I am writing this letter to share my recent experience at the Florida Licensing Department.
As I arrived at the traffic department on Friday morning, 16 August, I was approached by a middle-aged man named Sphiwe. He asked me if I had made a booking online, which I confirmed. He mentioned that he could assist me by processing all my papers inside as they are trying to make it a quicker process.
Sphiwe requested payment for the renewal and temporary driver’s licence, which came to almost R720. I gave the money to him in order to proceed, and he asked me to wait while he submitted my papers. He came back to me and advised that my papers were being processed and that I would receive a phone call from the gentleman helping inside.
Shortly after, I received a phone call saying my papers had been received and were being processed. I was told to stay with Sphiwe until he could collect my temporary licence. I then received another call informing me there had been a processing problem as I had outstanding traffic fines, including four warrants of arrests and summons. I was advised that I could not receive my temporary driver’s licence or renewal as they are not able to issue them without settling outstanding fines.
I didn’t think anything of it as I had received a fine in the mail. I requested the total of the fines which he stated was R8 410. He then advised me to withdraw cash to settle my fines. I told him that I do not know the area and would prefer to settle with a card, but he said the Florida DLTC does not accept cards due to fraud in previous cases.
After I had withdrawn the money, Sphiwe took it inside. I received another phone call from the man inside, saying the money had been received. Shortly after this call, Sphiwe returned with my temporary driver’s licence and a pad for my fingerprint. I was then told to return in six weeks for my driver’s card. I requested a receipt stating that I had paid my fines, but was advised that receipts are sent by email and that I could use it to go to the Small Claims Court to get my money back, citing the Post Office’s delay in sending out fines as the reason for not being aware of my fines on his system.
I returned that afternoon, after not receiving the promised emailed receipt, to ask if they could send it again or give me a hard copy, only to find out that there was no application for the renewal of my driver’s licence, nor were there any outstanding fines. However, the temporary driver’s licence that I had received was valid and confirmed by the traffic department.
I hope that sharing my experience will help other people not to fall victim to these scams.
