Letter to the City Clerk's Office

I just now sent this letter to the City Clerk's Office.



To Whom It May Concern,

Shortly after I paid for and received my City Sticker I received an application for a zone sticker for my street (XXXXXXXXXX.). The zone code on the application was for Zone 6XX. I quickly filled out the application and enclosed my payment ($35 total) for not only the sticker but also some visitor passes and the necessary proof of residency materials requested. A few weeks later I received my Zone 6XX sticker and passes, but there was no Parking Zone street signs up, so I called my Alderman (26th Ward, Bill Acostia) and learned that Zone 6XX in reality did not exist. Actually, Zone 6XX never existed. There was a petition to zone the street, but it was defeated and the street was not zoned. That's right, I was issued not only and application, but the sticker and guest passes for a zone that never existed.

I was amazed that such a mistake could have happened. How could my payment be processed and a sticker issues for something that is not real? I called your office and was apologized to and immediately sent a refund application. That was over 2 months ago. My payments for the sticker and guest passes were posted on 7/25/06 and 7/28/06 respectively. It is now Tuesday October 31, 2006. (Happy Halloween)

I recently called your office again, to see where I stood on the refund. I was told that a refund would take 14 weeks. This is unacceptable. I followed the rules of the City and purchased my Zone 6XX sticker in time to not be ticketed by the police if in fact the zone had been real, which was not the case. Zone 6XX is not an enforceable zone. I would like my refund. In addition to my refund, I feel a one time penalty payment to me of $25.00 is fair. If I had not gotten the proper sticker I could have faced much stiffer penalties, so in my opinion a $25.00 payment in addition to my full refund of $35.00 is more than fair.

I fully expect to receive my refund and penalty payment by Tuesday November 14, 2006. That is a full two weeks from now.

Payment should be sent to:

Mr. Concert Josh
XXXXXXXXX
2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60647

I can be reached Monday - Friday, 9AM - 5PM at (630)2XX-XXXX. Feel free to call me with any questions or concerns.

Once again, send a refund and penalty payment of $60.00 by 11/14/06.

Sincerely,

Concert Josh


So do ya think I have a shot at getting my penalty payment?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Update 11/01/06] The City's Response:

We agree with everything you wrote in your email. You will need to
continue to contact the refund division of the clerk's office at
312.XXX.XXXX in this regard. They are in direct contact with the City
Comptroller's office...they are the entity that actually cuts the refund
check. All of your refund information has been processed by the clerk's
office and sent forward to the Comptroller to issue your check, so,
hopefully, you will have your money in the time you requested.

As far as the applications you originally received for a zone that did
not exist...this information came through the city's IT department. How
they had data on a street that was never zoned is a question we are
still asking of them. We have yet to get an acceptable response at this
time.



Chicago City Clerk's Office