US interstate court computer system is a mess!!, page 1

Now that I have this finally all cleared up, I can tell the story - all true. It shows just how messed up the system is in the US.

8 years ago, I lived in Florida. I paid child support through Florida to Ohio (from a previous marriage). I moved to Connecticut with a valid driver’s license from Florida.

After arriving in Connecticut, I attempt to get a CT driver’s license and get turned down due to unpaid fines from 1990 in Pennsylvania - a state I have never been in.

I tell them that there is a mistake. They have 2 tickets on me – running a stop and having no ID. This other person with my same name lied about his date of birth, but was honest about his name and home address. The person on the phone could see the mistake, but I was told that I would need to hire a lawyer, set up a court date in PA and travel there to clear it up. If I was to pay the fines, it would be an admission of guilt, and because of the other unpaid tickets that are connected to the person with my same name in PA, I would have to go through a period of 8 years of suspensions beginning when I pay the fines.

I cannot afford a lawyer, nor take time from work to travel to PA. I wait hoping, as I have seen before, that it will just disappear, meanwhile driving illegally to and from work.

Some time later I get notice from Florida that they are going to suspend my license if I don’t start paying child support. Funny thing is, I am! I am paying Ohio form CT, not from FL anymore, never missing a payment. I send proof of this to Florida within the time frame that they gave me, except they, prematurely, start my suspension process.

I am then informed that I must pay Florida a reinstatement fee, even though they made the mistake. I do and FL is cleared up.

I get pulled over after some more time, and taken to the cop shop since I don’t have a DL. I tell them about PA. They look in the computer and find nothing. They let me go.

I apply for my DL again and fail. PA still has me in their computer with the same issue. And now Ohio has me down too. Seems Ohio suspended my license because Florida did and they want a reinstatement fee too.

I am thinking of getting a horse by this time.

I pay Ohio now, hopefully they are cleared.

I continue calling PA. I finally, after many people, talk to someone who actually works at their government job. She wants me to send certified copies of my credentials – SSN, birth cert, ect.

A couple weeks later, I get a letter stating that PA made a mistake. I am cleared, after 6 years of waiting.

I check with Ohio making sure they received their money too. They did, but I am still in need to do more. Now Ohio wants a receipt from Florida showing that Florida is paid off.

Now I am getting a bit pissed.

I call Florida. They send me a reinstatement notice to send to Ohio. Ohio rejects it, they want a receipt, even though you can’t have a reinstatement with paying what you owe. I tell Florida. They say they don’t keep reinstate fee receipts.

I get Florida and Ohio to talk to each other. Then Ohio finally clears me.

Now, 8 years after it begun, I got my CT license. Now I want to burn it and get stubborn mule or a moped.

Funny thing, when I went to get it, their computer said I owed tickets in Maryland, another state I have never lived in. They found it was mistake right there – luckily.

Welcome to the system. Hope you have a unique name or a unique number for your name. Its a beast! (pun intended)