In November I sent in my renewal registration. Two days after I-695 passed I put a stop payment on the $674 check. The State still mailed me the tabs, despite the stop payment, but I returned the tabs and registration via registered-certified mail. Unfortunately, I am still receiving threatening notices demanding payment for tabs I no longer possess. Upon contacting the state, I was informed that the State Attorney General's Office made a ruling after I-695 passed that allows DOL to pursue those who put stop payments on their renewals. They claim once they received the check the transaction is irrevocable and no refunds allowed. My car is parked, I do not have new tabs, and I don't want to pay $674 this month when next month they will be substantially less; however, the state is threatening to collect on me. What can I do?

-- April Farley (afarle@puget.com), December 14, 1999

Answers

Either find a good lawyer who's an advocate for this particular cause, or pay the $674. There's probably little you can do, other than that from a legal standpoint.

By the way, c'mon, whisper it in my ear, I promise I won't tell: Did you vote 'no' on 695?

Reason I just gotta know is, if I were gonna vote yes, I'd have waited until the results came in before I paid my tabs... but if I voted no, I probably would have just paid them (based on unchanged behavior pattern, ie assuming things will stay the same), then regretted it afterwards. So, c'mon, just tell li'l old me, I won't bite... was it 'yes', or was it 'no'. I'm dyin' to find out.

-- Paul Oss (jnaut@earthlink.net), December 14, 1999.

April,

You have no real alternative other than to pay the $674. In addition to the hassle of a collection agency (who will add all sorts of other fees on top of the $674) the money is considered owed to the state, and you would probably face a garnishment of your wages. Also, your credit report will most likely suffer, and a good Attorney will cost you more than the $674. Better pay up.

Paul, you are so bad, LOL.

-- Marsha (acorn_nut@hotmail.com), December 14, 1999.

Paul

I think you hit the nail on the head with this, "Did you vote 'no' on 695?"

What I don't understand about this post is "In November I sent in my renewal registration. Two days after I-695 passed I put a stop payment"

So April you sent in your payment on November 1st, the next day the 2nd while watching the election results, you realize you pulled a Homer because you figured 695 would fail but now you want your money back like the people that campained and voted for it. I say too bad.

BTW, stopping payment on a check is considered a criminal charge "theft of services" which carries with it it's own set of fines and penalties along with still having to make the check good.

Ed - love the storys of the people who jumped on the bandwagon after the fact.

-- Ed (ed_bridges@yahoo.com), December 15, 1999.