Massachusetts Couple Gets Parking Ticket from New York City — But They've Never Been There

A Sudbury, Massachusetts couple is caught in a confusing legal mess after receiving a parking ticket from Queens, New York — a place they say they’ve never even visited.

Heather and Richard Clement received a notice in the mail for failing to display a parking meter receipt on March 12. But that night, they say, they were sound asleep in their home in Sudbury. There was no photo evidence with the citation, and the couple initially dismissed the ticket as a scam.

“We were not in New York City. We've never been to Queens,” Heather told WCVB. “Our truck has never been to New York City, so we thought absolutely it’s a scam.”

But the notices kept coming, and the fine kept increasing — jumping from $30 to $90. That’s when they began to take the matter more seriously. Richard wanted to pay the fine and move on, but Heather stood her ground. “On principle, absolutely not,” she said.

Their challenge is part of a broader issue involving duplicate license plate numbers. For years, Massachusetts issued the same alphanumeric combinations on different types of plates — standard, commercial, veteran, etc. Although the state stopped this practice in 2019, thousands of duplicate combinations remain on the road, leading to mistaken tolls and, now, possibly tickets.

However, the Registry of Motor Vehicles says the Clements’ plate is unique — no duplicate exists. That suggests this was a clerical error on New York’s side.

The couple’s initial appeal was denied because they didn’t respond to the first two notices. With help from the New York Office of the Parking Summons Advocate, they’re trying again. But Heather Clement says the burden of proof shouldn’t fall on people who weren’t even there.

“I think it’s very unfair,” she said.

This incident highlights just how difficult — and frustrating — it can be to fight an error in the system, especially when photographic proof isn’t required for some parking violations.

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