so don't worry about it Paul. I pressed... who is Nicole and where does she work? "Don't know who Nicole is or where she works (maybe BMW customer service?) but if I call the court I can verify this has been taken care of." Then in the same breath clown tells me "this is between me and the city of Bayonne NJ and BMW has nothing to do with it!"

Spoke with court clerk in Bayonne and she advised Nicole didn't do anything but inquire about the violation. I explained to her that I didn't even have the car yet. I asked what Vehicle make Merd is? After further investigation by the court clerk this ticket was issued on a Burgandy Mercedes. I indicated I have an Orange BMW. Sent her a fax with color/make discrepency, also indicated I picked up my car the day after ticket was issued and sent copy of my registration.

Perhaps the officer is colorblind and doesn't know his german cars? Easier to prove I have an orange BMW and work to get it dismissed than to deal with BMW or delivery company who went joy riding in my car!

My latest e mail to BMW Greenwich:
Gentlemen,

I have been advised by Kathy at the Violations Bureau of Bayonne City Municipal Court that Nicole has accomplished nothing regarding getting this matter dismissed, rather she simply inquired about this matter. Please identify who Nicole is, who she works for and provide me her contact information.

During my last telephone conversation with my BMW sales associate, he has advised that everything has been taken care of. This is simply not the case. He has also advised that BMW has nothing to do with this as this is between myself, Paul .... and the court. Not sure why this is his position since I hadn't even taken delivery of the car yet when this matter occured! I hold BMW responsible for this vehicle up until the time that they deliver the car to me.

We have identified the plate number on the ticket is my plate number that was issued the week after the ticket was written (week of 12/12/11), and an incorrect color/make have been written on the ticket. I am confident that this was just an oversight by the issuing officer who thought this Orange BMW was a Burgundy Mercedes. Perhaps this oversight is enough to get this matter dismissed? It is clear that my BMW was delivered to the port of Bayonne, the car was in Bayonne at the time of the violation and the residential address where the ticket was issued is close to the port.

This information begs the following questions:
1. What was my BMW doing in a residential area of Bayonne, NJ on 12/8/11 at 12:39 PM? (Perhaps a VPC or BMW employee taking a joyride?)
2. Why would this person disregard a ticket?
3. What has been done by BMW to identify the person who got this violation?
4. What steps will BMW take moving forward to resolve this matter?

The fact that this occurred and the way it is being handled by BMW is really unacceptable. I have spent far too much time attempting to resolve this matter that was totally beyond my control.

I would really like some answers.

I await your response.

Paul

[buckeyegirl]

Originally Posted by Zippy69

Plate on ticket matches plates that were issued to me 1 week later. Not sure how this happened?

Is this car equipped with the time machine option? or I am having a blonde moment...

[ken1137]

Nope, it's b/c you are a Buckeye ...Go Blue !

Maybe it's time to report it to BMW National Office. There must be some responsibility in the action of some of their dealers.

[DooBs]

Wow this is ridiculous. I hope this gets resolved after that last e-mail.

[Mahlzeit]

Go straight the Dealer's General Manager if you haven't already. And get BMW NA involved. Type it up and have all the supporting documents to have copied and sent certified to the GM in question. And definitely make sure you stay in close contact w/ the court, stay informed and keep them informed.

Good luck

[Zippy69]

Originally Posted by buckeyegirl

Is this car equipped with the time machine option? or I am having a blonde moment...

No blonde moment. I haven't seen an actual copy of the written ticket. No chance my new plates are on the actual written ticket as they weren't issued yet. Bayonne's online ticket information site has my new plate listed on this violation. I am speculating that perhaps they had dealer plates on the car when this violation occurred then tracked me as the owner and updated the records with my new plate number? Really not sure as I don't have the full story. Just presenting the facts as I discover them.

[Harlequin]

Is it possible that the places were issued to someone else previously? They do that downunder...

- Plates get issued to Car A
- Car A gets a ticket of some description
- Car A's owner buys personalised plates and returns originals to DMV
- DMV re-issues original plates to Car B some time later
- Paperwork SNAFU occurs
- Car B's owner is mistakenly held responsible for actions of Car A
- Messiness ensues

I've seen this happen before but I don't know if they re-use plates where you are...

[ESC OFF]

Hope this gets resolved for you. It is possible that the plate number on the ticket was a mistake, I had the same thing happen to me a couple of years ago, my plate number was on a ticket however the car described in the ticket was not mine. I went to court and it was dropped. Good luck, it sucks when this stuff happens.

[v1k0d3n]

Originally Posted by ken1137

Nope, it's b/c you are a Buckeye ...Go Blue !

Maybe it's time to report it to BMW National Office. There must be some responsibility in the action of some of their dealers.

Urban Meyer will own you for the next decade or so, so eh...whatever.

[Zippy69]

Originally Posted by Harlequin

Is it possible that the places were issued to someone else previously? They do that downunder...

- Plates get issued to Car A
- Car A gets a ticket of some description
- Car A's owner buys personalised plates and returns originals to DMV
- DMV re-issues original plates to Car B some time later
- Paperwork SNAFU occurs
- Car B's owner is mistakenly held responsible for actions of Car A
- Messiness ensues

I've seen this happen before but I don't know if they re-use plates where you are...

I suppose the possibility does exist however the plates looked new. I think it is more likely the car was ticketed with transport or dealer plates on it then somehow ownership of the vehicle was traced too me and my new plate # was added to my failure to appear notice and to the online ticket info system.