Help Me Hank: Big Mistake from the Big Apple

Nursery owner Bernard Ruberti's a down to earth kind of guy. He's more "greenhouse" than "Grand Central", more "mulch" than "Manhattan"...

So when he got these traffic tickets in the mail saying he'd parked illegally on Riverside Drive in the "Big Apple", he knew it was a big mistake.

Hank Phillippi Ryan
"Did you park your car in New York?"

Bernard Ruberti, Massachusetts Driver
"No, never no, I was no where near the state."

Even more puzzling, the tickets were for a van with temporary plates. This is Bernard’s car, not a van and Massachusetts doesn't even issue temporary plates.

Bernard Ruberti
"I thought it was a joke or somebody just trying a scam."

Joke or not, Bernard took it seriously. He quickly disputed the growing mountain of mystery violations -- even appealed to Former Mayor Guiliani.

Bernard Ruberti
"I didn't get too excited because I said it wasn't me. I could always prove I wasn't there."

It worked and he got this letter from a New York court saying the tickets were dismissed.

Bernard Ruberti
"Well, then I thought I was golden."

But in a New York minute everything changed, collection notices for tickets he never got started arriving again.

Hank Phillippi Ryan
"What did you think when these all arrived?"

Bernard Ruberti
"It was wacky, that's all I can say."

Now Bernard was now worried every time drove his car.

Bernard Ruberti
"I'm afraid that if I ever got arrested out there I'd be well, I'd be well arrested."

And he decided to shift to a higher gear.

Bernard Ruberti
"So I said ‘let's try Hank, I've seen the program and she seems to solve it.’"

So we compared every one of Bernard’s tickets to his dismissal letter and it sure looked like every mystery ticket had been dismissed, so why was he still getting these threats? We got Manhattan on the phone.

As a result the New York ticket office had to re-look at their records and mystery solved. Clerical error they told us, someone just didn't push the right buttons to enter the judges ruling.

And soon it was time to "start spreadin' the news", Bernard's final ticket had been cleared.

Hank Phillippi Ryan
"You're crossing your fingers that this is over?"

Bernard Ruberti
"Exactly."

Some cities hire outside companies to handle the parking tickets to out-of-state drivers, so if you have a problem with an out of state ticket that's who you've got to call.

If you’re fighting a consumer battle, maybe I can help.