My feud is not really a feud.
More like frustration with government offices.
I am a responsible citizen. I pay taxes, abide by laws, and vote.
I just want them to be responsible for their part of the bargain.
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So I got married in November 2012.
Three weeks later, I took a day off of work, and I updated all the government offices I could think of with my new last name, address etc.
(The first time the DMV re-issued my licence they forgot to update my name, but eventually they got it right).
The DMV sent me my updated registration.
And then I moved on with my life.
January 2013 rolled around, and I was completely unaware that my car registration had expired.
And then February came.
Feb 15th to be exact.
My husband and I were minding our own business, out to lunch on a Friday afternoon on Woodruff Road in Greenville, SC.
On the way back to our office after lunch, I noticed a highway patrolman behind me.
I didn’t think anything of it until I noticed that his lights were on.
I thought, “Oh good, I hope he gets that shady looking guy in the next lane with no tag.”
And I just kept moving.
Because if you have never experienced Woodruff Road on a Friday afternoon than you really have never practiced defensive driving to the fullest extent.
Suddenly I realized that the cop was right behind me now, still with his lights on so I “pulled over” in the median because there literally was no where else to go.
He asked for my registration and DL.
I confidently gave him both because I had just received the new updated ones.
He looked at me kinda funny and said, “Ma’am, your registration is expired.”
I politely said, “No that can’t be right. The DMV just sent me that registration.”
But sure enough he was right.
Of course at that point I was confused.
And he was confused.
But not so confused that he could not write me a $300 ticket.
The ticket also required me to report to Summary Court in two weeks.
Apparently, the DMV had issued an outdated registration.
And I had never received any sort of tax bill for the new registration.
When I got home, I googled myself and the tax office and eventually found a place where I could pay taxes online since I still had not received a bill (because I DID NOT want to have to take more time off of work to go down to the county tax offices to find my bill).
I printed the tax receipt, took another half day off of work, and appeared for my court date 20 minutes early.
(Seriously, our summary court is one of the shadiest looking places)
The cop let me off without paying the $300 since I had proof I had paid for the registration.
And then I waited three more weeks for the actual registration to arrive from the DMV.
But I never received my registration.
Then after Googling a few more things I learned that even when you pay your registration taxes, you are only paying for the taxes.
You have to pay any late fees at the DMV or they won’t send you the registration.
And you cannot, under any circumstances, pay for them in the same office.
Because consolidating the amount of people through either of those offices is just preposterous (insert sarcastic tone).
And even if it’s the county’s fault for not sending you a bill, you are responsible for the late fees at the DMV office.
$50 in late fees.
So I jumped on the DMV website to pay the late fees (because I was not going to take more time off work to go to the DMV)….and their credit card processing site was down.
So I waited two days and tried again.
It’s still down.
Anyway, I waited one more day with no luck.
So I decided to mail in a check with an explanation of what had happened.
And I wait.
If my registration ever shows up it will be miraculous.
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personal life and small business blog by Rene' Beagle 
