15 year old girl rode Skytrain for free...10 years later, ICBC tells her to pay up
 

http://www.theprovince.com/cms/binary/9474129.jpg

She rode the SkyTrain 'for free' when she was 15, now ICBC is telling her — and 37,000 others — to pay up
She rode the SkyTrain 'for free' when she was 15, now ICBC is telling her ? and 37,000 others ? to pay up

BY ELAINE O'CONNOR, THE PROVINCE APRIL 2, 2014

A decade ago, as a girl of 15, Rayanne Tupman used to ride SkyTrain for free. She was caught almost a dozen times, and issued tickets, but she never paid them or told her parents.

This week, the now 25-year-old Maple Ridge mother of two was shocked to learn those fines had come due, thanks to a new crackdown at ICBC. Nearly 40,000 other B.C. residents could soon find themselves facing the same nasty surprise.

The Douglas College nursing student is upset that she must pay more than $2,000 in unpaid TransLink fines in order to upgrade her driver’s licence.
“They are taking the food out of the mouths of my children for something that occurred a decade ago, something that my parents were never informed of since I was a minor,” she said.

She argues TransLink should have sent a notice to her parents, because she was a minor and didn’t understand the repercussions.

“How is this justified that the government can bring old skeletons out of our closets from when we were kids?” Tupman said.

Upset as she is, Tupman admits she is responsible and says she will pay the fine. But she wants her experience to serve as a warning to other youths what could happen.

A 2012 legislative provision that came into force at ICBC Monday will now make it impossible for drivers like Tupman with pre-2012 unpaid fines to renew licences or vehicle registrations without paying their TransLink debts.

ICBC’s Adam Grossman said approximately 37,000 B.C. residents with some $5.7 million in outstanding tickets incurred between 2002 and 2012 would now find licences and registrations subject to a “refuse to issue” hold.

“The refuse to issue restriction is part of the legislation introduced by government in May 2012 to reduce fare evasion on the transit system and has been in place on new transit debt since Sept. 4, 2012,” Grossman explained. “We’ve now made the system changes required to support refuse to issue holds on older, provincial transit tickets.”

Grossman said ICBC would send out notices to affected drivers prior to their renewal date.

TransLink warns on its website that unpaid tickets can impede an individual’s ability to renew driver’s licences or vehicle insurance.

Overdue fines are sent to collections. Once a ticket is more that 180 days past due, the $173 fines increase by $40 to $213. Once a ticket is more than one year overdue, fines increase another $60 up to $273.

Fare infractions issued before Sept. 4, 2012, are considered provincial offences and are collected or disputed through ICBC.

TransLink spokeswoman Jiana Ling referred inquiries on this case to ICBC, as they were in charge of fine administration prior to 2012 and therefore have jurisdiction.

If fines remain unpaid after a year, ICBC refers them to collections. Between 2010 and 2012, ICBC collected $10 million in unpaid fines on 60,000 tickets, averaging 2,500 a month.

In September 2012, following the introduction of the South Coast B.C. Transportation Authority Act, TransLink gained responsibility for issuing fare-infraction tickets and collecting fines.

At that time, TransLink admitted it was losing $18 million a year in revenue to fare evaders.

In 2013, the first full year TransLink took over fine administration, the transit authority issued 25,400 tickets worth about $5.6 million. They managed to collect on 33 per cent of the tickets.

Fare evasion is expected to decline following the implementation of the $170-million Compass Card faregate program.

Passengers can pay fines in person, online or by mail. They can dispute a ticket, even if they have paid some or all of it. They must fill out a Notice of Dispute form on TransLink’s website and submit it within 14 days of the date the ticket was issued. Passengers unhappy with the outcome of dispute resolution can appeal the decision.

:lawl: Lol public transit

“How is this justified that the government can bring old skeletons out of our closets from when we were kids?”

:rofl: sounds like she wants her parents to pay for it

Not sure I understand the issue, she was found guilty of repeated offences. She didn't pay, government, being government, is slow and useless, finally calls in the debt.

1 time, I'd say let it go, repeat offender, she should have to pay.

Debt is debt, did the government ever relieve her of her legal duty to pay?

wait you mean stupid things you do in your youth can catch up to you later in life?

although she's whining like the little bitch she is, at least she's gonna pay it.

Throw her in the slammer and throw away the key.

When I was in high school, I always rode the skytrain for free. I was caught at least a dozen times, each time I gave them a new identity with new # and address. Nothing ever traced back to me :lol

good, maybe they'll start doing that for everyone. everything from bylaw parking tickets to skytrain tickets. no pay, no license renewal... + late fees.

I don't mind the way the laws are now where it goes against your drivers license but saying that I don't think they should be able to apply it to tickets that were received before the legislation changed.

^ i kinda like it the way it is now lol

if they just gave everyone a fresh slate, they'd be losing out on waaaay to much money. its not fair for those who've paid for all these years, only to find out that the people they've seen for the past countless years riding for free get a free ticket to a fresh start.

pay up for your stupid decisions from the past, it may suck, but they'll most likely never do it again, and they'll probably tell set an example for their friends as to what not to do

ICBC should not be in the collections business. What powers shall we grant them next?

Don't even bother reading the paper or watching the news much anymore cause there's always a handful of these ducking stories where people go whine to the media to try and get sympathy or get out of somthing. Fuck em

the Statue of limitations would of passed so as per the law they can not collect it from her.

Not really.

The ticket was basically a summons to the girl/lady. If she chose not to appeal the charges, the judgement is against her.

AFAIK, Limitation Act doesn't stop such judgement.

Try doing that to student loans. Sorry but some debt are for life, you don't pay it will be on your records for life.

.... I thought this was always law. I've always known that if I don't pay the Translink ticket, it'll end up on my drivers license and I won't beable to renew until the fine is paid.

do the crime, do the time

I could understand if she did it once, and then learned from it.

But she did it 12 times! What'd you think the police just stand around giving out little slips of paper for fun? Idiot.

Also is anyone else reminded of this?


I guess it all comes down to...How old is 15 really?

She has this posted on her facebook.

https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/...27162617_n.jpg

:lol

There is a solution to this problem and it lies somewhere between a neck tattoo and a 302 swap

yep :troll:

Sweet Karma. One thing I learned is in life theirs no handouts. Obligatory you do the crime you pay the fine.

http://i.imgur.com/fWBULdO.gif

Really no handouts?

What about those rich Asian kids you continuously wish you were family with, those aren't handouts?

one thing you should also learn in life is the difference between their and there. lol.

i aint usually one but...

http://openclipart.org/image/2400px/...-nazi-meta.png

sigheil!!!