Calgary man loses truck in ticket snafu
At more than $115,000, plus the loss of livelihood and future income, it could be the most expensive penalty ever paid for careless parking in Calgary.
That’s what Lukas Pesut gets for leaving his truck in the wrong place, after parking the heavily-modified Chevy pick-up in front of a friend’s house while on an extended visit back to Europe to care for his ailing mother.
“It’s so frustrating for him,” says George Pesut, Lukas’ dad, who’s been fighting city hall and the Calgary Parking Authority since Feb. 2, when the family first learned the fate of the truck.
“He basically left to care for his sick mother, only to come back and find his livelihood has been taken away.”
In short, the truck had been sold; auctioned off by the city on Jan. 13 for $18,500.60 dollars, just 36 days after it was towed from Seymour Ave. S.W. for not displaying the correct permit in a two-hour residential parking zone.
The truck, outfitted with a special hydraulic hoist for work in the pipe industry, also contained an estimated $30,000 to $35,000 worth of tools and equipment, the majority of it locked inside a special heavy-duty container.
The truck’s 26-year-old owner screwed up to be sure — and if Lukas Pesut wasn’t rushing to catch a plane to be with his sick mother, diagnosed with breast cancer, he might have realized parking in front of his friend’s house for months required a parking permit.
But what a price for an honest mistake.
The city followed the rules to the letter, where after 21 days in the impound lot, any “abandoned” vehicle worth saving is sent for auction.
“We empathize with Mr. Pesut in this situation and we wish that he had reached out to arrange something with us prior to leaving Canada,” said Mike Derbyshire, general manager, Calgary Parking Authority.
“We understand that things come up and more often than not we will come up with a solution that ensures that situations like this don’t happen. Sadly, there’s nothing we can do after the fact and we feel for him on this one.”
The city rules are very rigid: first they ticket the vehicle, in this case after a neighbour called to complain, and then they ticket it a second time, before arranging for a tow.
Once impounded, staff try to reach the registered owner at the address on file, and a letter is sent to the address, warning that the clock is ticking, and the vehicle and contents will be sold if no effort is made to retrieve it.
Though the friend who lived on Seymour Ave. tried to reach parking officials, she did not know the licence number of the truck and was told no one could help her.
By the time Lukas was notified in Germany, it was too late — and someone out there got a sweet deal on very expensive ride.
Lukas, who just arrived back in Canada Sunday night and was unavailable Monday to comment (he lives in Grand Prairie, and was heading home, sans phone), has been told he can apply for the proceeds from the vehicle auction, minus towing and impound fees.
With the 26-year-old pipe worker holding some $2,000 in fines and penalties, that leaves just $16,500 out of a vehicle that would now cost up to $100,000 replace, and won’t include proceeds from the auction of his tools and personal items, for which he gets nothing.
George says it’s all been very stressful, but perhaps most aggravating is not having any way to reach the person now in possession of his son’s hard-earned Chevy.
The city isn’t allowed to say who bought the truck at auction.
“The hope naturally is that if Lukas could contact the buyer and tell him the circumstances of the loss of his truck he might possibly sell it back to him,” said George.
Calgary man loses truck in ticket snafu | MICHAEL PLATT | Columnists | Opinion |
...........................
Somebody is about to go total on City Hall?? Ya think??
At more than $115,000, plus the loss of livelihood and future income, it could be the most expensive penalty ever paid for careless parking in Calgary.
That’s what Lukas Pesut gets for leaving his truck in the wrong place, after parking the heavily-modified Chevy pick-up in front of a friend’s house while on an extended visit back to Europe to care for his ailing mother.
“It’s so frustrating for him,” says George Pesut, Lukas’ dad, who’s been fighting city hall and the Calgary Parking Authority since Feb. 2, when the family first learned the fate of the truck.
“He basically left to care for his sick mother, only to come back and find his livelihood has been taken away.”
In short, the truck had been sold; auctioned off by the city on Jan. 13 for $18,500.60 dollars, just 36 days after it was towed from Seymour Ave. S.W. for not displaying the correct permit in a two-hour residential parking zone.
The truck, outfitted with a special hydraulic hoist for work in the pipe industry, also contained an estimated $30,000 to $35,000 worth of tools and equipment, the majority of it locked inside a special heavy-duty container.
The truck’s 26-year-old owner screwed up to be sure — and if Lukas Pesut wasn’t rushing to catch a plane to be with his sick mother, diagnosed with breast cancer, he might have realized parking in front of his friend’s house for months required a parking permit.
But what a price for an honest mistake.
The city followed the rules to the letter, where after 21 days in the impound lot, any “abandoned” vehicle worth saving is sent for auction.
“We empathize with Mr. Pesut in this situation and we wish that he had reached out to arrange something with us prior to leaving Canada,” said Mike Derbyshire, general manager, Calgary Parking Authority.
“We understand that things come up and more often than not we will come up with a solution that ensures that situations like this don’t happen. Sadly, there’s nothing we can do after the fact and we feel for him on this one.”
The city rules are very rigid: first they ticket the vehicle, in this case after a neighbour called to complain, and then they ticket it a second time, before arranging for a tow.
Once impounded, staff try to reach the registered owner at the address on file, and a letter is sent to the address, warning that the clock is ticking, and the vehicle and contents will be sold if no effort is made to retrieve it.
Though the friend who lived on Seymour Ave. tried to reach parking officials, she did not know the licence number of the truck and was told no one could help her.
By the time Lukas was notified in Germany, it was too late — and someone out there got a sweet deal on very expensive ride.
Lukas, who just arrived back in Canada Sunday night and was unavailable Monday to comment (he lives in Grand Prairie, and was heading home, sans phone), has been told he can apply for the proceeds from the vehicle auction, minus towing and impound fees.
With the 26-year-old pipe worker holding some $2,000 in fines and penalties, that leaves just $16,500 out of a vehicle that would now cost up to $100,000 replace, and won’t include proceeds from the auction of his tools and personal items, for which he gets nothing.
George says it’s all been very stressful, but perhaps most aggravating is not having any way to reach the person now in possession of his son’s hard-earned Chevy.
The city isn’t allowed to say who bought the truck at auction.
“The hope naturally is that if Lukas could contact the buyer and tell him the circumstances of the loss of his truck he might possibly sell it back to him,” said George.
Calgary man loses truck in ticket snafu | MICHAEL PLATT | Columnists | Opinion |
...........................
Somebody is about to go total on City Hall?? Ya think??
