Have you ever received a bill and though, “This can’t be right?” A Maryland woman says that’s exactly what happened recently when she received an unexpectedly high bill when it came time to renew her car’s registration with the state.
She shared her story with local ABC News affiliate WMAR2, where she described how she became suspicious of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration when her latest registration was going to cost substantially more than it had in years past. Meghan Parker says that she decided to put on her detective hat to see what was going on.
When she pulled out the registration bills from previous years, she found out that her hunch was correct and she was being overcharged. The reason for the increase? A surprising mistake.
Now, she’s sharing her story so that others are aware of what happened. Plus, she’s telling people to double check their bills to make sure they aren’t being overcharged as well.
Her Vehicle’s Weight Was Incorrect
Parker pulled out her old registrations to see if she could determine what had changed over the years and quickly found the mistake. In the state of Maryland, car registration costs are determined by the weight of your vehicle.
“I looked and the weight of my vehicle had changed from previous registrations that I had stuck in the glove box of my car where we all keep them, it had changed four separate times,” she told the reporter, adding that it prompted her to take a deeper look at the rest of her car’s details as well.
Parker Contacted the Dealership for Help
When she realized what the issue was, Parker said she quickly got to work trying to figure out how to fix it, which meant calling the Subaru dealership where she purchased her car. But, according to WMAR2, the dealership didn’t respond.
Parker headed to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration instead, where they were able to determine that Parker’s car belonged in the 3,500 to 3,700-pound weight class. However, she says they have no idea what caused the mix-up that raised her car’s weight class…and her bill.
Her annual registration costs had jumped from $125.50 to $191.50.
Her Registration Fee Was Refunded
They say all’s well that ends well, and Parker’s story definitely ended on a high note. That’s because she was able to get $82 back. However, they still weren’t able to explain why the info for Parker’s car had been changed.
However, a representative from the agency told WMAR2 that the issue likely stemmed from a 2024 system upgrade, which allowed Maryland to add a third weight class to the system.
“We put all vehicles through that system to make sure that whether it was a vehicle we had for some time or not, that it was accurate and up to date,” the representative told the publication. “Maybe a few anomalies in that process, but we haven’t seen that widespread. We really want to make sure that vehicle weight is as accurate as possible.”
While officials may not have seen widespread issues, Parker maintains that everyone in the state should be double-checking their registrations, especially if something seems off.