so, wow. mattie is expensive. more so than that honda i used to have. yikes! but worth every penny. maybe not every hassle, but definitely every penny.
i got my NC vehicle tax bill a few days ago. it says WAKE county on it. I live in a city called Morrisville, part of which is in WAKE county, and part of which is in DURHAM county. I don't set these things up, the state does.
I live in DURHAM county. By like 1500 ft, but by george, it's DURHAM county.
sooo, I check out my statement, and notice that it's from WAKE county. Being the responsible citizen that I am (and knowing that taxes can be cheaper in DURHAM county than WAKE county) I call up the WAKE people and sit on hold for the operator for ten minutes before I get ed up and hang up. Thank goodness for speaker phones.
anyhow, today I decide to start anew since my tax is due May 1. I call the same number again but select options instead, hoping to go for the "i'm not sure if you can help me but..." route. I get a person. A real, live, breathing person! I explain my plight.
Politely, I might add.
to which she responds, well, let me check your address...they MAILED it to me for pete's sake.
she does, it's correct, and she says, well, I've made a note in my system.
I say I want to make sure that I don't get fined for not paying the bill, and is DURHAM going to send me another one, and how do I make sure this is right, and why does my "location" address say 0 Unknown Drive? She tells me she doesn't know, that I need to call WAKE county and find out how I arrange to get another bill.
I do the legwork, y'see.
sigh.
So I call WAKE's other number (mind you, I got the first number off of wake-gov something or other). I speak to a very helpful but slow-talking lady who is befuddled by my sitch. It seems that DURHAM sent my stuff to WAKE to have WAKE bill me. When I inquired about the 0 Unknown Drive, she told me that when addys show up like that it's because they aren't in WAKE county.
I say:
"so, let me get this straight...
Durham sent you my info so you, Wake could send me a bill. And you, Wake, sent me one even though my address showed up as not in your system. And now I, the citizen, have to make two phone calls to ask about why the DMV hasn't hooked up with the county-line-drawer-peoples? So who do I pay? And how do I have a record of it?"
I'm especially frustrated because Ms. Recorded voice has told me that if I move out of WAKE county and I've recieved a bill I have to pay it in full. Something about correcting it next year or in some circumstances owing both counties.
I explain to the still nice lady that yes, I lived in DURHAM county in January. I lived there beginning last May! And she said oh, well then, I'll notify DURHAM, I'll cancel this bill and they should send you another one, easy as pie. (yes, a pie full of really sharp needles and rocks, I thought) I verified like five times that I was off the hook for now, and she confirmed it for me.
whew.
who knew counties were such a hassle? i mean, countRies go to war. but apparently counties just argue via the mail.
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