About 11 years ago, I sold a car in the state of Maryland, to a woman (my friend’s mother) who lived in New York. When I sold the car, I took off the license plates. Not knowing what to do with them, I believe I just threw them away.

About 4 years later, I am living in California and get a notice from the state of Maryland telling me that I owe them about $4000. They claim that this is fees for having an “uninsured vehicle.”

My friend’s mother registered the car in New York, but New York never communicated this fact to the state of Maryland. Neither did any of the insurance companies. Fortunately, I was able to track down my friend’s mother and she was able to provide proof of insurance starting from shortly after I sold it to her.

It took quite a few phone calls, letters, and faxes to get it all sorted out. I can’t imagine how it would have worked if I hadn’t been able to track her down.

As far as I know, there was never a warrant out for my arrest, but hey, you never know!