Milwaukee woman gets parking tickets for car she no longer owns
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee woman sold her car but kept getting its parking tickets. They kept coming even after she gave the city documentation that she’d sold the vehicle.
A Milwaukee Parking Services manager called it a "very unique scenario," and Contact 6 uncovered shared responsibility for the confusion.
It’s been 14 months since Nadia DuCharme sat behind the wheel of her Nissan Maxima. Her dad sold the car to a friend in July 2022.
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"I’m actually on the title with my dad," DuCharme told Contact 6.
Nadia DuCharme
DuCharme’s car now belongs to a Milwaukee man; Contact 6 found the vehicle parked on the city’s southwest side. So, why has DuCharme been getting the new owner’s parking tickets?
"We left the plate on the car," said DuCharme. "I just didn’t think to cancel it."
When selling or junking a car, the Wisconsin DMV says to always remove the license plate. Not removing the plate can lead to headaches for sellers.
DuCharme canceled her plate nearly two months after selling the car. She also got a signed Affidavit of Sale and Ownership. DuCharme said she sent documentation to the city. Her first ticket was voided when she appeared in municipal court.
"The judge immediately dropped it," said DuCharme.
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Still, the tickets kept coming in DuCharme’s name. In all, she got four tickets. DuCharme’s dad wrote to FOX6 after two of her tickets were upheld on appeal.
"The citation manager should have seen that I don’t own the car," said DuCharme. "And, that the plates are canceled."
In search of answers, Contact 6 sat down with Tom Woznick, Milwaukee’s parking services manager. He said that the parking tickets went to DuCharme because the new owner didn’t register the car or get a new plate.
"The difference is between vehicle ownership and illegal parking," Woznick explained.
Tom Woznick, Milwaukee’s parking services manager
Woznick said the denial of DuCharme’s appeal is because of an unusual city towing record. It showed DuCharme’s dad picked up the car from a city tow lot on July 30. The DuCharmes' affidavit lists their sale date as July 20. DuCharme said her dad was doing the new owner a favor.
The towing record called into question the DuCharmes' affidavit of sale, Woznick said. In the review, the parking citation review manager added a note requesting an updated version of the affidavit. However, nobody from Milwaukee Parking Services told DuCharme about that request. Their letter to DuCharme gives no explanation why her ticket was "properly issued and is valid."
Woznick said changes are being made by the third-party vendor that sends out its notices to stop it from happening again.
"We are updating our processes," Woznick told Contact 6.
Tom Woznick, Milwaukee’s parking services manager
The Parking Services Division sent a request to Milwaukee Municipal Court asking that DuCharme’s two citations be dismissed.
That’s not the only unusual thing the parking division uncovered while looking into DuCharme’s tickets. They also found pictures taken when the car was ticketed. The pictures show someone put a 2023 sticker on a plate canceled in 2022. Woznick told Contact 6 that’s not valid.
Woznick said if the vehicle is found on the street with the same plate, it will be ticketed and towed. The owner will need to show proper registration to retrieve it.
Contact 6 wanted to know if the vehicle still has the invalid plate – and visited one of the ticketing locations and immediately spotted the car. Contact 6 sent DuCharme pictures and she confirmed it’s the same vehicle. The car had a new license plate; the city said no new plates are registered to the car.
So, what’s the consumer takeaway? For that, Contact 6 visited the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
"If you’re doing a private vehicle sale, DMV does provide a checklist," said Dustin Sweeney, DMV’s chief of the Title and Registration Processing Section.
Sweeney recommends signing over the title, filling out a seller notification, and not only removing the plate – but destroying it.
"So it cannot be used in any way, shape or form," said Sweeney.
At the city’s request, a judge dismissed DuCharme’s tickets before her day in court.
"I think it’s just important that changes are made (by the city), so people don’t have to fight this hard," said DuCharme. "I’ve had to jump through so many hoops."
The city of Milwaukee’s parking citation revenue in 2022 was $14,219,300.