Nothing good ever comes by registered mail
Over the summer, I was planning our store's Harry Potter party. I did most of the work from home, and went into the store very occasionally. I usually rode my bike in if I had to go to the store at all.
On June 6th, I had to go in on short notice to fax some stuff, so I hopped on a bus, flashed my pass, and went to sit down. The bus driver grabbed my arm, and demanded to see my pass again. Confused, I showed it to him. It turns out, my pass had expired, and I had forgotten to buy a new one. Silly me.
In Montreal, had this happened, the bus driver would have kicked me off the bus and told me to get a new pass. But this is Quebec City, where everything has to be twice as complicated. So instead of letting me go buy a new pass, the driver closed the door. He confiscated my pass and my transit ID card (because in QC, you have to get a photo ID, even if you use a general pass). He gave me a lecture about proper bus fare and trying to scam the bus company, took my name, address and phone number, and told me I could call the city to get my pass back. He then gave me a gave me a piece of paper with the transit company's rules, a transfer that was good until the end of the day (so I could get home) and told me to go sit down.
When I got to the store, I verbally abused the bus driver with my co-workers, and later I went out and bought a bunch of bus tickets. I figured it was all over, save the inconvenience of trying to get my transit ID back. In the end, I never bothered, since the other one was about to expire anyway. I just got myself a new one and forgot the whole thing.
Until today, when a registered letter came for me in the mail. Nothing good ever comes by registered mail.
It turns out that for this little infraction (which in Montreal, as I said before, would amount to a bus driver telling me to get off the bus and get a new buss pass) I now owe the city $166.00.
I'm contesting it, of course. When this happened back in June, I tried to explain and offered to get off the bus and buy a new pass, but the driver wouldn't let me. I think he was a little overzealous about the whole thing, since I think it was obvious that I wasn't trying to pull a fast one. I honestly forgot, and while he was in his rights to fine me, I think it's a little harsh, seeing as he could have just refused me access to the bus.
Given that it's April Fools' Day, I wanted to believe it was all an elaborate prank, like the time my best friend called me up pretending to be from the library and told me that I owed $200.00 in late fees. If this is a joke, it's NOT FUNNY.
On June 6th, I had to go in on short notice to fax some stuff, so I hopped on a bus, flashed my pass, and went to sit down. The bus driver grabbed my arm, and demanded to see my pass again. Confused, I showed it to him. It turns out, my pass had expired, and I had forgotten to buy a new one. Silly me.
In Montreal, had this happened, the bus driver would have kicked me off the bus and told me to get a new pass. But this is Quebec City, where everything has to be twice as complicated. So instead of letting me go buy a new pass, the driver closed the door. He confiscated my pass and my transit ID card (because in QC, you have to get a photo ID, even if you use a general pass). He gave me a lecture about proper bus fare and trying to scam the bus company, took my name, address and phone number, and told me I could call the city to get my pass back. He then gave me a gave me a piece of paper with the transit company's rules, a transfer that was good until the end of the day (so I could get home) and told me to go sit down.
When I got to the store, I verbally abused the bus driver with my co-workers, and later I went out and bought a bunch of bus tickets. I figured it was all over, save the inconvenience of trying to get my transit ID back. In the end, I never bothered, since the other one was about to expire anyway. I just got myself a new one and forgot the whole thing.
Until today, when a registered letter came for me in the mail. Nothing good ever comes by registered mail.
It turns out that for this little infraction (which in Montreal, as I said before, would amount to a bus driver telling me to get off the bus and get a new buss pass) I now owe the city $166.00.
I'm contesting it, of course. When this happened back in June, I tried to explain and offered to get off the bus and buy a new pass, but the driver wouldn't let me. I think he was a little overzealous about the whole thing, since I think it was obvious that I wasn't trying to pull a fast one. I honestly forgot, and while he was in his rights to fine me, I think it's a little harsh, seeing as he could have just refused me access to the bus.
Given that it's April Fools' Day, I wanted to believe it was all an elaborate prank, like the time my best friend called me up pretending to be from the library and told me that I owed $200.00 in late fees. If this is a joke, it's NOT FUNNY.