Call Kurtis: Roadblocked: I've Got Proof I'm Innocent

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) --  A Sacramento man got a parking ticket even though he had a parking permit.  When he couldn't get it cleared and got sent to collections, he called Kurtis.

He's an artist and was working in Berkeley when he got the ticket. He disputed it in writing twice but that didn't fix it.  So what went wrong?

Jeff Harper has been painting for decades but he never pictured himself in a battle with the City of Berkeley.

"I did everything I thought was right and nobody there seems to really care," says Jeff.

Back in November 2009, Jeff was hired to paint these murals for a teacher who lived near UC Berkeley.

He had a special parking permit so he could park beyond the 2-hour limit.

"Kept them in my window, no problems, no tickets," says Jeff.

But on the fourth day of work, he got an unwanted present on his window... a parking ticket. If you look closely, it says his car's VIN is "illegible."

"Well of course it's illegible because my permit is over it," says Jeff.

The permit he supposedly didn't have... on the dashboard, covering his VIN!

Berkeley's parking enforcement told him to fax copies of his permit and ticket he says he did.

"To me, it's like a no brainer," says Jeff.

Several months later, Jeff got a final notice from the city to pay up.

So he says he disputed the ticket by fax again.

This time, he says he called and they confirmed receiving his fax.

Nine more months go by, this shows up... a collections letter. His $46 fine ballooned to $163.

Jeff says Berkeley then told him they had no record he disputed the ticket and it was too late to challenge it now.

"Oh man, it was like a punch to the gut," says Jeff.

We contacted the City of Berkeley.

They tell us:

While they have records of Jeff's phone calls, they "never received any of his faxes..."

Even though Jeff has proof he should never have received the ticket, Berkeley says it's "not about the documentation, it's about the time..."

And Jeff had to "dispute it within 21 days."

Bottom line, Berkeley says Jeff has to pay the $163 fine.

"If that's how Berkeley does business, I certainly don't get how they justify this," says Jeff.

The only option Jeff now has is to sue the City of Berkeley.

The lesson learned here... make sure you follow up on any ticket you receive.

Just because you send in your documentation, doesn't mean they'll drop your case automatically.