DMV Rant
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Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 19,402
Likes: 38
From: Bonita Springs FL
DMV Rant
I just HAVE to unload this on someone. I'm going to drive to Albany and beat someone about the head and shoulders with a stick. Good thing for them I live in California now!
Ok, the background: NYS requires you to carry liability insurance. If you cancel your insurance, the DMV knows about it, and you'd better turn your plates in the same day you cancel.
Well, I didn't. I moved out of state (this was in January of 2000) to New Jersey. I didn't turn in the plates, but I put NJ plates on the car. Pretty quickly, I started getting notices from the DMV. I got it straightened out a few weeks later by showing them the vehicle was registered out of state. I got a receipt stating that my license was re-instated and all was good.
Fast forward to... today! Better than three years later.
I get a letter in the mail (I live in California now; God alone knows how they found me) from the NYS DMV stating that I have failed to maintain coverage for my vehicle since I canceled the insurance in August of 1999! And my license is retroactively suspended back to April of 2001! WHERE are they getting these dates from? They have nothing to do with anything!
ARGH! I hate the NYS DMV! CA's DMV isn't much better, though.
Anybody else got a good DMV story?
Ok, the background: NYS requires you to carry liability insurance. If you cancel your insurance, the DMV knows about it, and you'd better turn your plates in the same day you cancel.
Well, I didn't. I moved out of state (this was in January of 2000) to New Jersey. I didn't turn in the plates, but I put NJ plates on the car. Pretty quickly, I started getting notices from the DMV. I got it straightened out a few weeks later by showing them the vehicle was registered out of state. I got a receipt stating that my license was re-instated and all was good.
Fast forward to... today! Better than three years later.
I get a letter in the mail (I live in California now; God alone knows how they found me) from the NYS DMV stating that I have failed to maintain coverage for my vehicle since I canceled the insurance in August of 1999! And my license is retroactively suspended back to April of 2001! WHERE are they getting these dates from? They have nothing to do with anything!
ARGH! I hate the NYS DMV! CA's DMV isn't much better, though.
Anybody else got a good DMV story?
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,209
Likes: 12
From: Black Hills of SD
Most of my DMV rants are about the long lines and surley employees. And no matter how busy they are only half the counter stations are ever open. I think I could make a good living by just setting down there and pulling numbers and selling them for $10 or so. I would just stand by the number dispenser and take about every 5th or 6th ticket. When ever a new guy would come in and see the long lines I would offer him a number that was within a couple of being to the top of the list, for $10 bucks. I bet you could make some dough before they ran you off or someone kicked your butt.lol
Alsaka chargines extra for walkin renewals. Sometimes when I have been gone for a couple months I need to get an expired vehicle renewed pronto and it really gripes me to pay the extra for walking in. I found out if I tell them that the plates are lost they don't always charge the extra. Another grip is if you buy a car that the registration expired on 11 months ago you still have to pay for a full year and it will need renewed in a month. I think on a transfer you should be able to start over. It isn't fair that I have to pay for 11 months of registration when I didn't even own the car then.
Alsaka chargines extra for walkin renewals. Sometimes when I have been gone for a couple months I need to get an expired vehicle renewed pronto and it really gripes me to pay the extra for walking in. I found out if I tell them that the plates are lost they don't always charge the extra. Another grip is if you buy a car that the registration expired on 11 months ago you still have to pay for a full year and it will need renewed in a month. I think on a transfer you should be able to start over. It isn't fair that I have to pay for 11 months of registration when I didn't even own the car then.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,008
Likes: 1
From: Tucson
Actually, the DMV in Arizona is really quite good. You can do most things on the Internet and the lines (at least in Tucson) move very quickly. I have to say the people I have dealt with are always friendly and helpful. Our licenses are quite costly though.
jor
jor
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,027
Likes: 0
From: Canada
willowbilly: Would you believe around here you have to pay extra to use the self service type machines??? I never could figure that out...it's cheaper to go where they are getting paid and you have to stand in line then use a machine that just sucks hydro?!
I think its 1$ or 2$ extra to renew plates anyway.
Chado
I think its 1$ or 2$ extra to renew plates anyway.
Chado
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,535
Likes: 1
From: I'm lost somewhere in NJ -- can someone please find me?!?!?!?
Regarding andym's problem, I'll give you some background. My father used to have a NY license until we moved to NJ many years ago. He was stopped for speeding (nothing major) not long ago in NY state. The cop ran his NJ license and found that dad's driving priveleges in the state of NY had been suspended! His NJ license was good, no suspsensions, no problems, clean DMV record, but the state of NY decided he couldn't drive there any more! All this because of a NY state DMV insurance screw-up.
Turns out way back in 1994? or 1996? he had NJ State insurance program. NY state didn't like the NJ state insurance, and took about a year to "accept" it. Well, NY had been cleaning up their books, and ran accross dad's lapse of insurance 7 years ago (although it was not a true lapse, rather beurocratic crap). I had to contact every state agency in this area to finally get someone who was able to write a letter to the NY state DMV with the authority to tell them they were wrong! Thankfully, the lady who helped me was really nice, and said that this was a common problem. As NY state starts to go through their old records (apparently they're trying to generate revenue) picking at people who they believe made previous offenses, they're causing more & more problems.
Just wanted to let you know... it's not just you, it's the NY state DMV.
Turns out way back in 1994? or 1996? he had NJ State insurance program. NY state didn't like the NJ state insurance, and took about a year to "accept" it. Well, NY had been cleaning up their books, and ran accross dad's lapse of insurance 7 years ago (although it was not a true lapse, rather beurocratic crap). I had to contact every state agency in this area to finally get someone who was able to write a letter to the NY state DMV with the authority to tell them they were wrong! Thankfully, the lady who helped me was really nice, and said that this was a common problem. As NY state starts to go through their old records (apparently they're trying to generate revenue) picking at people who they believe made previous offenses, they're causing more & more problems.
Just wanted to let you know... it's not just you, it's the NY state DMV.
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
From: Colorado Springs
Back in
85 or so my youngest daughter was born. So I had to trade the truck in and get a car
. I was stationed in Burganfield NJ as a US Army recuriter. However I lived in a small housing area in Spring Vally NY. I took a day off (like pulling teeth) and went to the DMV to get tags. I had all the legal documents form JAG to show that I was not a citizan of NYS. And my Florida DL was good to go, I was also in uniform. The old bat behind the counter told me I had to pay $700 to include state tax. I tried to explain, that I am not from NYS and don't pay taxes here. She would not get her superviser, so I got him with that very loud parade ground NCO voice that the Army instilled in me a few years before. The whole place went quite, the guy walked up and asked what the problem was and I explained it and gave him the paperwork I had been trying to get her to look at. He read it, and told her to give me my tags and not to charge the state tax. He left, and she told me "OK, you don't have to pay it now, but you will when you get out of the Army, We do things diffirent here in new york" I just smiled and said, "No diffirent then east germany as far as I can see" the people in line behind me started to clap. I still haven't paid NYS tax on that Escort. 
. I was stationed in Burganfield NJ as a US Army recuriter. However I lived in a small housing area in Spring Vally NY. I took a day off (like pulling teeth) and went to the DMV to get tags. I had all the legal documents form JAG to show that I was not a citizan of NYS. And my Florida DL was good to go, I was also in uniform. The old bat behind the counter told me I had to pay $700 to include state tax. I tried to explain, that I am not from NYS and don't pay taxes here. She would not get her superviser, so I got him with that very loud parade ground NCO voice that the Army instilled in me a few years before. The whole place went quite, the guy walked up and asked what the problem was and I explained it and gave him the paperwork I had been trying to get her to look at. He read it, and told her to give me my tags and not to charge the state tax. He left, and she told me "OK, you don't have to pay it now, but you will when you get out of the Army, We do things diffirent here in new york" I just smiled and said, "No diffirent then east germany as far as I can see" the people in line behind me started to clap. I still haven't paid NYS tax on that Escort.
Moderator
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 2,643
Likes: 35
From: Orange County, CA
I have lived in both Cal and Arizona, and the Arizona DMV (or MVD) is way better. I only had to sit for about 10 minutes befoe they called my number and I got my plates, and title for my Mustangin less than 10 minutes...if it had been in Cal it would have taken at least 3 times as long.
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 826
Likes: 0
From: New England
I usually go to the smaller offices--everyone is just as rude, arrogant, & nasty, but the lines are shorter. Once, my wife managed to make their lives as miserable as they make ours, though: after the clerk spent 10 minutes filing her nails, fixing her hair, & putting on lipstick before deeming Liz worthy of attention (there was nobody else waiting in that line), Liz pulled her "no speak English" act. 
Since they must, BY LAW, serve her in Spanish, the clerk had to get the supervisor. His Spanish was pretty bad, & he could barely understand her (and vice versa...she said she only understood half of it because he was translating from English for the clerk). After she got her licence, she smiled and said, in perfect English, "Thank you for being so accomodating."
She said the expression on their faces was worth every bit of trouble.
Since they must, BY LAW, serve her in Spanish, the clerk had to get the supervisor. His Spanish was pretty bad, & he could barely understand her (and vice versa...she said she only understood half of it because he was translating from English for the clerk). After she got her licence, she smiled and said, in perfect English, "Thank you for being so accomodating."She said the expression on their faces was worth every bit of trouble.
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Senior User
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 379
Likes: 0
From: Utah
Oregon's DMV is great. Lines move quickly, and they get things done right on the spot. Like if you get your license, they do it while you wait, you don't have to wait 4 weeks for it to come in the mail. Thought that was pretty cool when I moved here 3 yrs ago from TX.
Elder User
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 671
Likes: 0
From: virginia beach
Thats funny i had to go to the DMV on thursday to register my truck and get plates. I live in Virginia Beach VA. Well the DMV's here are just HORRIBLE. But thankfully they open at 8am and i got there at 6am. I was about the 15th person in line. If you go in the middle of the day, they tell you the wait is 4 to 7 hours usually. And no im not joking. They cut back on dmvs here a few years back. Its tuff.
Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,230
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From: Near Bloom, PA
DMV? Do we have one of those here?
Living down South, the DMV was what everyone else described (a royal pain). I had to go two or three times a week for the car lot, they especially hated business transfers. I went through a lot of crossword puzzles.
Since moving to PA, I have had no trouble. I go to the Notary, sign papers, give him a check and out the door. I renew my license online. Only problem is getting to one of the photo centers, none of which are convenient in location or hours of business. Never had to wait more than 10 minutes though.
Living down South, the DMV was what everyone else described (a royal pain). I had to go two or three times a week for the car lot, they especially hated business transfers. I went through a lot of crossword puzzles.
Since moving to PA, I have had no trouble. I go to the Notary, sign papers, give him a check and out the door. I renew my license online. Only problem is getting to one of the photo centers, none of which are convenient in location or hours of business. Never had to wait more than 10 minutes though.
Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,230
Likes: 0
From: Near Bloom, PA
From Chuck Shepherd's Weird News:
A September General Accounting Office report described (based on undercover work in seven states) the customer-friendliness that Motor Vehicle offices display when people try to obtain driver's licenses fraudulently; clerks routinely give "applicants" back their bogus papers (instead of confiscating them) and cheerfully instruct them exactly how to "correct" the applications to assure that they'll get that license on the next attempt.
Hmm, where were all the friendly clerks when I was there? I couldn't have got that much help if my pants were on fire.
A September General Accounting Office report described (based on undercover work in seven states) the customer-friendliness that Motor Vehicle offices display when people try to obtain driver's licenses fraudulently; clerks routinely give "applicants" back their bogus papers (instead of confiscating them) and cheerfully instruct them exactly how to "correct" the applications to assure that they'll get that license on the next attempt.
Hmm, where were all the friendly clerks when I was there? I couldn't have got that much help if my pants were on fire.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,045
Likes: 0
Ahh, the NYS DMV. I love em... I'd like to carpet bomb the darn place....
Over the years, I have learned one thing. DMV is God. They control the insurance, the police, and your ability to drive and make a living. Not to mention about the only freakin' valid form of ID here in NY!
So, if they so desire, they can basically render you useless and immobile. And they love to do it every few years, wether you deserve it or not, just to keep you on your toes, and make sure you're gleefully paying you extortion (oops, meant insurance) payments.
They should play "Three Blind Mice" on the overhead in every DMV office. No one has a clue, and all just blindly follow the book, even if it denies common sense, and they can clearly see it is wrong.
In short, I don't like 'em. Not one bit.
Over the years, I have learned one thing. DMV is God. They control the insurance, the police, and your ability to drive and make a living. Not to mention about the only freakin' valid form of ID here in NY!
So, if they so desire, they can basically render you useless and immobile. And they love to do it every few years, wether you deserve it or not, just to keep you on your toes, and make sure you're gleefully paying you extortion (oops, meant insurance) payments.
They should play "Three Blind Mice" on the overhead in every DMV office. No one has a clue, and all just blindly follow the book, even if it denies common sense, and they can clearly see it is wrong.
In short, I don't like 'em. Not one bit.