Call Kurtis: Why Was My Tax Refund Garnished For A Car I Never Owned?

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- Instead of receiving his full tax refund, Michael Gardner got a letter from the State Franchise Tax Board saying it had been garnished in the amount of $182.

"[It's] just blatantly wrong." He said.

The Franchise Tax Board had taken 80 percent of his state tax refund, for non-payment of a City of Inglewood parking ticket tied to a 4-door blue Honda.

"I never owned a Honda in my life," Michael said.

He said he has been driving a PT Cruiser for the past nine years, and has never been to the City of Inglewood.

"There's no chance at all that it's me," Michael said.

After explaining the mistake, he said he was told it would take up to four months for the $182 to be returned.

For nearly a decade, CBS13 has reported on people in our area receiving tickets from Southern California cities, when they weren't there.

These cases usually involved confusion over a license plate with a "1" instead of the letter "I", or a zero instead of the letter "o".

But, we hadn't heard of a case where the wrong person's tax refund was garnished over a parking ticket – until Michael reached out.

"That's a little scary," said tax attorney Steve Packey. He said California law requires the State Franchise Tax Board send you a written warning 30 days before they garnish your refund – which gives you time to fight it if you think there has been a mistake.

"I never got a notice; I read every piece of mail even the junk mail," Michael said.

We reached out to the City of Inglewood. They responded, blaming "an error." However, they could not explain what caused Michael's information to be mistakenly tied to a parking ticket.

They claim a 30-day notice was sent to Michael, but to an outdated address.

"I think it's wrong," he said.

After we got involved, Michael received his money in two and a half weeks.

"I don't want other people to have to go through this," Michael said.

The Franchise Tax Board told us they have only garnished the wrong tax refund four times in two years.

The City of Inglewood told us they hold contracts to process tickets for 37 different jurisdictions, and tell us their error rate is less than one percent.