Tricky ticket

A woman contacted us after a difficult experience trying to resolve a traffic ticket. She had paid off the ticket in 1998, but in 2019, she was notified that there was $26 owing on her file for a late fee she hadn’t been told about, and her driver’s licence would be suspended if she did not pay it. She did so, but in 2022, she received notice that her licence was cancelled – for the same ticket she had paid 15 years ago. She would now have to pay a $275 licence reinstatement fee and redo her driving test. (Many cases similar to this were documented in the Ombudsman’s 2018 investigation report, Suspended State.) After we asked Ministry officials to review their files, they confirmed that because the woman was never notified of the outstanding late fee, she shouldn’t have to pay the reinstatement fee or redo her road test. Her licence was reinstated without further incident and she was grateful for our help.

Read about how we helped other people in our Selected cases.