Is hiring a Ticket Fighter worth it?

That's weird, ALL my friends have used ticket fighters and they tell me wonderful things about them, even when they fail you come out a winner without a record and a reduced fine, ex cops and OPP are known to judges and they give them a break when they are defending you, many times dropping serious charges to lesser ones that makes a big difference in your insurance.

It's always a very good idea to fight your traffic tickets in an effort to keep your driving record as clean as possible - "clean record" translates into "small insurance rates". You can do it yourself if you want and know how to do it efficiently or you can hire a ticket fighter. If you choose to hire a lawyer or a paralegal to fight your ticket for you, make sure you choose wisely. Don't get convinced by some ticket fighters who would "guarantee" for you something to the effect of "no demerit points", "a reduced fine", or something of the sort. Fighting your ticket by using all the legal means necessary is the right thing to do in my opinion. So, before deciding how to proceed with your case, keep in mind that by pleading guilty you will be registered with a conviction, which is the real factor that drives insurance rates up. Same will happen if the ticket fighter whose services you decide to retain does not have it in him/her to look for your best interests all the way, up to the highest level. That is, if all your ticket fighter is looking for is a deal - i.e. no demerit points, reduced fine - he/she does not achieve much for you. In other words, the conviction will show on your driving record, the insurance company is going to see it and, depending on your driving record, it might raise your insurance premium.

I’ve recently used the services of a ticket fighter and got excellent results. See below my story:

On November 13, 2009 - while driving my car in Toronto - I got a Notice of Offence for driving with 78 Km/hour in a 50 km/hour zone. I did not agree with the charge as I was certain I did not drive my car at the speed the police officer alleged I did and thus, decided - shortly after the incident – to file a Notice of Intention to Appear with the court in an effort to challenge the charge. Time passed and I did not receive a Notice of Trial in the mail, as I was expecting, aspect which prompted me to call - on November 22, 2010 - the court at 1530 Markham Road only to find out that they did not know why I did not receive the Notice of Trial and that my trial was already scheduled to take place on December 15, 2010. Realising that there was little time left until my trial date (less than a month) and not wanting to deal myself with the Traffic Court (although I am an Ontario lawyer, I do not have any kind of experience with Traffic Court) I decided to hire a traffic offence professional to deal with my case. After conducting an informed research on the Internet in this regard, I called Redline Legal Services (Scarborough office - www.charged.ca) and spoke to Forch LaRosa. I explained to him that what I was looking for was a legal team ready to fight for me all the way according to my instructions. Precisely, what I wanted was to try winning the case IF POSSIBLE, using any legal means necessary. He told me that, while Redline cannot guarantee for me the result (aspect which I appreciated being a lawyer and knowing that the Ontario Bar – which now governs paralegals too – does not endorse the idea of lawyers and paralegals giving guarantees to their clients) the agents at Redline approach all their cases with the idea in mind of doing the best for their clients, no matter how much effort they invest in representing their clients’ interests. He suggested that in my case, the first two steps to be taken should be the following: a) make a Disclosure Request in order to find out what was the evidence the prosecutor had and b) file an Application under subsections 11 (b) and 24 (1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms based on the fact that the overall delay from the date I was charged and the trial date was 13 months and 2 days which was prima facie unreasonable. Surely, there were other legal steps contemplated by Forch depending on how my case was going to unfold. I liked Forch’s open attitude and legal approach proposed to me during our phone conversation and, on November 24, 2010, I hired Redline Legal to act on my behalf. This was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The same day I retained Redline Legal, a Charter Application was filed with the court and a Disclosure Request was submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office. Furthermore, Forch took care to scan all the documents related to my case and send them to me through e-mail along with a copy of the Retainer Agreement (which I agreed to at the moment I retained Redline Legal’s services). Yesterday, December 15, 2010, John from Redline attended the court on my behalf and won my case on the Charter argument (had my charge stayed by JP Lewin). And all this at a very reasonable cost billed professionally using a Statement of Account. Needless to say I – as a lawyer – am impressed with the professional, lawyer-like work done for me by Forch, John and their Redline Legal team. I recommend Redline Legal to anyone interested in hiring traffic legal professionals willing and capable of doing creative legal work and genuinely looking after a client’s best interests.

Hope this helps.

Gamix wrote: ↑That's weird, ALL my friends have used ticket fighters and they tell me wonderful things about them, even when they fail you come out a winner without a record and a reduced fine, ex cops and OPP are known to judges and they give them a break when they are defending you, many times dropping serious charges to lesser ones that makes a big difference in your insurance.

Unfortunately, a reduced fine still means a guilty conviction. Which means a conviction on your driving record, which has implications on insurance. You may get 0 demerit points, but that doesn't matter.

What does a conviction do to your insurance?

It will eliminate the conviction free discount of 10-20% that applies to your insurance policy. In addition, if you have 2 minor convictions, will likely result in a 5-10% surcharge. If you have a major or serious conviction, it will result in a 20-30% surcharge. This is all regardless of points, because all insurance cares about are convictions (guilty pleas; regardless of fine amounts and regardless of demerit points)

Dropping from a serious to a minor is a huge benefit, but this can also be negotiated without a ticket fighter present. The prosecution always offers you a reduced guilty plea, with no demerit points and reduced fine. This is to save the court's time, and to increase the efficiency of using the judge's time and hence their salary.

If you don't have time, or making more than it's worth, or they promise free if they succeed, then yes. Else no. You will know what I mean after you done this yourself.

Avatar wrote: ↑If you don't have time, or making more than it's worth, or they promise free if they succeed, then yes. Else no. You will know what I mean after you done this yourself.

+1

Offers on reduced fine and no points was automatic. I was surprised there were many who showed up and took bargain of reduced fine with no points.

There was a couple of ticket fighters/representatives and all their cases were thrown out.

Other than time and a wee bit of anxiety, there is nothing to lose showing up in court.

I've hired a ticket fighter twice and both times came out successful. It was never a question of if I'd fight it or not, but I knew I wouldn't be very confident in court. I had no idea what to do and didn't want to take days off work. So hiring a ticket fighter was my easy way out, I guess.

The first time was doing 90 km/h in a 60km/h zone + failure to produce insurance papers in Toronto (Finch WB in between Bayview and Leslie). I had insurance, just forgot to put the new paper in my wallet and had the expired one. I think the fine was $180 + 3 demerit points for the speeding offence and $55 for the insurance. I paid $350 to get it thrown out, well worth it IMO.

The second time was again, 90 km/h in a 60km zone but it got reduced to 75km/h in a 60km by the officer in Markham (Major Mack & Warden when they were expanding the lanes). The officer forgot to write down the actual fine amount on the ticket. I'm not sure if this was the reason it got thrown out, but I don't really care either, as long as it was thrown out. I paid $300 this time to the same guy, again well worth it.

dana_2 wrote: ↑It's always a very good idea to fight your traffic tickets in an effort to keep your driving record as clean as possible - "clean record" translates into "small insurance rates". You can do it yourself if you want and know how to do it efficiently or you can hire a ticket fighter. If you choose to hire a lawyer or a paralegal to fight your ticket for you, make sure you choose wisely. Don't get convinced by some ticket fighters who would "guarantee" for you something to the effect of "no demerit points", "a reduced fine", or something of the sort. Fighting your ticket by using all the legal means necessary is the right thing to do in my opinion. So, before deciding how to proceed with your case, keep in mind that by pleading guilty you will be registered with a conviction, which is the real factor that drives insurance rates up. Same will happen if the ticket fighter whose services you decide to retain does not have it in him/her to look for your best interests all the way, up to the highest level. That is, if all your ticket fighter is looking for is a deal - i.e. no demerit points, reduced fine - he/she does not achieve much for you. In other words, the conviction will show on your driving record, the insurance company is going to see it and, depending on your driving record, it might raise your insurance premium.

I’ve recently used the services of a ticket fighter and got excellent results. See below my story:

On November 13, 2009 - while driving my car in Toronto - I got a Notice of Offence for driving with 78 Km/hour in a 50 km/hour zone. I did not agree with the charge as I was certain I did not drive my car at the speed the police officer alleged I did and thus, decided - shortly after the incident – to file a Notice of Intention to Appear with the court in an effort to challenge the charge. Time passed and I did not receive a Notice of Trial in the mail, as I was expecting, aspect which prompted me to call - on November 22, 2010 - the court at 1530 Markham Road only to find out that they did not know why I did not receive the Notice of Trial and that my trial was already scheduled to take place on December 15, 2010. Realising that there was little time left until my trial date (less than a month) and not wanting to deal myself with the Traffic Court (although I am an Ontario lawyer, I do not have any kind of experience with Traffic Court) I decided to hire a traffic offence professional to deal with my case. After conducting an informed research on the Internet in this regard, I called Redline Legal Services (Scarborough office - www.charged.ca) and spoke to Forch LaRosa. I explained to him that what I was looking for was a legal team ready to fight for me all the way according to my instructions. Precisely, what I wanted was to try winning the case IF POSSIBLE, using any legal means necessary. He told me that, while Redline cannot guarantee for me the result (aspect which I appreciated being a lawyer and knowing that the Ontario Bar – which now governs paralegals too – does not endorse the idea of lawyers and paralegals giving guarantees to their clients) the agents at Redline approach all their cases with the idea in mind of doing the best for their clients, no matter how much effort they invest in representing their clients’ interests. He suggested that in my case, the first two steps to be taken should be the following: a) make a Disclosure Request in order to find out what was the evidence the prosecutor had and b) file an Application under subsections 11 (b) and 24 (1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms based on the fact that the overall delay from the date I was charged and the trial date was 13 months and 2 days which was prima facie unreasonable. Surely, there were other legal steps contemplated by Forch depending on how my case was going to unfold. I liked Forch’s open attitude and legal approach proposed to me during our phone conversation and, on November 24, 2010, I hired Redline Legal to act on my behalf. This was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The same day I retained Redline Legal, a Charter Application was filed with the court and a Disclosure Request was submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office. Furthermore, Forch took care to scan all the documents related to my case and send them to me through e-mail along with a copy of the Retainer Agreement (which I agreed to at the moment I retained Redline Legal’s services). Yesterday, December 15, 2010, John from Redline attended the court on my behalf and won my case on the Charter argument (had my charge stayed by JP Lewin). And all this at a very reasonable cost billed professionally using a Statement of Account. Needless to say I – as a lawyer – am impressed with the professional, lawyer-like work done for me by Forch, John and their Redline Legal team. I recommend Redline Legal to anyone interested in hiring traffic legal professionals willing and capable of doing creative legal work and genuinely looking after a client’s best interests.

Hope this helps.

Hi Dana,

*OP UPDATE: First thing I wanna say is thanks to everyone who posted in this thread. Secondly I am fortunately lucky to have won my case cause the official didn't show up. Third.....I wanna thanks Forch from RedLine Legal Service aka charged.ca not for winning my case but for giving me free advice. I did some research a week before my trial date and Redline Legal Service came up on a few other threads. Their location was about 10min drive from my place so hell I just took my case down there and see what they can offer me. At first when I walked into the office I was approached by one of the reps working there, didn't get his name but he was an asian older fella. He read my disclosure and realize it wasn't a Toronto/Scarb case, so immediately he was like I'll pass you on to Forch he deals with cases in the Northumbland areas (near Peterborough). So I waited about 10mins in their lobby till Forch was done with a client....he came out and told me that they don't send people out to that area no more cause they too busy with the local region (That's before reviewing my disclousure). Anyhow he sat down and explained why he couldn't take it and gave me free counseling and advice. He spent like 25mins in the lobby reviewing my case and guiding me on what to say and how to approach the case if i was to represent myself. He was honest and no bs....I'm not sure if some of you might be thinking this is a marketing scam or somewhat trying to promote Redline Legal thru fake posts. Look at my thread history this is my first post about them. Forch gave up a good amount of time helping me for free I figured this is the least I can do to repay him. BTW Dana next time you're in touch with Forch tell him the asian guy from the Northumbland case said thanks. During the trial I had other cases ahead of me. There was a ticket fighter who was representing 3 clients.....I'm not sure if u'r suppose to have it worked out with u'r ticket fighter ahead of time but what he did in the trial was plead guilty to all charge WITHOUT putting up a fight. I was like damn wtf is the point of hiring them if they gonna go and plead guilty. With that said like Dana mentioned earlier be wise when you're choosing your legal Rep. Another thing is if u'r planning on hiring a ticket fighter do it asap! Don't wait till the last moment like me cause there are stuff they can do to help you with your case if time isn't the issue.

hire yao416

EPcjay wrote: ↑hire yao416

+1

Thanks dana_2 for your recommending Redline Legal Services. I've hired the private ticket fighters and the major franchised (Pointts and XCopper) before. In the early years, the ticket fighters (usually former OPP officers) were very professional and spent time talking to you to help you fight the ticket. However, over the past decade, I've found that most ticket fighters are now focusing on "quantity" instead of "quality". They have multiple offices and in my last case with one of the major franchises, the person I dealt with did not appear to have any knowledge of how to fight the case and was only concerned about my signing the documents and providing my payment information. The only stipulation is that they consider the case a ticket if they receive a "reduction" in the ticket and that's why they always promise a reduction. Therefore, there is never any incentive to defeat the ticket altogether.

I had a recent at fault accident in which I was charged with several infractions. I searched the internet for reviews and came upon Redline Legal Services in this forum. I knew from previous experience that if I hired one of the major franchises, I could still end up with serious convictions even if some of my infractions were reduced. Redline Legal does have branch offices and court specialists but they do have a case officer who looks after you (much like a Project Manager). In my case, I dealt with Forch Larosa. Redline Legal took down the facts of my case and analyzed it with the objective of fighting all the infractions instead of going for a reduction. Due to the complexity of my case, Redline came up with 2 plans of action. They filled me in on the reasons for the 2 plans and worked with me to choose the best plan of action. Whereas with previous ticket fighters I would receive a phone call after the court case on the outcome of the case, Redline Legal called me several times leading up to the court date on their status. In the end, my serious infractions were dropped and my careless driving was reduced to a very minor charge. I was completely satisfied with Redline Legal Services. I even received several phone calls after the court date so they could confirm the results. I, too, recommend Forch Larosa and Redline Legal Services for any one who needs to hire a ticket fighter.

EPcjay wrote: ↑hire yao416

+1 on yao416 he reduced my DUI from alcohol to water.

angy wrote: ↑Just wanna hear y'all opinion on this cause I have 3 friends who have hired it one and all failed the case.

Total waste of money. You can accomplish the same outcome if you decide to fight the ticket.