Through the Eyes of a Delivery Goddess |
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As we left off yesterday, I was getting ready to call PennDOT to find out why my license plate was showing up as "dead" on the police screen. Of course, I waited until I was in the car going somewhere to call, knowing I'd be on hold for hours, and what not a better way to multi-task, than to drive and listen to THEIR music in my ears. I believe I remember correctly, that the first time Officer Thornburg pulled me over for an update, it was four days after the original episode, and I had been on hold seven different times- each time I had to hang up before someone answered. He continued to pull me over every five or six days, and each time, I told him what had happened since our last meeting. When someone at PennDOT's end finally answered the phone, I explained that I had a plate, but no registration. She told me that was impossible. We argued about that for a bit, and she finally asked my name and driver's license number. Then, she said, "Oh, I returned that last week". I said, "Returned it to WHERE??" She said, (are you ready for this?)... "I don't know". It took every ounce of energy NOT to scream at her - I said, "What do you MEAN, you don't know where it was sent?" "Well", she said, "It was rejected." "For what?", I asked. Well, she didn't know, she couldn't remember. I heard her doing some shuffling of papers, and some pounding on the keyboard - finally she said, "Let me transfer you..." and put me on hold before I had a chance to say anything. I have no idea to whom I was transferred, or why this woman would have known more than the woman who actually rejected the paperwork, but I found myself talking to someone new - someone who actually seemed a bit more informed. She said, "Well, let's see - it was rejected", "Ya, I got that much," I interjected. "Looks like there was information missing." In a pretty loud voice I said, "And it took 100 days for someone to finally say, 'Gee, we need to return this for more info' !?! What about the phone - doesn't anyone there know how to pick up the phone and call me for the information? Is it policy to just send stuff back and add weeks onto an already expired application for registration? " I could tell she was frustrated with my tone, but really!!! She HAD to know I was right!! So, I asked her, "To where did you send it?" She said, (you see this coming, right?), "I don't know. Back to the dealership, maybe?" I screamed, "Oh, for CRYING OUT LOUD" and hung up the phone. I called the dealership, asked for the title clerk, and she said she didn't know anything about it. She gave me the name of the Notary that they use for all out-of-state title transfers. The notary answered the phone, and I started to explain my case. I could hear papers shuffling in the background, she said, "Oh, yes, I have it right here", as I heard the envelope ripping open. It had been laying on her desk for a few days, but she hadn't opened it. "Hmmm", she said. "Looks like the dealership did not fill in the blank asking for your county of residence." So, I asked her... "You mean to tell me, that you, or PennDOT, could not pick up the phone and call me for the information, rather than just passing the buck for weeks and weeks? The cops have been pulling me over for a month because my plate is dead. Who sent me the plate without the registration?" She said, "well, I did, but I assumed PennDOT would go ahead and put through the registration with no problem." I asked if she was new at her job, and had not dealt with PennDOT before. She chuckled, ( I really didn't say anything funny), and said, "Well, no, but considering the paperwork was nearing the expiration of the T-plates, I thought they'd push it through." I said, "So, it sat on YOUR desk for two months, then". She claimed that she hadn't gotten it from the dealership any earlier, - funny the dealership was able to fax me a postal receipt for my paperwork to the notary in York only three days after we purchased the truck. So, the Notary sat on the paperwork for a couple months, then depended on PennDOT to do a speedy job. Ya... right. In the words of Jeff Foxworthy, "Here's your sign..." She also told me, that since we lived in Allegheny County, I'd owe another $154. Again, I asked, "And it took you two months to send it, so that PennDOT could sit on it for a few weeks, then send it back, so you could let it lay on your desk while I'm getting tickets at $210 a pop, is that about right? (I sighed)... Should I wire you the money?" She said, "No, you can't - just mail it to me and I'll apply it, then send it on to PennDOT." I asked if she was prepared to pay for my tickets, and the tickets I'd get while waiting for my registration. She assured me she'd send it priority (somehow - can't believe there's such a desk at PennDOT), and that I'd have my registration in five to seven days. I told her that if I didn't have it, I would personally drive out to the notary and give her my tickets to pay. Now, ya, I know, Officer Thornburg had been lenient enough to NOT give me any tickets, but I'm not really sure why. Anyone else would have. I made sure I went to the police station and specifically asked for him when I got my stupid little sticker for the corner of my plate. We're on a first name basis now - it is quite humiliating to be driving through Sheetz parking lot, and have a police officer stop during a conversation he's having with someone else and yell, "Hello, Teresa!! How are you tonight?" It makes me look like some kind of crimial or compulsive law breaker. Tomorrow's story will outline another meeting I had with Mr. Thornburg one Sunday night, almost a year later.... Stay tuned... |