A couple are fuming after being slapped with a parking ticket despite there being no red line when they left their car.
Jeff and Desiree Jolly thought they had been pranked when they returned to their car in San Francisco and saw the $108 (£89) fine.
It was clear that the red line had been painted while the car was parked as it cut around one of the tyres.
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However, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority claim that the space was always a no-parking zone and that the paint job was actually a re-paint job as the red line had faded.
The authorities sent CBC a snap of the curb before it was painted, appearing to show a very faint red line.
ABC7 News tracked down Google Maps images of the curb from 2016 and 2021, in which it appears completely grey.
Speaking to CBC Radio's As It Happens show, Jeff said that the couple have been parking in the spot for 25 years and never noticed the line or any no-parking signs.
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He explained: "It was just odd. You know, we thought it was a prank or something. In this city, you know to look where you park. There's no way you would possibly miss that."
The Jollys have now logged an official complaint against the fine, which is set to be reviewed by city officials within 60 days.
City spokesperson Erica Kato said: "For this particular case, as the curb was already a red zone but faded, the citations clerk conducting the review would evaluate the state of the previous red zone paint.
"If it was significantly faded and unenforceable then it would not be considered a factor in the review."
Jeff said: "We'll probably have to pay the ticket and see if we get reimbursed. But we're not even going to do that. We're just going to see what happens because it's just so ridiculous.
"I really didn't think it was going to go this far. You know, I really thought they were just going to say 'we made a mistake' and just reverse the ticket because it's obvious just by the picture."
He added that they had been planning to leave the area anyway, with a potential move to France on the cards and that this debacle might be a final straw.
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