Parking not-so-fine: 12 year old ticket comes due

FORT WORTH, Texas - When Brian Luenser first opened the letter, he says he thought it was a mistake.

The Fort Worth, Texas man recently got mail from a collection company about a parking ticket he was issued in 2003, reports CBS DFW.

"But then I looked a little closer and I saw that it was January 7 of 2003," Luenser said of the date on the ticket. "At first I thought it was 2013. But when I saw it was 2003 I thought oh my gosh! That's 12 years ago!"

It was so long ago that Luenser was driving a Saturn at the time the ticket was issued. Saturns aren't in production anymore.

Upon taking a closer look at the ticket, Luenser said he realized it was legit.

CBS DFW reports the ticket is the product was issued via a municipal court computer system which has suffered years of problems.

According to the station, the ticket was sent to the collection agency in 2009 -- but no one is sure what happened with it between then and now.

It's unclear how many other cases there are like Luenser's. The Fort Worth city council is reportedly expected to receive a special briefing this month on how to fix the problem with the system.

Luenser's $17 ticket, meanwhile, is apparently still due.

"For parking violations there is not a statute of limitations," Luenser laughed. "You'll owe it forever! So, I'm going to pay it!"