Legal Question in Business Law in California

You need to find the cancelled check, and if you can't, you need to pay -- i don't believe receipt of the tags constitutes any legal proof that you paid.

The fact that you received the tags means nothing. Maybe they received the check, maybe they didn't. Maybe they mailed the tags to you and then lost the check. Maybe the check really WAS NSF and you and your bank are wrong. You said yourself that you could not find proof of payment. You presumably have the check number if your registry. The check either cleared or it didn't. If the check cleared, take it to the DMV and show them it wasn't NSF. If the check did not clear, obviously the money never left your account and you should write a new check.

You're missing the point of the earlier response. It is your checking account, and you should be able to order the copy of the check that cleared under the "Check-21" program. It is your job to prove you paid by producing a copy of the check that the DMV cashed, not the other way around. If the check was returned for non sufficient funds, the bank would have a record of that in the bank statement.

Roach is right on this one. You have access to your bank records. If the amount of the check came out of your account, show that to the DMV. If the amount never got out of your account, then put stop payment on the check, and pay again. If the money never got out of your account you haven't paid. If it did get out of your account, you or your bank have records to show that to the DMV.

Did you pay by check? Everyone's assuming that, it seems. However, there are other ways people use to pay bills out of their "checking" accounts nowadays.....billpay, PayPal, ACH transfers, and maybe more. I noticed that nowhere in your own question language do you use the term "check" - you only speak of "payment."

Possibly you have more than one bank account. Have you looked at them all?

Another possibility is that you sent a check for too little money, they deposited it, it cleared the bank, they sent you the tags, and then later on noticed that you had underpaid. "NSF" usually means "not sufficient funds" and a rejected debit at the bank, but it could also mean "underpayment." Just a possibility to consider.

In any case, if you know the exact amount you owed the DMV in 2009, you can look through your bank statements for a debit in the amount originally due the DMV. If you don't have bank statements, the bank can furnish them. You probably know within a month or two when you paid them. DMV license renewals usually end in ".00" - an even dollar amount, no cents. Of course, if your payment was late, there would be an additional amount due ... which is another reason they might believe you underpaid them.

Have you tried going to a DMV office at a quiet hour? I found the clerks in a small-town office on an off day to be extremely helpful, and the DMV's computer system is very capable of pulling up details of payments and charges related to individual VINs and owners.

Between the bank's records, your own records and recollections, and the DMV's records, there is surely a way to solve this mystery.

As the other attorneys note, you should be able to determine what amount, if any, came out of your bank account in payment to DMV. Compare that to what DMV says you owe, and go from there. Consult with an attorney in your area for specific advice.

Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. - Mr. Franchise

Franchise Attorney

Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. - Mr. Franchise

Franchise Attorney