Anger as Knox Council issues $311 fines to several people for late pet registration
A KNOX pet owner says she would rather go to jail than pay a “ludicrous” $311 fine for late pet registration.
Bayswater’s Anita Bazogias, 60, was one of several pet owners who contacted Leader saying they had not received a reminder to pay their animals’ registrations, but after a visit from council officers were hit with fines almost 10 times the cost of a tag.
The council claims it sent owners two reminders before officers visited homes.
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The fines came despite owners immediately paying up after being made aware of the situation.
Registrations, which cost $38 each, are due on April 10 each year and owners face fines of $311 — a figure set by the State Government — for noncompliance.
Ms Bazogias said she got a card under her door from the council in September last year saying they had visited about her unregistered cat and dog.
CALL TO PROTECT PUPPIES FROM THE KNIFE
She said she didn’t remember getting a reminder, but paid the registrations the next day.
She was still fined, and after refusing to pay, recently got a letter from the council warning her the matter “will be referred for legal action”, and potential penalties “may have serious consequences that will affect your employment prospects and ability to travel overseas”.
“How ridiculous; it’s like I’m a criminal,” Ms Bazogias said.
“I’m 60 years old and I don’t want to be treated this way by council — it’s disgusting.”
But Ms Bazogias said she would rather go to jail than pay the fines and plans to fight the council in court.
Meanwhile, a Ferntree Gully woman who was fined for late pet registration is calling on others affected to protest against the council.
Sharon Abdallah said not renewing the registration for her daughter’s two cats was an honest mistake.
She said the cats were registered on November 29 2015 after they were adopted, and they assumed the registration was due on the same date last year.
She did not recall receiving any reminders from the council about registration being due.
Ms Abdallah had a card put under her door after council rangers visited on November 16 last year and paid the registrations the next day.
But the council issued two fines of $311 each anyway six days later.
She is refusing to pay the “crazy” amount and plans to fight the council in court.
Ms Abdallah said a message on the council’s website in late December led her to believe if registration was paid, there would be no fine.
She believed many others were in the same situation and called for people to protest at the council’s January 23 meeting.
Meanwhile, Ferntree Gully’s Mari Cortese was also fined for paying her cat’s registration late.
She had a card left in her letterbox in November last year. She immediately phoned the council and after realising her cat’s registration was overdue she paid it, but was still fined.
“I was really disappointed and upset,” Ms Cortese said.
“I said it’s just a one-off error ... but they said I still have to pay.”
She said the council told her they sent her an SMS reminder to renew the registration, but she didn’t get it.
She also plans to appeal the fine, which she said was “over the top”.
Council acting city development director Steven Dickson said he couldn’t comment on individual cases for privacy reasons.
Mr Dickson said the council alerted people who had failed to pay fines before it was referred to court.
Council acting city development director Steven Dickson said registration renewal notices were sent in March last year, followed by a reminder notice, and then an SMS reminder in September, before officers doorknocked about 800 homes.
He said individual circumstances, like no longer having the pet or moving out of the area, meant some people were not fined.
Leader reported last June that the council was set to doorknock people who hadn’t paid up, a practice the council has used for years.
There were 282 fines for unregistered pets issued last year, up from 182 the previous year.
Mr Dickson said it was appropriate to fine people who didn’t renew their pet registration.
“The fact that a person registers their vehicle after they have been identified by the police of using an unregistered vehicle does not prevent them from receiving an infringement,” Mr Dickson said.
Mr Dickson said the council wanted people to “fully understand the implications” of ignoring or failing to pay a fine.