I HATE THE DMV.
So, back at the beginning of January I re-registered my car like a good little citizen. I did it through the DMV's website. Of course, had I known I'd be selling it three weeks later I wouldn't have bothered, but so it goes. My new stickers arrived and all was well, so I thought.
Then last week, I got a letter in the mail: "Demand for Payment." Huh? I opened it up, and it was a letter from the DMV telling me my check hadn't cleared and I owed $185 (registration + late fees + processing fees). Except I hadn't PAID by check. So, I called them up to find out what happened. Turned out I had typed in my account number wrong. Oops. OK, my bad. I told her I no longer owned the car. It didn't matter; I still had to pay the registration fee. But since my reg wasn't due until February 16, as long as I paid by then I wouldn't be charged late fees and would only owe $127. Still annoying, but not as bad.
So, I got up way too early this morning (and had to cut short my attendance at a party the night before) so I could be at the DMV as soon as they opened at 8:00. Lots of other people had this idea too, of course, but by 8:15, I was being helped.
I told her my situation, and she pulled up my file. "OK, you owe $185."
Uh .....
"But when I called, they said I owed $127."
"No, you owe $185."
I only had $140 on me, and they only accepted cash, so I had to go out and get another $45. Thankfully, they didn't make me wait in the main line again.
So I went back and handed over the money. She took it, gave me a receipt, and then told me to have a seat while they called the main office in Sacramento to clear my file.
Finally, they called me back to the window. "We called Sacramento, and you're cleared. You only owed $127."
Well, great! So, could I please have back $58 of the cash I just paid you?
"No, the computer says you owe $185, so we can't just hand it back to you. We'll mail you a refund check."
Are. You. KIDDING. Me???!!??
I don’t know when I'll actually SEE this check, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if we had sworn in a new president by then.
So, to sum up: I paid nearly $200 that I couldn't spare for a car I no longer own.
I HATE THE DMV.
Then last week, I got a letter in the mail: "Demand for Payment." Huh? I opened it up, and it was a letter from the DMV telling me my check hadn't cleared and I owed $185 (registration + late fees + processing fees). Except I hadn't PAID by check. So, I called them up to find out what happened. Turned out I had typed in my account number wrong. Oops. OK, my bad. I told her I no longer owned the car. It didn't matter; I still had to pay the registration fee. But since my reg wasn't due until February 16, as long as I paid by then I wouldn't be charged late fees and would only owe $127. Still annoying, but not as bad.
So, I got up way too early this morning (and had to cut short my attendance at a party the night before) so I could be at the DMV as soon as they opened at 8:00. Lots of other people had this idea too, of course, but by 8:15, I was being helped.
I told her my situation, and she pulled up my file. "OK, you owe $185."
Uh .....
"But when I called, they said I owed $127."
"No, you owe $185."
I only had $140 on me, and they only accepted cash, so I had to go out and get another $45. Thankfully, they didn't make me wait in the main line again.
So I went back and handed over the money. She took it, gave me a receipt, and then told me to have a seat while they called the main office in Sacramento to clear my file.
Finally, they called me back to the window. "We called Sacramento, and you're cleared. You only owed $127."
Well, great! So, could I please have back $58 of the cash I just paid you?
"No, the computer says you owe $185, so we can't just hand it back to you. We'll mail you a refund check."
Are. You. KIDDING. Me???!!??
I don’t know when I'll actually SEE this check, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if we had sworn in a new president by then.
So, to sum up: I paid nearly $200 that I couldn't spare for a car I no longer own.
I HATE THE DMV.