HENRIETTA, N.Y. — An East Rochester man is warning others about security concerns after his license plates disappeared following their surrender at a local DMV drop box.
Terry Kirchoff turned in his plates last fall using a drop box at the Henrietta DMV office after selling his car. He expected to receive a receipt from Albany to prove to his insurance company he was no longer driving that vehicle, but nothing arrived in the mail.
“I thought it was a secure place to put the license plates,” Kirchoff said.
When he called to check on the status, he learned there was no record of the surrender. “And I was told by a man in the DMV in Albany that my car was still registered,” Kirchoff said.
After dealing with red tape, he eventually got the car removed from his insurance policy. “But it’s two months later after I turned the plates in. So I’ve paid for insurance for two extra months,” Kirchoff said.
Problems in other counties
He filed a police report. While there’s no evidence his plates were stolen, similar incidents in Chautauqua County have raised concerns.
In that county, several people who surrendered their plates began receiving toll bills and parking tickets. “The victims of this, who have done the right thing, they’ve turned their plates in properly, and somehow these plates are ending up on vehicles that aren’t theirs. They’re getting tolls. They’ve been victimized by the fraudsters, but they’ve been revictimized by the state of New York,” said Sen. George Borrello, who represents the 57th District.
Borrello has sponsored legislation to increase penalties for those using fraudulent or stolen plates. He discussed the issue at a recent budget hearing.
State DMV auditing for compliance
State DMV investigators recently began visiting area county-run offices to check how turned-in plates are being secured. A DMV spokesperson said the agency is continually evaluating practices to ensure offices are in compliance.
“From my knowledge no county has been told they’re non-compliant,” said Jamie Romeo, Monroe County Clerk and president of the State Association of County Clerks.
Romeo said the reviews are routine and customers should feel confident about how surrendered plates are handled in Monroe County. “The biggest thing is about having eyes on the chain of custody of those plates. I know in our offices all of our drop boxes are within either our lobbies or within our branches where we have several cameras,” Romeo said.
Kirchoff recommends using the counter instead of drop boxes for better security. “I would have left the office with a receipt for turning in those plates that I could have used to cancel my insurance if I’d done it that way,” Kirchoff said.
News10NBC checked with surrounding counties about audits. In Orleans County, the clerk said they were audited and no issues were found. In Wayne County, the clerk said they have not received a visit.
A Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said they have not received any other reports of stolen plates from the Henrietta DMV drop box where Kirchoff surrendered his.
News10NBC Investigates: East Rochester man fears license plates may have been stolen after using DMV drop box WHEC.com.
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