Another driver mistakenly ticketed and towed for a suspended registration. It's a problem the DMV thought was in its rear view mirror. Most of the prior problems with falsely suspended registrations had to do with the state's new computer system failing to track changes in insurance carriers. This latest case is different.
Jamie Kelley got pulled over for speeding on his way to work February 21st. Then a trooper had him ticketed, and his Kia towed for having a suspended registration, "Three in the morning, there I am, waiting for the tow truck driver to come. He comes he picks me up. Takes the car away. Drops me off in front of his shop. And I have to wait there until my wife picks me up."
Problem was, Kelley's registration should not have been suspended. He showed us two checks sent to the DMV August fifth last year. There was a $90 check to renew his registration, and one for $20 for a late fee on emissions. He also has paperwork indicating both were cashed by the DMV the next day.
When Kelley went to a DMV branch to clear things up, after spending hours there, he said he learned somehow, the agency took $20 from the registration check to cover his emissions fine, kept the remaining $70 from the registration check in “escrow” and to this day the agency does not know what it did with the $20 check for the emissions. Kelley says "Two days of having my car sitting in a yard. The tow. The ticket. All adds up."
The agency is reimbursing Kelley for the ticket and tow...he asks though, what about his time? He had to burn a vacation day to clear up a mess not of his making, "I’m going to come out on the losing end. Taking a day off from work is not the way I want to spend a vacation day at the DMV. From ten thirty in the morning til just after two thirty in the afternoon we finally finished up, my wife and I"
The DMV says, "We are looking at this specific case and determining whether there are any others like it." The agency adds it did send Kelley a letter after it cashed his checks saying there was a problem with his registration. Kelley says he never received the letter.
The bottom line: to be on the safe side, go to the DMV website and make sure your registration is current.
