Ticket dispute prompts Philadelphia Parking Authority to revise review process | Investigation

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A Drexel University student says a string of parking fines that were not his led to his car being booted and ultimately pushed the Philadelphia Parking Authority to change how it reviews tickets.

Dillon Dwyer, a student who works two jobs and describes himself as frugal, said he typically avoids paid garages and searches for cheaper on-street parking.

"Oh, man, parking, it's a lot of fun," he said with a chuckle.

Dwyer acknowledged having paid a few legitimate fines, but said he was stunned when he returned to his car near campus in December and found a boot on the wheel.

Dwyer called his father, Craig, who picked him up and accompanied him to the PPA the next day.

There, the family learned Dillon was listed as owing more than $2,400 in fines.

"They're saying that all these license plates is actually showing up under his name and that's why they booted him," Craig Dwyer said.

According to the family, four license plates that did not belong to them had somehow been linked to Dillon, with violations dating back years, including some issued when Dillon was 11.

"We thought his identity was stolen. We were wondering what's going on," Craig Dwyer said.

The family said they believed they had resolved similar issues in the past, even paying tickets that were not theirs and filing a police report.

The new batch of fines came as a surprise, and Craig Dwyer paid to have his son's car released from impound.

"I'm wondering like where the mistake went, who's making this mistake?" he said.

The Investigative Team brought the issue to PPA Executive Director Rich Lazer.

"It was a human mistake that wasn't caught," Lazer said.

Lazer said the error occurred during a file merge used to review title transfers and identify old violations or attempts to avoid penalties.

"The person that was looking at this plate and a few others ended up merging it, and somehow these violations were put onto this plate," he said.

Lazer said Dwyer did have eight outstanding violations that made him eligible for a boot and tow, but the PPA refunded nearly $1,600 in fines that were not his responsibility.

He said the agency has since added safeguards.

"Due to this, we have added additional review processes internally and are going through this whole process to make sure that this doesn't happen again," he said.

Lazer advised vehicle owners to dispute fines through the Bureau of Administration Adjudication, which is operated separately by the City of Philadelphia.