Current Events > TIL my license has been suspended and I owe $645 due to a DMV/insurance mixup

(+) Yeah! (+)

Apparently, even though I had an active Geico policy on my Civic when I bought and registered it with the DMV last year, the DMV never connected the dots and had me flagged as uninsured this whole time. I was also in the process of moving, so if they sent me a paper notice I have no idea where it was mailed to, because this is the first I'm hearing about it.

On top of wanting legal proof of insurance from Geico and the SR-22 form that should have been filed with my state DMV from the getgo, they want to charge me a $500 uninsured motorist fee on top of the $145 license reinstatement fee - despite me being insured this whole time.

Until I get this sorted out, I'm essentially driving illegally and am liable to be ticketed or have my vehicle towed if I'm pulled over for any reason.

Fuck this bullshit.

Lol what state are you in
---

Get a lawyer?
---

But did you save money by switching to Geico?
---

NeuralLaxative posted...

Lol what state are you in

Virginia. Our DMV, like most, likes to fuck people in the ass for money. That's why they have an "uninsured motorist fee" in the first place rather than outright requiring auto insurance like sane states.

Corrupt_Power posted...

Get a lawyer?

I may have to. I may not be able to retain or pay one, but I may find someone willing to give me a quick consult. I really don't want to pay $645 that I don't have, but I rely on my license for my job. This fucks me HARD until I get it fixed.

Monolith1676 posted...

But did you save money by switching to Geico?

Yes, actually - my premiums went down. I'm blaming the DMV for this one.

Gonna call Geico in the morning and verify the dates that insurance was applied to the vehicle, then go to the DMV with all the documentation to try and get the original suspension overturned. I'm really hoping they don't just say "too bad, so sad, give us money because fuck you"

Call their customer service first. May save you a trip. Our DMV is pretty lame. I spent $250 last week myself
---

If you actually have had insurance this whole time all you have to do is show proof to the DMV. And yell at Geico for a minute for why the fuck they didn't relay the message. I didn't have insurance for a whole year and I saved like $2000 lol
---

Unsugarized_Foo posted...

Call their customer service first. May save you a trip. Our DMV is pretty lame. I spent $250 last week myself

meh, I'd rather just go in and wait in line and show all the documentation I have for proof of coverage for the time period in question, since the last time I called in to ask about something I sat on hold for almost as long and ended up having to go in person anyway

Smashingpmkns posted...

If you actually have had insurance this whole time all you have to do is show proof to the DMV. And yell at Geico for a minute for why the fuck they didn't relay the message. I didn't have insurance for a whole year and I saved like $2000 lol

Ideally yeah, but there was a nasty paragraph in the suspension "courtesy notice" that said since it had been longer than 180 days since the contested date that I couldn't appeal the decision. You'd think it would be as easy as showing all the proof from Geico and having the DMV reconcile it with their own records, but... this is the DMV we're talking about lol

I don't think it's Geico's fault, unless they neglected to report a change in my policy (which is required by state law for all insurance providers authorized to operate here). That's why I want to call Geico in the morning first and get all my ducks in a row - when I formally added the vehicle to my policy, if/when the DMV was notified of the change, etc

Ill say it time and time again.

Fuck the DMV and fuck their lame ass employees.
---

DemonBuffet posted...

Ill say it time and time again.

Fuck the DMV and fuck their lame ass employees.

I think the average DMV employee is your standard customer service representative that's trapped in bureaucracy, leading them to become detached at best and misanthropic at worst. It's a shit job being on the front lines.

The high-level managers who create general DMV policy and control exceptions, however... they shall feel my wrath

DemonBuffet posted...

Ill say it time and time again.

Fuck the DMV and fuck their lame ass employees.

I had a DMV employee last year tell me I had the patience of a saint because I didn't get mad at her when her computer froze and I had to wait like 15 minutes extra to renew my registration.
---

I was in the DMV for 7 hours last Monday to renew my license. When the lady said to smile for my picture, I said "I have been here for 7 hours, I'm not smiling."
---

treewojima posted...

NeuralLaxative posted...

Lol what state are you in

Virginia. Our DMV, like most, likes to fuck people in the ass for money. That's why they have an "uninsured motorist fee" in the first place rather than outright requiring auto insurance like sane states.

Sounds like Virginia is the sane state then
---

Monolith1676 posted...

I was in the DMV for 7 hours last Monday to renew my license. When the lady said to smile for my picture, I said "I have been here for 7 hours, I'm not smiling."

We're not allowed to smile for our driver's licenses here.

Everyone looks like a friggin' serial killer on their license as a result.
---

Muffinz0rz posted...

treewojima posted...

NeuralLaxative posted...

Lol what state are you in

Virginia. Our DMV, like most, likes to fuck people in the ass for money. That's why they have an "uninsured motorist fee" in the first place rather than outright requiring auto insurance like sane states.

Sounds like Virginia is the sane state then

Not really. If you're involved in an accident with an individual who waived insurance, and they're found to be at fault, then your only recourse is to take them to civil court and sue them for damages. (Good luck if they're insolvent or driving illegally in any way.) Anyone who neglects to get even the most basic of liability coverage is an irresponsible driver, plain and simple.

That's not to say that auto insurance and laws relating to it are always good and should never be questioned or regulated. I ran into a problem when I tried to move to Maryland, where insurance is required to operate a vehicle. They evaluated my Virginia driving record differently; where VA said I had no points on my license and was in the clear, MD retroactively applied points from several years prior, which thrust me into the "high risk" category. None of the big names wanted to cover me there, and my only option would have been to pay something like $500 a month to some random company for the most basic of liability. I couldn't even transfer my existing policy because of Maryland's different approach to evaluating driving records. Needless to say, I moved back to Virginia because I'd rather be buttfucked on occasion by the DMV than buttfucked monthly by Maryland.

TerrifyingRei posted...

Monolith1676 posted...

I was in the DMV for 7 hours last Monday to renew my license. When the lady said to smile for my picture, I said "I have been here for 7 hours, I'm not smiling."

We're not allowed to smile for our driver's licenses here.

Everyone looks like a friggin' serial killer on their license as a result.

That is a weird thing for them to have.
---

Monolith1676 posted...

TerrifyingRei posted...

Monolith1676 posted...

I was in the DMV for 7 hours last Monday to renew my license. When the lady said to smile for my picture, I said "I have been here for 7 hours, I'm not smiling."

We're not allowed to smile for our driver's licenses here.

Everyone looks like a friggin' serial killer on their license as a result.

That is a weird thing for them to have.

VA recently removed the "no smiling" rule. I have to make copies of customers' licenses at work pretty regularly, and all the ones belonging to older people have blank looks or even frowns for their pictures. Younger people who got their licenses issued recently are actually smiley, like a yearbook picture

Supposedly the rule was put in place because it's easier to identify someone with a blank expression than a smile, which I guess is true, but it ignores all the other things that people can change in their head, like hairstyle, facial hair or makeup

treewojima posted...

Muffinz0rz posted...

treewojima posted...

NeuralLaxative posted...

Lol what state are you in

Virginia. Our DMV, like most, likes to fuck people in the ass for money. That's why they have an "uninsured motorist fee" in the first place rather than outright requiring auto insurance like sane states.

Sounds like Virginia is the sane state then

Not really. If you're involved in an accident with an individual who waived insurance, and they're found to be at fault, then your only recourse is to take them to civil court and sue them for damages. (Good luck if they're insolvent or driving illegally in any way.) Anyone who neglects to get even the most basic of liability coverage is an irresponsible driver, plain and simple.

That's not to say that auto insurance and laws relating to it are always good and should never be questioned or regulated. I ran into a problem when I tried to move to Maryland, where insurance is required to operate a vehicle. They evaluated my Virginia driving record differently; where VA said I had no points on my license and was in the clear, MD retroactively applied points from several years prior, which thrust me into the "high risk" category. None of the big names wanted to cover me there, and my only option would have been to pay something like $500 a month to some random company for the most basic of liability. I couldn't even transfer my existing policy because of Maryland's different approach to evaluating driving records. Needless to say, I moved back to Virginia because I'd rather be buttfucked on occasion by the DMV than buttfucked monthly by Maryland.

I mean Virginia is still making money whether or not uninsured drivers get in accidents, is the point I'm trying to make.

Driving without insurance is forbidden in any state. Virginia is just making money off it. Sounds pretty sane to me.
---

hope you get this sorted out soon TC
---

Muffinz0rz posted...

I mean Virginia is still making money whether or not uninsured drivers get in accidents, is the point I'm trying to make.

Driving without insurance is forbidden in any state. Virginia is just making money off it. Sounds pretty sane to me.

That's just it - it's NOT forbidden depending on how you apply for your vehicle registration. There's a box you can check during the title/registration process that says something along the lines of, "I do not have insurance and am willing to pay the uninsured motorist's fee." If you check that box and fork over $500 along with the fees for registration, you're legally allowed to drive without insurance. You're on your own if you get in an accident, but you're not going to be criminally charged for driving without coverage.

The problem I'm running into is that I checked the box that said "yep, I've got insurance", and now they're telling me "lol no, pay us money"

joestarrr posted...

hope you get this sorted out soon TC

Me too, since there's talk amongst management at my job that they want to transfer me to our bodyshop, which would be a welcome change of pace and possibly a promotion. Not having a license really jeopardizes that

treewojima posted...

joestarrr posted...

hope you get this sorted out soon TC

Me too, since there's talk amongst management at my job that they want to transfer me to our bodyshop, which would be a welcome change of pace and possibly a promotion. Not having a license really jeopardizes that

yeah i imagine so :(
---

treewojima posted...

Muffinz0rz posted...

I mean Virginia is still making money whether or not uninsured drivers get in accidents, is the point I'm trying to make.

Driving without insurance is forbidden in any state. Virginia is just making money off it. Sounds pretty sane to me.

That's just it - it's NOT forbidden depending on how you apply for your vehicle registration. There's a box you can check during the title/registration process that says something along the lines of, "I do not have insurance and am willing to pay the uninsured motorist's fee." If you check that box and fork over $500 along with the fees for registration, you're legally allowed to drive without insurance. You're on your own if you get in an accident, but you're not going to be criminally charged for driving without coverage.

Which means Virginia is guaranteed $500 for every uninsured driver, as opposed to other states who have to rely on income from pulling over drivers and hoping they're uninsured so they can slap on the fee. And even in my case (when I didn't have my insurance cards on hand), the fine was maybe half that. (Which I was able to remove as long as I proved I had the insurance at the time of my speeding ticket, which I did)

Seems smarter on Virginia's part to me tbh. The only way the other states win is if they constantly get lucky and/or pull over the same uninsured driver multiple times.
---

Tag, hope it works out TC
---