A Clearwater woman bought a new car, bought car insurance and then ended up with a suspended driver’s license.
Violet Hutton says she took her proof of insurance to her local tax collector’s office three times and was told her information, including a letter from her insurance company, Geico, was faxed to the DMV in Tallahassee.
Hutton thought everything was fine.
“Approximately 30 days later, bam, another suspension,” Hutton said.
She went through the verification process three times, only to receive letters of suspension three times.
So Hutton parked her Ford Fiesta, started using Uber and decided she’d Better Call Behnken for help.
“The suspension letter says Geico, my insurance company, has refused me and they have not,” Hutton said. “They’ve sent all, all the pertinent paperwork.”
“They tell me it’s my insurance company’s fault and my insurance company says it’s the DMV’s fault so I’m stuck between a rock and hard place here,” Hutton said.
When Better Call Behnken called the DMV, we were told employees at the Pinellas County Tax Collector’s office didn’t verify her policy correctly, causing the confusion.
The state decided to reinstate Hutton’s license immediately.
Hutton still has an outstanding issue, however.
The state refuses to the take the suspension off of her record.
Apparently, Hutton switched to Geico the day after she purchased her new car. That means her current insurance policy was not in effect the day she bought her car.
Hutton said she bought the car on May 20 and called Geico Monday morning.
However, Hutton did have insurance with another company at the time of purchase. Most insurance companies give customers a window (typically 10 to 30 days) to update a policy with a new car.
State officials say they’ll reconsider Hutton’s record if she provides a letter proving she was covered on the day of purchase.
