It’s happened to all of us. You get back to your car after a delicious brunch or productive visit to the bookstore only to find a demonic little slip of paper tucked under your windshield wiper. “But the meter was broken!” you think. “I’m going to contest this!” you say to yourself. No, you’re not.
Contesting parking tickets is a huge pain in the ass. But Fixed plans to make it easier. Unlike the old fashioned way of contesting which requires printing stuff on paper and putting it in a mailbox and other complicated, archaic tasks, Fixed just needs a photo of the ticket and the violation code. With that, Fixed will tell you the general percentage of that type of ticket gets overturned and give you a list of excuses you can pick from. If you decide to contest it, the app just needs a little additional photographic evidence and to digital signature to slap on your letter. That’s it.
I know what you’re thinking: How the hell does an iPhone app deal with the courts? The short answer is: It doesn’t. Fixed actually employs a team of lawyers that review each case and take care of the paperwork. If you win, you’ll have to pay Fixed 25 percent of what you would’ve paid for the ticket because this isn’t a charity. Still, that’s it 75 percent less than the cost of sucking it up and paying the fine. But also 25 percent more than doing it yourself.
Fixed will launch next week in San Francisco, where 1.5 million citations are given out every year. Of those, only 5 percent are contested, but of that 5 percent, some 30 percent get overturned. If you’re lazy, this is could be a cheaper option to help you keep it up.
Unless you’re an Android user. No word on when that app is coming out. [CNN]
Images via Shutterstock / Fixed
