A resident of Trois-Rivières finds himself in the midst of another annoying and costly example of SAAQ failure. His car was confiscated last weekend on the pretext that he would not have paid for a ticket, even if he could prove otherwise.
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Meschac Moe-Pouaty has still not managed to regain ownership of his vehicle three days after it was confiscated due to an error in his driver’s license. SPVM officers impounded his car after arresting him for speeding in Montreal on Sunday and warned him he had failed to pay for a Jan. 26 ticket. However, he had paid for it and even had the proof just a few clicks away on his phone.
“I offered the two police officers to show my evidence as if this fine had long been paid. The two police officers didn’t want to know anything,” explained Mr Moe-Pouaty.
Without a car and alone in Montreal, he managed to return to Trois-Rivières. Three days later, SAAQ gave him a piece of paper proving that the sanction on his license had been lifted. It is therefore valid again.
However, he is still unable to pick up his vehicle in Montreal. He must re-apply to SAAQ for approval. He was informed on the spot that he would receive a call in 72 hours, after which he would have to get another piece of paper to present at the pound in Montreal.
Meanwhile, expenses are piling up. The next step for him is precisely to demand compensation. “Since you are in error, it is up to you to decide whether to reimburse me for all costs. It is certain that I will cover all expenses, the travel expenses,” he added, which also includes the pound, towing, trips between cities and taxis to go to school, among other things.
What happened? The SAAQ cannot confirm this. It is true, however, that failure to pay a fine will have a driver’s license confiscated, but he should have been given notice beforehand of the payment deadlines, a notice which Mr Moe-Pouaty never received since he was paying his fine.
Quebec has asked the police for flexibility over the SAAQ’s failures, but it’s not clear if the problem stems from the new SAAQ platform or from the district court not submitting the payment notice.
“In the first few weeks of setting up SAAQclic, we encountered problems with the transmission of information. The Company has established mechanisms for regular communication with the Department of Justice and the DPCP to prioritize issues for resolution. Several of these issues have been fixed since deployment and improvement work has continued. In addition, the police forces are continuously informed of the issues encountered for any follow-up action required by the deployment of digital transformation,” the SAAQ commented in writing.