Going to Court for Parking Tickets

[KristinaS]

My question involves a traffic citation from the state of: California

Hello,
I have accumulated four parking tickets from August and September of last year. I am ashamed to say that I completely forgot about them after I moved last fall, up until they reminded me about their existence in a form of a $600 dollar bill from a collection agency that my old roommate finally passed on to me today.

The back of a parking ticket states that "a civil judgement may be filed with the Superior Court if you owe $400 or more in unpaid parking penalties." I tried calling the SF DPT, but the three different agents that I spoke to did not know anything about it.
From what I've gathered on various websites, one must first file for administrative review and administrative hearing (both in timely manner), and if neither gives, one can appear (again, in timely manner) in Traffic Division of Superior Court.

Since I've missed every possible deadline at this point, I feel as though I'm beating a dead horse, but the penalty fee is so unbearably large that I'm more then willing to grasp even the smallest possibility of reducing the amount owed. Plus, I've heard from a couple of friends that their moms messed up in a similar manner but to an even greater extent, and were still able to dramatically slash the amount they owed by going to court.

If anyone can share any knowledge at all, it will be greatly appreciated.

Yours,
-Kristina S.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Contact whomever is responsible at this point for collecting the tickets and see if they can offer a payment plan, or if they're at all willing to negotiate the debt. You indicate that this is a collection agency, not a government agency, and that normally increases the chance (but does not guarantee) that they'll be willing to settle the debt for less than the full value. Make sure any deal you get is confirmed in writing, and make sure you don't lose the documentation - any agreement, a copy of the check with which you pay, your receipt, etc.