Most of us are decent people, but that doesn't mean we're perfect. Speeding tickets, bad credit, and overdraft fees are a few examples of the sort of trouble we've all found ourselves in at some point. Accepting your punishment is often the right thing to do, but sometimes you just want a solution without penalty. Here's how to get out of trouble unscathed.


You'll find all kinds of situations below, but if you're having a specific problem then feel free to just jump to the relevant section for some solutions.

Getting Out of Parking and Speeding Tickets

Parking tickets and speeding tickets are extremely common, partially because they're easy laws to break without being aware of it and also because they make a lot of money for the city. That said, they're the sort of trouble that's pretty easy to circumvent.


Parking Tickets

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The city government loves their parking tickets. So many of these things get handed out that you could end up with one even if you didn't break the law. Either way, the first thing you want to check for is a mistake. According to parking expert Eric Feder, if anything on the parking ticket is wrong—from the date to the location to the cited violation—you have an easy out. You can even get out of a ticket if the writing is illegible. If anything is off or wrong on your citation, contest it and you should be able to get it dismissed without much trouble.

If a mistake was made and the citation was real, you're not necessarily out of luck. Sometimes street markings are confusing or unclear. If that's the case, photograph your parked car, the area around it, and any relevant signs to show as evidence for when you're in court. You can't argue ignorance to the law, but if the law can't be easily understood you can argue that.


You're also in the clear if your parking violation was the result of an emergency. For example, if your engine overheated and you had to run to a convenience store to get water to cool it off, your receipt can be used as proof to show what you were doing when the ticket was issued. This is the case for virtually any emergency, so long as you have proof. Technically you could fake an emergency to get out of a parking ticket, but you should really try an honest approach first. Most judges are pretty good BS detectors (or bologna detectors, as the case may be) so think twice about trying something dishonest.

Speeding Tickets


There's no surefire way to beat a speeding ticket, but if you're polite, don't talk back, and do everything the officer says, you have a better chance. As we've learned before, so long as you're polite you can ask questions like:


Can I see the radar?

When was the last time your radar gun was calibrated?

Where were you when you clocked my speed?

Were you moving when you clocked my speed?

You don't want to push it if the officer says no, but these questions—when asked politely—lets the officer know that you were paying attention. If you're having no luck in the moment, you can always call or write the officer after receiving the ticket. The officer has the authority to drop the ticket entirely, so if you're nice, apologize, and ask nicely to be given a chance you might actually get one.


Just like with parking tickets, police office Mark Brazel says a mistake on a speeding ticket is grounds for dismissal. If you are cited, read the citation carefully and look for any errors. If you're just a few yards from a speed limit increase that would put you within 7 miles of the speed limit, you'll want to know this as well. Both of these things can help get your ticket dismissed in court.

Reversing Bank and Late Payment Fees


Overdraft fees aren't as prevalent as they once were, but that doesn't mean the banks have given up on such a major source of revenue. Your bank can charge you overdraft fees from checks and bill payments, plus there are returned check fees (because you really want that voided check back), hidden processing fees, and even potential fees for talking to a teller if you're a Bank of America customer. That said, many banks have ways around them or will forgive you once or twice. This often goes for late payment fees as well.

Checks and Bill Payments Can Still Cause Overdrafts We noted in yesterday's Remains of the Day post (in the headline, no less) an item from Consumer… Read more


First, you should call your bank and ask if there's any way they can remove it just this one time. Many banks will allow this once or twice a year. Perhaps this is for customer service purposes, or perhaps it's so they can easily say no next time they charge you, but either way it's worth a shot. (In my personal experience, this is completely useless with Bank of America but has worked with Wells Fargo and TCF.)

What happens if you have multiple fees? Ramit Sethi, of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, has a clever negotiation tactic. He's noted that not all fees cost the same. An overdraft fee, for example, is generally a minimum of $20. A returned check fee, on the other hand, is almost always less than $10. Removing two returned check fees will almost always cost them less than removing a single overdraft fee. When you put it like that, they're more likely to remove multiple fees—at least, they did it for Ramit.


Like with most things, however, it's better to take actions that will keep you out of trouble in general. If you want to be proactive, be sure to check out our guide on debit cards and avoid getting charged fees altogether.


Getting Caught Using BitTorrent


We all know there are legal uses for BitTorrent, but that's not why most people use it. Whatever the case may be, many internet service providers (ISPs) can detect when you're downloading a file you shouldn't be downloading. Maybe you were just downloading a copy of something you own and lost, or maybe you had a less ethical motivation. Regardless, we're not here to judge.

When you get caught you're usually forgiven without consequence so there's no real trouble to get out of. That said, you're putting yourself at risk if you do it again. If you want to avoid being disconnected from the internet, the solution is very simple: stop using BitTorrent. Instead, start using Usenet, and don't forget to enhance your security by using SSL. That's it. Problem solved.


Removing Black Marks On Your Credit


If you've earned your bad credit rating, you're going to have to work for a better one the hard way. There are circumstances, however, where your bad credit may not be your fault. If a credit mistake is tarnishing your record, it's pretty easy to get it removed.

First things first: Before you solve a credit problem, you need to be aware of it—and you won't be without a credit report. Lots of sites offer free credit reports that aren't actually free—or at least involve jumping through hoops—but AnnualCreditReport.com will provide you with three free yearly reports (one from each major credit provider, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion). Get all of them, in order to get your full credit picture and find the blemishes on your record. Once you know the exact problem, it's time to make some phone calls.


First things first, just ask—nicely. You're not going to get anything removed from your report that belongs there, but if you have a negative mark that isn't your fault you generally have to do little more than politely contest it. If you explain the circumstances over the phone, you can have it removed quickly. You will need to do this with all the major credit reporting agencies. If that doesn't work, you can also try writing a good will letter addressed to each company, which is basically the same thing in written form. This may seem kind of silly, but it's gotten me out of a bogus claim when a two-hour phone call did not.

Finally, you can also file a dispute online at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.


Why does this work so well? If you make a claim that a credit reporting agency is willing to investigate, the creditor is unlikely to contest it if your claim is minor. It just isn't worth their time. If there's no response, you're given the benefit of the doubt and the negative item is simply removed.

Got any clever ways to get yourself out of trouble? Share ‘em in the comments!



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