A Stranger Gave Me A Gift

[LoreD]

I went to renew my car today. In Wisconsin we have these machines in supermarkets, drug stores, and even bars that renew your license plates. All you need is the license plate number and last four digits of the vin number on the dashboard. You put in the info, pay, and renewal sticker and registration comes out It is really convenient, and worth the extra $7 charge.

Well, I went to renew today, and it said I couldn't renew. I came home and went to the DMV website and it said the same thing. I went to the DMV office because if I don't renew before May 31st there are significant penalties. They said somebody had renewed my plates on January 12th. I know I didn't do it, and I didn't have the sticker. The DMV gave me a sticker and told me to be grateful for the gift.

There are a few reasons why somebody might not be able renew their plates: Insurance lien, the car has been repossessed, and they can't find him, or even a lot of parking tickets. And all he/she needs is a valid sticker, and not get stopped by the police.

So I would like send out a big Thank You to the desperate person who picked my car out of the Save-A-Lot parking lot in order to pay my $135 license plate renewal. And I do hope that they get their car issues settled, and if not; that they saved my info so they can do it again next January.

 

[silva]

That sounds really suspicious! I realize each state has different regulations, but it's not so easy to obtain a replacement sticker here.
It sounds more like whoever registered your car was looking to get themselves a sticker, for whatever reason they can't register their car. While the sticker would have your info on it, people would put that on their own car as it's not nearly as likely to be flagged as having an expired tag!
We have those kiosks at e-check stations but they've been out of order everytime I've been there.
In Ohio you need to have proof of ownership and valid ID to register

 

[silva]

That is really suspect! A stranger just looked at your cars windshield, and license thinking they did you a favor? One, I'd be truly p'ssed if I went to the BMV for nothing, but mostly--how did they register your name and address? Doesn't the kiosk ask for that, at least?

 

[LoreD]

That sounds really suspicious! I realize each state has different regulations, but it's not so easy to obtain a replacement sticker here.
It sounds more like whoever registered your car was looking to get themselves a sticker, for whatever reason they can't register their car. While the sticker would have your info on it, people would put that on their own car as it's not nearly as likely to be flagged as having an expired tag!
We have those kiosks at e-check stations but they've been out of order everytime I've been there.
In Ohio you need to have proof of ownership and valid ID to register

Here you just need the license plate# and last 4 digits of the vin number. The sticker just has 27 written on it. All of the stickers are identical.

Somebody got their plates suspended and can't get to work without the car. They paid $135 to get a renewal sticker for their license plate. It isn't like they stole my license plate. They just got a generic sticker that they put on their license plate. The sticker didn't have any info on it. Just a 2 in. square with 27 written on it.



All of our kiosks are working. I never had a problem.

 

[LoreD]

That is really suspect! A stranger just looked at your cars windshield, and license thinking they did you a favor? One, I'd be truly p'ssed if I went to the BMV for nothing, but mostly--how did they register your name and address? Doesn't the kiosk ask for that, at least?

Nope. I guess they assume that if a total stranger wants to pay $135 for my renewal; then they are OK with that.

They didn't do me a favor. They were driving around in a car that had suspended plates and needed the sticker so they wouldn't get pulled over by the police.

 

[silva]

I knew states had different rules but didn't expect that much! You mean renewal costs $135! Still odd that they would give out a second sticker that easy. Well, good for you!

 

[LoreD]

I knew states had different rules but didn't expect that much! You mean renewal costs $135! Still odd that they would give out a second sticker that easy. Well, good for you!

I'm an elderly woman. I don't think they thought I was a problem.. My white hair buys me a lot of slack.

 

[silva]

I'm an elderly woman. I don't think they thought I was a problem.. My white hair buys me a lot of slack.

Wouldn't in Cleveland . Our stickers have the VIN #, and your birthdate. You need to provide proof of ownership. BMV don't play!

 

[Lou]

could it have just been some kind of error? maybe that is why the DMV gave you the sticker.

 

[Tom L.]

@LoreD I dunno. Maybe it's not easy to find whoever did that (by mistake, or by malicious intent). I think I'd want it looked into, though.

That system doesn't seem very reliable to me. Whoever did this won't get caught unless they get pulled over for something other than a missing sticker?

 

[LoreD]

could it have just been some kind of error? maybe that is why the DMV gave you the sticker.

I went in and checked. Somebody put in my plate and vin number, which are easily accessible, in order to get the renewal sticker. They definitely paid for it through the kiosk. There isn't any danger because it isn't linked to any specific plate. It is just a generic sticker with 27 on it. Before they started using a glue that wouldn't pull off, we would slash the sticker with a knife because people would peel the stickers off and put them on their own plates.

Unpaid tolls, driving on a revoked license, unpaid tickets, Insurance lien, repossession, etc., can trigger a plate suspension. All the person was interested in was getting the sticker so they didn't get stopped by the police.

These are the machines for plate renewal. All you need is license plate and last 4 digits of the vin #. Pay and they have a sticker. I was just the lucky recipient.

 

[LoreD]

@LoreD I dunno. Maybe it's not easy to find whoever did that (by mistake, or by malicious intent). I think I'd want it looked into, though.

That system doesn't seem very reliable to me. Whoever did this won't get caught unless they get pulled over for something other than a missing sticker?

No malicious intent. Just somebody who can't renew their plates and needed a sticker. If they drive carefully, they won't get pulled over.