Speeding ticket in NY--Virginia DMV wants evidence that I paid it

[arnob1]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia

I am writing regarding a speeding ticket I received in Upstate NY (Italy Town Court) in December 2010.

I was a little late in paying the ticket (paid it on April 19, 2011). In the meanwhile, the court or the New York State DMV must have sent a letter to the Virginia DMV saying that I had not paid the ticket.

I received a letter from the Virginia DMV on April 29 saying that my license would be suspended if I do not provide evidence that I paid the ticket by May 29.

I sent the DMV copies of my canceled checks immediately, which is the only evidence I have of paying the ticket (never received a letter from the Court).

I was pulled over yesterday, and the police officer said my license had been suspended by the DMV and took the license away.

I went down to the DMV with copies of my canceled check, and they do not recognize it as evidence of complying with the citation.
I have tried calling the Italy Town Court, but I can only reach the answering machine which says that the court is only in session on the first Wednesday of each month.

In the meanwhile, I have no license and no way of getting around. What are my options?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

You need to contact the court in NY. Have them research the payment, correct your account and send proof to VA. Once you have the mix-up fixed with NY, you can probably expedite the issue, by going to the VA DMV in person and coordinating proof of resolution via fax. They should reinstate you immediately. Doing it by mail could take several weeks.

 

[arnob1]

I have been trying to contact the court in NY (Town of Italy Justice Court) via phone, but only get their voice mail which says the court meets only on the first Wednesday of every month.

I plan to fax and mail them the following letter on Monday:

RE: Citation # (Insert Citation Number)
Date of Citation: Dec. 12, 2010

Subject: Requesting receipt of payment

I am writing regarding a speeding ticket I received in the town of Italy on December 12, 2010. I plead guilty and paid the amount of the ticket on April 11, 2011. I have attached copies of the canceled checks with this letter. I have not received a receipt of payment from the court, which the Virginia DMV requires.

Could the court please send a receipt of payment to me at the following address:

Arnob L.
Insert Address

Sincerely,

Arnob L.

The letter/fax will have copies of the canceled checks and my bank statement showing the payment. Should I include anything else with the letter? Is the wording clear?

Thanks,

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

They need the faxed info. Follow up with a phone call to make sure it is handled. Include front AND back of check. They need the routing of the payment showing account, amount and date it was deposited. This is on the back, make sure it is legible.

 

[HighwayMan]

You need to contact the court in NY. Have them research the payment, correct your account and send proof to VA

Uh, the court will most certainly NOT do this. They will not jump through hoops to notify anyone but the defendant.

 

[HighwayMan]

Once you have the mix-up fixed with NY...

There is NO mix-up with New York.

Defendant did not answer the summons in a timely manner. The court contacted New York State DMV and had his privilege in NY suspended. New York DMV in turn, notified Virginia of the outstanding ticket and asked Virginia to suspend his Virginia license as well.

It was the defendant's responsibility to ensure he received a receipt from the court indicating that the judgment had been satisfied. Sending a check and then forgetting about it is never the proper way to handle this type of situation.

Chances are his NY privilege to drive is still suspended. If he ever wants to drive legally in NY again he will have to get that same document from the court and contact NY DMV and pay a suspension termination fee to get the NY suspension lifted.

The document in question is usually signed by a judge or clerk and must have the order number of the suspension listed as having been satisfied. The order number is the only way that NY DMV will correspond the suspension with the satisfaction of judgment.

 

[HighwayMan]

The letter/fax will have copies of the canceled checks and my bank statement showing the payment. Should I include anything else with the letter? Is the wording clear?

Sending a copy of a check to the court will not help much. Either they got it or they did not. The only thing they will care about is the Uniform Traffic Ticket number.

Today is a holiday by the way. All courts are closed.

 

[arnob1]

Thank you OHRoadwarrior for your advice. I was able to have the Italy Town Court fax the receipt to the Virginia DMV and get the matter resolved.

Both the court and the Virginia DMV were very cooperative. The town court faxed the documents over within 10 minutes of me requesting it, and the DMV waived the license reinstatement fee (I had paid off the ticket before the Virginia deadline I had to pay it).

A hectic couple of days but it all worked out!