Richmond Superior Court Contra Costa County Court Officer Purdy 117 Ponzi Scheme Bankrupt California Court System extorts from citizens without due process Richmond California

I received a ticket for holding my cell phone in my hand with an earbud (No hands free device) on January 6, 2014. 

 On January 7, 2014, my friend gave me a Bluetooth device for my car. I showed up in court on March 6, 2014 and was ushered to the cashier without going before a Judge or Magistrate.

The Deputy Clerk “E. Rarey” said that the “ticket had not yet been filed” so I must call back once a month to 925-646-4099  and keep a record of who I speak to. I call back on April 17, 2014 and spoke to Pam at the Walnut Creek call center – Central Traffic Unit – ticket still has not been filed. On May 2^nd, my cousin tells me a letter has arrived from the court. On May 3rd, I returned to my home state of CO.

The letter states that I must either pay $161 or appear in court. I can do neither of these 2 things, so on May 30, after I have returned to CO, I call the court and press the option on the phone tree to make a payment arrangement. I get transferred to “Alliance One” which says there is no record of the ticket. I check the internet URL, which also has no record of the ticket.

At this point, I did not know what to do, so I waited.

I am homeless in Colorado, staying at a friend’s house – and I had my mail forwarded by USPS on August 1, 2014 to his address.

On August 21, 2014 I received a letter forwarded, from the Court that I had Failed to Appear and that now the fine was increased to $486 by August 19, 2014 (already past due)

I sent a handwritten letter in response on August 20, 2014. As I was in the middle of my work week and could not take the time to print all the documents and go to the Post Office. 

On August 25, 2014, I wrote the Court once again and this time included all the relevant documents sent it Certified Return Receipt. 

On August 28, 2014, I called 925-646-4099 and pressed the number for the payment plan. I was given the number for Alliance One. I called Alliance One, and was told the ticket was not on file. I pressed the person who answered the phone, and he told me to call the court and talk to them.

On his suggestion, on August 28, 2014, I called the Court 925-626-4099, and this time, through the phone tree, got put through to a person, Marcie at the Walnut Creek Central Traffic Unit. She said she could not reduce the fee to $161 but could stop it from going higher and that she would put the paperwork through to Alliance One. She told me that I should have called the Court prior – my mistake was that I pressed the indicator on the phone tree for a payment plan – (how was I to know this?) – and was thus put through to the Collections Agency. The Collections Agency had not yet received the paperwork from the Court because I had not made an arrangement with Court. I had never been told this procedure by anyone. Marcie said the paperwork would be in the system with the Alliance One by the following day or that Friday so I could call to make the payment plan. On this day, I was provided with a phone number – direct to the call center – 925-957-5611, which I had not been given before.

 On August 29, 2014, I called the Call Center directly at 925-957-5611 and got Marlene. Marlene tells me I now owe $516. She questions my honesty about how I got the information to call Alliance One in the first place as she says that that information is not stated on the notice. I tell Marlene I got it from the phone tree when attempting to make a payment plan to the court. I did not know that I was supposed to make a payment plan any other way, because the Phone Tree, which only sometimes allows me to get through to a person, offers Alliance One as the way to make a payment plan. Marlene calls the call center supervisor and tells me that she has put the paperwork through to Alliance One, so that I can now call them and make a payment plan. 

I let Marlene know that I will be reporting the court to the Judicial Review Board because I was not given adequate information to make payments on the original fine. I am not going to agree to pay $516, but that I will call Alliance One to set the process in motion and begin payments in good faith. 

I call Alliance One on August 29, 2014 and speak to Ryan. I tell Ryan that I am homeless and working part time for a supermarket (20-25 hours a week) and that I will be able to make payments by Money Order to them at the rate of $20 per month or more if I can. Ryan gives me this address to send the payments to:

Alliance One

PO Box 2449

Gig Harbor, WA 98335

Ref #31807906

Ryan tells me that an additional $20 will be added to my fine by the court – bringing it to $536

On August 30, 2014 I receive a letter dated August 25, 2014 in response to my hand-written letter, from the Court threatening to raise my fine to $816 if I do not pay the “bail” of $486 in full by September 3, 2014. The Court has also threatened to continue to increase the amount owed, suspend my license and make a warrant for my arrest. 

I was ready and willing to begin a payment plan for the fine of $161 on March 6^th and on May 30^th,  2014. The negligence on the part of the Court , their Phone Tree at the number they gave me 925-646-4099, and the negligence of the Call Center Staff, as well as the negligence on the part of the Collections Agency staff, who never told me the procedure, is what I am now being fined for, not for No Hands Free Device. This is a ponzi scheme on the part of the state court system to fleece the California citizens because the state is bankrupt.