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There was an unpaid $75 parking ticket from April 2024 from College Station that on Feb 28th this year hit my record. So if I would have gone and renewed my license before I got pulled over I would have found out about it and paid it off. But because it was there when my license expired it automatically became suspended.

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This is such a crock. I can't believe that they suspend a license over two fairly benign happenings like this. Reading this thread really pisses me off.

I just want to know where you work where you get spring break

Bonfire97 said:

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There was an unpaid $75 parking ticket from April 2024 from College Station that on Feb 28th this year hit my record. So if I would have gone and renewed my license before I got pulled over I would have found out about it and paid it off. But because it was there when my license expired it automatically became suspended.

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This is such a crock. I can't believe that they suspend a license over two fairly benign happenings like this. Reading this thread really pisses me off.

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You can thank your "lawn and odor" Texas congresscritters for that.

HTownAg98 said:

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Bonfire97 said:

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There was an unpaid $75 parking ticket from April 2024 from College Station that on Feb 28th this year hit my record. So if I would have gone and renewed my license before I got pulled over I would have found out about it and paid it off. But because it was there when my license expired it automatically became suspended.

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This is such a crock. I can't believe that they suspend a license over two fairly benign happenings like this. Reading this thread really pisses me off.

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You can thank your "lawn and odor" Texas congresscritters for that.

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yeah

It's likely targeted at the gazillion illegal Mexicans here that drive without valid licenses all the time… get popped a second time… JAIL. DEPORT.

Trust me.

If I could deport right now I would. But with teenagers in school I am stuck.

Last year I flew to Nashville on SWA for a meeting. Got to BNA just fine. When I went to leave in my rental car, the light turned red and the arm came down. "Sir, your DL is expired. We cannot let you take the car. "

That was a bummer. Lesson learned.

agsalaska said:

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Nope. He said I took a left onto Lake road in Belton without using my blinker and gave me a warning.

And to I am a Critic there is no disconnect here. I have never had any kind of suspended license or anything like that. I am 48 and can count on one hand how many moving violations I have had in my entire life. I have never been to jail and have held several different occupational licenses(non driving) that require fingerprints and backgrounds. Never had a DUI, no weed, nothing other than an MIP at 16 in Dallas at Lollapalooza.

Ticket was maybe March 11 or so. Paid it maybe April 21 or so. I went online in early April and the first open date at the DMV was today(May 12). I got a letter sometime early April that said to pay it by May 1.

I am at a loss. I have never done anything. And yes this new job requires me to be able to drive. That is the problem. A big problem. a life changing problem unfortunately. I really want this job and by the end of May or so need an DL.

I don't understand what I did wrong other than not realize my DL had expired.

Again I am at a loss.

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EDIT: Not going to state again what's already been stated.

However, never, EVER just pay a ticket. Get an attorney to plea it down. Even at $300+ in the attorney fee + court costs, it will save you points and hits against your insurance and increased insurance rates down the road.

This thread frustrates me. I probably shouldn't say it out loud but good grief I hate the government. Local, state, and federal. Just one hassle after another and it rarely affects bad people, just good people trying to get life done. The only thing worse than the stupid statues are the people sitting on the offices riding the clock.

Jason_Roofer said:

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This thread frustrates me. I probably shouldn't say it out loud but good grief I hate the government. Local, state, and federal. Just one hassle after another and it rarely affects bad people, just good people trying to get life done. The only thing worse than the stupid statues are the people sitting on the offices riding the clock.

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So much this. Hopefully everything works out well for you OP.

And the problem only exacerbates due to the phrase as posted above that "As they say, a good lawyer knows the law, but a great lawyer knows the judge."

It's like the whole system is setup in a way that if you aren't an insider or know one you get screwed.

Just reading your story gave me flashbacks to a similar situation with my wife starting in 2017. Wife calls in March of 2017 to tell me she got a speeding ticket in Troy. Construction zone with workers present, 10mph over on I35. She was upset because it was the first ticket she had gotten in a really long time and she never saw the speed limit sign. She thought she was doing the speed limit. I'm not happy either but sh*t happens. I know several local attorneys, we'll do what we need to do to keep it off her record or minimize the damage at least.

I call a buddy, he recommends an attorney. We set everything up to go appear on the date with city of Troy (in Bell county). We sign the docs necessary, attorney knows the clerk and judge. I've not had to do this many times but everything seems to go smoothly and as expected from my experience. Attorney says we wait until they respond with next step (new appearance date etc).

Fast forward about a year and we've not heard anything but wife gets a letter in the mail that her license has been suspended for failure to appear. She's freaking out because not driving is not an option with work and we definitely did not "fail to appear". Call the attorney and he's dumbfounded and begins making calls. Attorney has no answers and can't figure out why we got slapped with failure to appear. He keeps working and come to find out they changed clerks after we appeared and previous clerk lost our paperwork or something. New clerk sees nothing on file and labels it failed to appear. License suspended. I can't remember how we finally got her license back or when but things were super sketchy for a time for sure.

Finally at about 2 years we get some communication back that she has to go before a judge in Bell county and attorney says he's informed judge of situation. Some young helper from attorney's office sends us location and time to appear in Bell county. I've lived in Coryell most of my life and know my way around very well but the only time I've had to do anything in Bell county was many many moons ago for a no wake ticket on lake Belton. I say that because I'm not at all familiar with where to go in Bell county for these things. Attorney office sends us the address to the courthouse.

We show up on the day well in advance of our time but everything is oddly quiet and slow in the hallways etc. I'm not too concerned at first but as we get closer to time something seems wrong because I'm not seeing anyone around the halls. I finally find an office that I can knock on and someone actually comes to the door. Come to find out we were in the wrong place. We went to the address that the was sent to us but it was a new person at attorneys office that didn't really know but sent us the address they thought. At least that was the story we were given. At this time my wife is also 8+months pregnant with our first kiddo and she's stressed the F out and in tears from this point forward.

We haul ass across town to the correct location where I finally find the attorney (who doesn't have his freaking phone on him). He chews us out, the wife is bawling it's a mess. We're making a scene in the hall but at this point I'm absolutely seeing red and I don't give a damn who's looking at us. I chew the attorney out and to this day I'm still a little ashamed at how I laid into him because he just cowered down and didn't argue at all. We did everything we could to make things right and everything that could go wrong basically did. We go in and get our ass chewing from the judge and I'm assuming that we're freaking screwed. I have no idea what's going to happen now. We go back and talk to attorney again in the hallway and he has reached out to the courthouse and they confirm that we were there in time and his office sent us to the wrong place etc. I have no idea what happened from there but we got notice shortly after that everything had been dropped. To this day that was some of the most frustrating and maddening stuff I've ever tackled. I'm getting mad just writing this out and it's been 6 years since it was wrapped up.

Good luck!

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So much this. Hopefully everything works out well for you OP.

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I appreciate it. The good thing is I couldn't ask for a more supportive wife and have two wonderful kids. And while I would like this new job if I end up not getting it I love my current job and am financially stable. So the worst case scenario is the status quo with some driving restrictions(I can get a occupational to get to work, kids practice, HEB, etc.). And I like the status quo just fine.

But man F the government. Three years ago it was the IRS who couldn't figure their **** out and that cost me several thousand dollars. Now this. Geeze. When I finally retire to the woods I ain't ever coming out.

ChoppinDs40 said:

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HTownAg98 said:

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Bonfire97 said:

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Quote:

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There was an unpaid $75 parking ticket from April 2024 from College Station that on Feb 28th this year hit my record. So if I would have gone and renewed my license before I got pulled over I would have found out about it and paid it off. But because it was there when my license expired it automatically became suspended.

---

This is such a crock. I can't believe that they suspend a license over two fairly benign happenings like this. Reading this thread really pisses me off.

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You can thank your "lawn and odor" Texas congresscritters for that.

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yeah

It's likely targeted at the gazillion illegal Mexicans here that drive without valid licenses all the time… get popped a second time… JAIL. DEPORT.

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Nope.

It's targeted at schmucks like us that follow the law and pay our fees. It's always about $$. Always.

I had my Texas DL suspended once. I didn't know it though because it was suspended after I gave it up to get an AZ DL. I only found out it was suspended when I moved back and went to renew my Texas DL. I was suspended for a no valid insurance ticket from something like 10 or so years prior, when I still lived in CS and was going to school.

That cost me about $1200 in fines plus having SR-22 insurance for a year (that's when I learned at just how heinous a crime it was to not have proof of insurance or no insurance. Murder-y type of heinous it is in the eyes of the state). Good thing I had the money in the bank, otherwise the state trooper behind the counter was looking really excited about taking me to jail. Finally got my license, all is well.

Fast forward a year, maybe 2. Got pulled over for speeding on my way home. Because being the only person within probably 2 miles either way on the road and driving ~70 in a 55 is obviously a turrble, turrble awful evil bloodthirsty unspeakable crime that deserves all of a state trooper's time.

Got a warning for speeding. Then got yanked out of my truck and taken to the pokey because I had 4 warrants out for my arrest. FOUR. Best part? The tickets were from ~15 years ago when I got pinged by a constable for speeding on 288 in Houston. Can't remember what the other citation was for - probably not wearing a seatbelt. Anyhoo - 2 citations, 2 failure to appears. Mind you this is all AFTER I've renewed my license just a couple of years prior where none of these tickets showed on my record. They didn't show because the judge's office never put them in the system (even after I paid the fine way back then - whole 'nother story on that part), and when that judge got thrown in jail for extortion or whatever, the new judge immediately dumped every single old ticket they could find in the system.

So I spent 6 or so hours in jail and my wife had to get a money order for $1500 to release me from my captors from their legalized kidnapping system. Trooper took me to the Brazoria county detention center, but my wife could not pay the fine there. She had to drive to Clear Lake to pay, then back to get me out of the slammer. I have a teardrop tattoo now, 'cause I'm now a hardened criminal who knows what the other side is like.

Moral of the story: the entire system is a racket that serves no purpose other than to ensure the state and local jurisdictions have a mechanism to extort money out of you.

If we could teach that last bit to every kid in America before they reached the age to be in the ballot box we'd all be a lot better off.

So a little update.

My attorney that is filing my Occupational License for me believes that the ticket was written incorrectly. There was no reason for my license to be suspended when it was written. In other words I pled guilty to the wrong charge.

I called in a couple of favors and got the attention of the judge and the prosecutor and Friday night one of them told me to go ahead and appeal it even though we are passed the 10 day deadline. Part of the problem apparently is Belton is not a court of record???? and their processes are short and sweet.

Unringing the bell is a lot harder than it sounds. They referred me to two attorneys, one of whom referred me to the other one. I spoke with his helper/admin whoever a little while ago so we will see.

I should have a hearing scheduled in the next day or two for my occupational license and my final interview for the job is at 2:00pm. So ficure I get the offer I have two and a half weeks to get this unwound.

God bless you. May He work it out for you.

I've had the same exact message a few times over last week or so

I get one of those exact same messages about once every month or so.

And the phone number is not even a US number

Notifying people by text message isn't a legal notification.

So as I sit here at the Bell County Courthouse waiting to see the judge about my occupational license I looked my info up on the DPS License eligibility page and my suspension has gone from two years to 90 days. The only other thing that changed is the parking ticket, which I paid, went away.

Any idea why that would have changed? I thought it was a mandatory two years.


I am still supposed to have an appeal hearing on June 12.

Job offer is in my inbox. I am going to sign it as soon as the judge gives me my temp license. That will also0 mean I resign from my current job which is some kind of leap of faith.

Praise the Lord. You got this.