Driver says ‘nothing can be done’ while charging $3,000 in towing fees for a car he doesn’t even own

AFTER selling his son’s used car to a stranger who needed a cheap price, he discovered thousands of toll violations were in his name.

It turns out that the buyer never registered the car in his name.

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Jim Okerblom, a father and writer from San Diego, California, sold his son’s 1999 Chevy Camaro to a stranger, Hector, in June 2010 for just $600.

The engine needed some work, but other than that it was in decent condition.

The Camaro’s license plate was in Jim’s name.

He did everything right – created an invoice, kept the sales receipt, and signed a liability release form with the DMV.

The liability release form does just that – it notifies the DMV that the car has been privately sold to another driver and that the vehicle is no longer under the original owner’s insurance or legal responsibility.

The next step would be for the buyer to promptly take the vehicle to Detran and register it in their name.

However, Jim quickly learned that Hector was unable to do this.

He trusted Hector did the right thing, but FasTrak toll evasion violation warnings as Hector repeatedly crossed the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area indicated otherwise.

“Hector, you idiot, you didn’t register the car and it’s still in my name!” he he wrote.

He tried to contact him with a letter written to an address Hector gave him to send an extra key if Jim found it.

However, the post office reported that the address was not valid, so there was no way to contact Hector.

To make matters worse, he had lost the only way to prove to the DMV that the car no longer belonged to him.

“Unfortunately, I forgot to keep a copy of the “release of liability” form I had filled out at the DMV and had to write to get a copy,” Okerblom wrote.

“While waiting, I received more toll violations on the same bridge.”

As the pile of infringement notices grew by a few inches, another bill for the Camaro arrived in the mail.

“Then I got a notice from the CHP that the car had been impounded at Fast Tow in Concord because the driver didn’t have a license,” he said.

His jaw hit the floor when he saw the towing company’s total.

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“A bill for $3,075 from Fast Tow for towing and storage expenses. Then a letter demanding that amount from CBA, a collection agency.”

Several weeks later, his copy of the liability release form arrived in the mail, and he sent a copy to FasTrak, the towing company, and the collection agency to relieve himself of the financial burden Hector had accrued on his behalf.

He wrote that if he continued to receive violations, he would sue.

And for a while, warnings about Hector’s antics stopped coming.

In 2021, however, Okerblom would feel a strange sense of déjà vu.

Luckily, someone stole the Camaro’s license plate and was driving a Chevy over the same bridge, causing more violations.

He tried to file a stolen license plate report with the DMV, but was told to file a report, but the police said it was a “civil matter” and nothing could be done on their part because the plates were not stolen – just not registered.

When he contacted the DMV Investigative Unit, it took him two weeks to call back, only to be told again that it was a civil matter.

How to Prepare for the DMV

Here are some ways to streamline your DMV experience:

1. Check your state’s DMV website to see if the task can be done entirely online. Many processes can now be done online, such as renewing a vehicle registration or changing an address. Otherwise, several processes can be started online and completed in person, such as renewing a driver’s license.
2. Schedule an appointment. While walk-ins are available at all locations, scheduling an appointment can help reduce frustrating wait times.
3. Check the DMV website to ensure you have all the necessary forms for the task.
4. Arrive early. Since many people prefer to try to complete simple tasks on their lunch breaks or days off, arriving early may mean you are just one of a few.
5. Eat before you go or bring a snack. As the waiting time can exceed expectations, bring some kind of sustenance.
6. Be positive. The process is temporary.

His only option was to contact a lawyer and sue the new owner or contest each notice individually and prove that he no longer owned the Camaro.

“I’ve received about 60 $6 or $8 violation notices so far, although I’ve lost count, and I’m sure there are many more in the works that haven’t arrived yet,” he said.

Another flurry of violations arrived, and this time a photo of the car showed it was a Honda – not a Chevy Camaro – and Jim felt he finally had solid proof that the car didn’t belong to him.

Another dead end – the DMV told him nothing could be done.

In a last-ditch effort, Okerblom threatened to take his story to the media.

The threat caught on and he was eventually caught up with the DMV investigation division, who “discovered” his disclaimer and that the plate was “somehow” disconnected from the form.

Then Detran’s public relations office contacted him to apologize and, finally, the violations stopped occurring.