HOUSTON -- A speeding ticket can be costly and inconvenient. But now a mistake by Houston police is costing hundreds of dollars, the KPRC Local 2 Troubleshooters reported Friday.

Houstonian Marnie Krause thought she would skip the trip downtown to the municipal courthouse to settle her traffic ticket.

"I figured it was a lot less hassle to just pay to have it certify-mailed to insure that everything got there," she said.

She followed the directions on her speeding ticket and applied to take a driver safety course. The ticket told her to mail a $95 check.

Two weeks later, the city sent it back, along with an invoice requesting a new check for $103 -- the new rate passed by the state on Dec. 1.

"I just felt like the municipal court should honor the rate that is on the ticket," she said.

But the director of the municipal court is blaming Houston police officers for the problem. He said that even though HPD has received new ticket books with updated fees, many officers are still handing out old citations.

"It's not the problem. It's the frustration. I mean, it's an added cost to me because I had to certify-mail it a second time, and certify-mailing stuff is not cheap," Krause said.

And Krause is not the only one paying extra.

Municipal court administrators told KPRC that police are writing so many outdated tickets, the courts are returning about 75 payments to Houston drivers each week.

The Troubleshooters asked why officers are still using tickets that should have been tossed more than three months ago.

"We have around 5,300 officers and some have been reassigned to patrol. They may be unaware of the new citation books that came out after Dec. 1," said Sgt. Michelle Sandoval, with HPD.

The department said it is working to collect all of the old books.

If you get a speeding ticket in Houston, you should check the latest fees and fine amounts before mailing in a payment.

The new fine schedule is posted online at www.houstontx.gov/courts/index.html.