A Trip to the DMV

Really, who doesn't LOVE to go to the DMV?

In December of 2008, when Toyota bought my Rav4 back under the lemon law, I took my personalized plates off and paid the plate retainer fee so they wouldn't give away my plate number since they weren't on a vehicle. A few weeks ago I realized I never received paperwork to pay the retaining fee for this year. That's when the fun began. I called DMV asking about the paperwork and got questions like:

Q: What's the VIN # of the vehicle it's on?

A: It's not, that's why I paid to retain the plate #.

Q: Have you gotten paperwork in the past?

A: I don't know, I just paid last year.

Q: Is the plate on a vehicle?

A: No, that's what a retainer fee is, can I talk to someone who knows what I'm talking about?

DMV: Your registration for the Toyota was due in June.

A: No, it isn't. Toyota bought it back as a lemon and that paperwork was filed too.

DMV: We'll call you back within 4 days.

A: I want to speak to a supervisor.

DMV: Our supervisors don't take phone calls.

A: Really?!! Your supervisors will NOT take a phone call?

DMV: No.

A: That is completely unacceptable.

DMV: You don't understand ma'am, we will call you back within 24 hours, but we are closed tomorrow, so they will call back sometime next week.

A: That's what I was told 2 weeks ago.

DMV: Do you have a copy of the cancelled check?

A: No, what difference does that make when I was told last week DMV has it on file?

A: I'd like to know who bought lunch with my money.

DMV: Our mail is behind, so they will call you back next week.

A: What does this have to do with your MAIL???!!!

DMV: They are looking into it and will call you back next week.

A: Yeah right, we'll see if they ever call back. ** followed by a slam of my phone.

This is only a portion of the few phone calls I made. I was so mad on Thursday. NO ONE I spoke with seemed to know what I was talking about. I paid a fee and sent in a form to retain my plate number....besides the language barrier with a few people, it seemed pretty simple. I even told them the form numbers I filed. I thought I was going to lose my mind. I sent my boss an email asking if I could leave an hour early to get to the DMV by 5pm.

I headed to DMV and as I got closer to their location I got this angry feeling in my chest, "What if they close at 4:30pm although they say they're open until 5pm like they did to my friend?!" I kept taking a deep breath and telling myself it was going to be okay and they would be open when I got there.

I pull into the parking lot and find somewhere to park. I enter the building and it is packed with people. I checked online before I left and their wait time showed 1 hour 20 minutes, so I wasn't too surprised to see so many people. I find a line to wait in and it takes about 15 minutes to get my number to wait in another area.

I go to the other waiting area and see what number is being called. The little blue screen in the picture below became my lifeline. I was B227, they were on B190. They alternate between a few letters too. It was going to be a long evening. At least I was in the door; I wasn't leaving until someone figured out where my money went, why the Toyota is still in my name, why the plate doesn't show it's retained, how I know when and what to pay, if I should pay now, and would it be better to transfer the plate now and pay my registration on our Hyundai?

G89.

B199. WAH HOO we're almost in the B200's!

While standing around I began to feel that ever small warning that we all get...I was going to have to use the bathroom. I began to debate with myself, "Nah, I don't need to pee." C145 "Oh, yeah I do, but I can hold it." B201. "Oh, well, how long do I think I can hold it?" "Um, not long enough to get through this and get home." I was watching the one bathroom door (the door on the right in the photo above) thinking about the 100's of people that went through their office each day. G95. I saw many people go in and out and figured I better just go. B205. Yep, I better go.

You can imagine what kind of an experience the bathroom was. Let's just say it involved trying to hover with a bad knee, a cramp in my right foot, and being thankful I use a backpack purse so I didn't have to put it down somewhere.

After that, I went outside. C150 Although it was cool outside, I thought I could use some fresh air. I called Doug while I was outside and also took a picture of the sign below. When I went outside there was a DMV worker using white-out to erase the office hours on the door.

Then a man came out to lock the door. B210 It's now 5pm, I better get back inside before they lock me out!! Only 17 more B's ahead of me.

When I went back inside a gentleman taps my arm and asks if they are going to keep taking numbers since they are locking the doors. We strike up a conversation and chat for a while. G100. B215.

A few chairs open up and the gentleman says he's going to sit down and lets me know there's another chair if I would like to sit down. I chose to stand for a while longer. C155. I go sit down. The gentleman and I share stories about why we are at DMV, he tells me about his to-do list from his wife, we talk about the neighborhoods we live in, his wife is a councelor at the local college I went to, etc. We both realize the number begin to fly by. He is B229, I am B227. Now we only have about 5 people to go. I begin replaying the previous conversations with DMV workers in my head and wonder what I'm going to have to deal with once I make it to the counter. B226. I'M NEXT!!

I get to the counter and explain my situation and the phone calls I've made. The gal begins to pull up my plate number. I pull paperwork from my backpack purse and swing it back up over my shoulder....just then my hair clip that was clipped to my purse grabs my sweater and FLIES across the room. Luckily, the gal next to my station had her head down while writing because it flew right over her head. The DMV gal working with me is startled and says, "WHAT WAS THAT!???" I said, "Holy cow!" I very quickly realize the tug on my sweater and see the small, clear clip on the counter. "Oh geez, that was the clip that was on my purse!" I begin to laugh like crazy. The DMV gal still has wide eyes trying to understand what happened while the gal across the way picks up my clip. Reattaching the clip to my purse, I curb my laughter.

Then the questions begin, "Your plates are on a Toyota?" I explain everything again and prepare to have to explain what a retaining fee is, the form I sent in, my check was cashed, etc. Nope. She got exactly what I was saying and began to get help from others around her (who I assume where managers or who had more experience with this issue). She explained that if the plate isn't on a vehicle you can pay each year to retain the personalized plate number, or when the plate number is reassigned to a vehicle you pay for all the years it hasn't been on a vehicle. I said, "Well, that doesn't make sense because if I'm not paying to hold the plate number they can give it away." She agreed that it didn't make sense. I asked if I will receive paperwork next year to pay the fee and she told me not to hold my breath. I paid the $38 dollars to hold the plate number for another year because it's too early to pay registration for the month of April. I thanked her a few times for understanding what I was talking about and dealing with.

Then, off I went to fight traffic to get home. Again I giggle over the flying hair clip, turn on my iPhone for my map to find the easiest way to get home, call Doug and finally make it home.