growling about CA DMV shady practices [1/2]
California went on my shitlist this week when they sent me notices in the mail about my not registering my vehicles with the DMV.
Vehicle registration is an opt-in thing. You only have register vehicles you plan to drive on public roads in the state. My vehicles no longer reside in CA, my registration should be to WA now.
Regardless, the CA DMV sent me notices that they were going to take me to collections for... not registering my vehicles there.
growling about CA DMV shady practices [2/2]
Literally. "You didn't pay this opt-in fee for vehicles no longer in our state so we're going to forcibly garnish your wages for the balance we think you should have to pay plus late fees -- for something you have no legal requirement to opt into."
I want to set fire to things. >..<
growling about CA DMV shady practices [2/2]
@mawr I mean... If you don't even live in california... And the vehicles aren't being used... I think either you or I or most likely the bureaucracy is not understanding something here.
growling about CA DMV shady practices [2/2]
@Felthry Yes. That is true. They think the vehicles are still in CA.
My argument is that whether or not the vehicles reside in the state is irrelevant to this practice being shady.
growling about CA DMV shady practices [2/2]
@mawr Fair point.
I don't know much about registering vehicles and how all that goes, so I don't know what some of the terminology you used means. So I might not be understanding fully its shadiness.
growling about CA DMV shady practices [2/2]
@Felthry When you purchase a vehicle outright, you receive a "Title" from the state which declares your ownership of the vehicle and shows that you have paid all required taxes to the state to own it.
Once you own a vehicle, you can drive it freely, but if you want to drive it on public roads, you must register the vehicle with the state. That's where the license plates come from.
These notices regard the latter opt-in process as mandatory.
growling about CA DMV shady practices [2/2]
@mawr *nods* Specifically what I don't know is the term "garnishing wages". I'm guessing it has something to do with taking money out of your paycheck but 'garnish' to me implies adding things so ???
growling about CA DMV shady practices [2/2]
@Felthry They mean the legal definition of garnishment: "a court order directing that money or property of a third party (usually wages paid by an employer) be seized to satisfy a debt owed by a debtor to a plaintiff creditor."
They imply I owe them a debt, but the bill in contest is payment for services they are withholding. I owe them nothing for they have given me nothing for which I am required to pay. No new stickers, no new registration.
growling about CA DMV shady practices [2/2]
@Felthry It's both. Presently, they're not registered-- and that's a choice I should be allowed to make. CA law tries to skirt around that to avoid people just not re-registering their vehicles I guess-- and they do it by strong-arming you into it by literally garnishing your wages if you don't follow through on time.
I have 3 motorcycles, 2 of which sit in a garage and aren't used at the moment. There's no reason I should be forced to register them.