What happens if a visitor doesn't pay a parking ticket at TAMU? Do they send it to collections or something? This is hypothetical.

They dont ticket visitors. If you dont have a valid TAMU, you get towed from my understanding. Its too hard to collect on something they dont have a lot of info on.

My daughter got a ticket as a visitor and didn't get towed. However, A1 is the expert with towing, so he probably knows more than I. I guess my daughter got lucky.
We never paid it, but I assume if I ever re-enrolled at TAMU and used that vehicle, I would get blocked for unpaid fines .

I didn't think A&M towed vehicles unless they were parked in a numbered/reserved spot. Or parked in a 12th man lot on a football gameday. I think it's just a ticket if you're in the big unnumbered lots like Reed Arena on a week day (without a permit)

Which company has the towing contract with A&M?



[This message has been edited by W (edited 8/2/2010 11:35p).]

I'm not sure about "expert" but thanks! I'm just going by what I have been told by the officers. If they have no way to collect, they will just remove the problem. No use in writing a ticket knowing it won't get paid.

W, we do. And A&M will tow for a lot of reasons. The reason is the deciding factor on if we have to take it to our yard and hold it until you pay campus or if we just move it to PA 88. If you are in the wrong lot (32 with a Northside tag) they tow. Too many unpaid tickets. Stolen/fake tag. No tag at all. All reasons I've had to tow someones car. We have no control over it though. A&M points and we tow.

I don't know about Texas, but in Oregon they'd turn it over to the state department of revenue services for collection and it'd get added to my income taxes. There are probably other consequences, but I don't know what they'd be in Texas.

I don't know if this still applies, but if you send it in and indicate that you (legitimately) are a visitor, they will dismiss it. Unless you already did that several times.

That may have changed, though.

If you park anywhere on campus without either a valid permit or paying for a visitor space unless when the university closes or on weekends, you are subject to a ticket. They do not tow unless you have 3 or more unpaid citations ($100 or >, have a permit reported stolen or are parked in a clearly marked reserved numbered space and the owner of that space requests you to be towed. If you have a ticket, you can appeal it online. Honestly, does no one bother to read their website? It’s all there for you to read.

To answer the original question, you will likely receive notices until it is paid. If you appeal it and you are a first time offender and visitor, they will very likely at least reduce the ticket to equal the visitor parking rate for the day.


They have never towed a visitor just because it is not connected to the university somehow. It would still have to be the above reasons. A1 is incorrect.

If it is towed for one of the above reasons, they will only have A1 take it to their yard if past due money is owed or it was stolen. Otherwise it will likely just be relocated on campus.

[This message has been edited by AgCPA (edited 8/3/2010 9:04a).]

Of course, gameday is a different story, but permit holders are told where to go if they happen to normally park in a 12th man spot.

Back when I was first working at A&M, we bought a used car. This was when you could purchase a "random staff" parking permit window sticker and if you had more than one car, you had to have a placard in the dash as well.

When we took the car to get the new window sticker, we found out that the previous owner was a student who owed several hundred dollars in unpaid parking tickets. It took bringing the bill of sale to them and showing them that we purchased the car after the last ticket before they were willing to drop it and not make us pay for the tickets. They have very long electronic memories in that department! So if the "visitor" might come back to campus as a student with the same car, be prepared to pay the fine.

Like I stated before, I don't know the rules so please don't hold me accountable for something I say about campus.

With that being said, I have personally removed vehicles with no permit. Here's a story that may help. I gave a guy a ride to our shop one day to pick up his truck. We got to talking and he told me why he didn't have a permit. These are his exact words "it's cheaper for me to pay the fines". When I asked him how he told me that he only gets caught about once a week. But here's the kicker, something about the wording of his scholarship says the tickets are paid for but not permits. I don't know how much of it's true but still entertaining.

After driving a truck in this town for 3+ years now I do have a question for you guys. This may not even pertain to the OP as they are a visitor. What happened to the "Aggies never lie, cheat, or steal"? The majority of you are good people but some of the Ags are the most distrustful people I've met. You will say and do anything to get out of something and some of the lies are WAY out there. I know I've hit a sore spot and gone way off topic but I've always wondered this.

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don't hold me accountable for something I say about campus

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So maybe if you really don't know what you are talking about you should not post a reply?

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"Aggies never lie, cheat, or steal"?

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you left out the rest of it - "in proportions any larger than the rest of the general population".

nm

[This message has been edited by Kudzu (edited 8/3/2010 12:52p).]

Visitors can get a ticket. Vistors can appeal, but it rarely gets dismissed.

If you do not pay the ticket, you will get notices. Eventually, it does get sent to collections.

A1, I pay for a permit and they are pretty pricey. I drove my wife's car and forgot to put my tag in it. She had a speaking engagement on campus and I decided to take her car to check out my new office space. I was parked for about 15 mins. in a nearly-empty lot, and they ticketed the vehicle. None of these excuses are valid for appeal, so I was just wondering how it would be processed.

None of the permits are cheap. I was going to get one for my old truck that we use for garages but didn't want to spend that kind of money on something I can do for free anyways. Did you know that UPD officers have to pay for their tags? If you have a tag for the lot you were in and forgot it you may be ok. If it's for a different lot your probably SOL.

SumAggie. I can only go by what I hear from the ticket writers as I never see or talk to the trans office people. If you don't want to hear a side you never get to see then treat my post like a Stover Boys thread and don't read it.

cuppycup, you should always try to appeal, period. My husband and I shared a permit with him using it during the day and me using it occasionally in the evenings. One day we screwed up and he parked all day without a permit. We got a ticket, but our just-the-facts appeal about how it happened was approved.

In the old days if you just plead ignorance as a visitor, the first one is dropped. So, try the appeal first, it should be dropped.

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Did you know that UPD officers have to pay for their tags?

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Should they be free? Why?

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None of the permits are cheap

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Compared to towing?

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I can only go by what I hear from the ticket writers

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Now that's an authoritative data source.... have you tried the web site?

SumAggie, I'm sorry if a towing company has "wronged" you at some time....

UPD are neither students nor professors and I don't know if I have ever seen a patrol car parked in a parking space. So yes, why charge them?

And I'm sorry if you think the prices that the city regulates for us are too high. Would you rather us charge what we want like in Houston or Dallas. Because if I think what I'm making here is decent money, I'd be rich in another town.

No I have not checked the website nor do I care to. It's not my place to know the parking authority rules. I don't enforce them so why do I care. All I'm am doing is telling you the TOWING side of it. And why wouldn't the ticket writers be believable? They are the ones enforcing the rules, not the people sitting in the office.

It sounds to me like the situation you are talking about had multiple tickets. That would be why they were towed. But stories about parking rarely include the "whole" story. If you dig deep enough, I'd bet 99.9% of tickets and tows on that campus are by the book. Read the rules to avoid them. Simple as that.

I've never seen a hang tag in a state vehicle which would include UPD patrol cars. So they probably don't pay. But employees buy permits for their personal cars.

UPD has to purchase a garage permit. A universal card they use to enter the 5 garages on campus should the need arise. It keeps them from doing what I had to do, pull up to the gate and intercom someone to open it for me.

Called someone who knows at TS, those are provided UPD vehicles at no charge. The individuals car is a different matter.

Maybe that's what the cops ment, if so then I agree they need to pay. When I asked the officers I was referring to the patrol car.

See SumAggie. This would be a case where I was correct in what I was told but the person asked misunderstood my question....

Update: I appealed the citation and just honestly explained what happened. Hopefully they'll understand but if not I'll suck it up and pay.

They won't be able to register the next semester and they can't get a copy of their transcript.

...register for a parking permit that is. I don't think they can block registration at TAMU. There woudn't be any students out there...

BlueTeam. Not to be rude but if they are a visitor what do they care if they can reg for classes? That's why I was always told that if they had no ties to the univ that they got towed to our yard. They have no leverage to collect with otherwise.

Last time I got a visitor ticket, there was a section on the back where you could essentially apologize and promise not to park without a permit on campus again. The fine would automatically be eliminated if you weren't a student or employee, but I suppose it would not on the second offense for the same car. I suspect times have changed since then.

Story time. Back in the day, I used to park at Northgate and walk to class from the 1 hour spots. I rarely got a ticket, as there was only one CS officer devoted to parking, and when I did it was only $15 as opposed to TAMU parking tickets which ran $35 back then. Good times. It was nice because for those 1.5 hour classes plus walking time, I usually had a pretty good spot and it was free. Usually.

But my best parking ticket story involved Bob Wiatt. Mr. Wiatt was a Texas FBI agent back in the day. He was the fella who shot Robert Dent out in Wheelock, north of Bryan, back in 1969. That whole event was made into Spielberg's first movie, "Sugarland Express" starring Goldie Hawn. Here's a couple links if you haven't heard about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sugarland_Express

http://www.texasmonthly.com/preview/2001-09-01/texana8

Anywho, after Mr. Wiatt retired from the FBI, he was hired at A&M as director of the university police. Somewhere around that time, I got a parking ticket.

As I recalled, PTTS was located in the old building across the street from the (then) brand new Clayton Williams Alumni Center. So, I drove over there with ticket in hand. What I didn't know at the time was, the PTTS office had moved to the new parking garage across the street from Rudder.

I walked into the old building, now UPD HQ, which had a large central foyer with cubicles and offices opening into it. The center was a hubbub of activity as cops, detectives, and Mr. Wiatt himself was holding court, complete with his eye patch and mean one-eye glare.

All conversation stopped as soon as I came in the door, with all eyes focused on me. The suspicion was tense! They knew I was guilty of SOMETHING, they just didn't know what, yet. Was I here to confess? Point the finger at some partner in crime? They waited with baited breath.

I said, "Uh, where do I pay this parking ticket?" And they, rather reluctantly, pointed me to the new parking garage. I left in a hurry.

Some time after that, Mr. Wiatt made the news when a women's group TP'd the university president's mansion. Mr. Wiatt was mad, and promised to bring full charges against the responsible parties. But I think they got away with it. It was in the dead of night and nobody was around when they were throwing TP up on the roof and in the trees.

I respect Mr. Wiatt and his colorful career. I'm glad the worst things he had to worry about at A&M involved kids pulling dumb stunts and perhaps some staff malfeasance. I'm sure for the most part it was much better than the nasty stuff he had to deal with as an FBI agent.

Edit spelling, dangit.

[This message has been edited by techno-ag (edited 8/4/2010 7:25p).]

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Update: I appealed the citation and just honestly explained what happened. Hopefully they'll understand but if not I'll suck it up and pay.

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Good luck, and Good Bull!

Several years ago when I was shortly out of school I was in CS on a weeknight speaking to some student group about something. I parked in a yellow lot and got a ticket. I intended to pay but forgot about it.

A couple of months later I get a frantic call from my little brother who was still at A&M. He had gone to register the night before and was apparently blocked from registration for an unpaid ticket. When he investigated apparently they had blocked him for my ticket. My car was actually registered at my parent's house which would be the same as his permanent address on file so I guess they thought it was his car.

i got ticketed for parking at the intramural fields to watch my friends play football. i parked in the last parking spot in the back corner of the furthest parking lot i could find. i counted 23 spaces to the next closest car. it was almost midnight. a&m ticketed me in less than 50 minutes.

i don't have any ties to a&m, so they can suck it. there is no way in hell i'm ever going to pay for it. they can kill as many trees as they want and keep sending me a bill, but they won't ever get $40 out of me.

I don't think they like towing folks they are not sure of... you tow the wrong person at that school and likely won't have a job....

And the idea that any system would ticket based on empty spaces is simply foolish..... use your brains a little and take that model out to the possibilities and the costs. They don't do it that way, cause it would not work...

[This message has been edited by AgCPA (edited 8/5/2010 8:20a).]