Once living in another state visiting NY, I got rear-ended (fender bumped) by a Canadian driver at the border crossing. Well, the Buffalo police like anything else shows up 30 mins later and the Canadian guy took off. I got his plate and vehicle description.
Move the clock ahead of that nearly 5 years later. While going to NY state DMV to get my drivers license since I was moving there, guess what, I couldn't get one. WHY? The DUMB Buffalo police or the NYS DMV had it on the computer that me (my name) in car X, from outside state, rear-ended me (my name) car Y, from Canada!!! Like dah, how can I drive two cars at the same time from two totally different places???
After paying over $150 to get that fixed with NYS DMV and then pay the money for a NY state drivers license, I was legal again. They don't call NY state the welfare state for nothing. Their education shines like this all over the place over here.
I feel your pain all so well vbironchef. Been there, done that.
Do you know whats even worse if you don't get it fixed??? The insurance companies have a CLUE report on you. See if it's on your records too. If it is, get that fixed ASAP. But first pay NYS the money to fix the original problem, get their documents of correction in the mail and then send a photo copy to the CLUE report company.
CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange)
http://www.choicepoint.com
"Insurance companies look at your credit record and your history of making insurance claims. Computer databases are used to check on your answers. The Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, operated by Equifax, is the leading database for insurance claims. CLUE charges $8 for a copy of your report. If the report has been used as the basis for turning you down, you are entitled to a free copy. Call (800) 456-6004. The report will include instructions on how to fix errors on a CLUE report."
See this PDF for how to get your CLUE fixed and what's involved.
http://www.aicp.net/chapters/heartland/ ... burton.pdf
"FACT Act
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) was enacted in 2003 and amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a federal law that regulates, in part, who is permitted to access your consumer report information and how it can be used. The FACT Act entitles consumers to obtain one free copy of his/her consumer file from certain consumer reporting agencies during each 12-month period.
ChoicePoint has three separate companies that maintain consumer files that are subject to the free disclosure requirement: C.L.U.E. Inc. maintains information on insurance claims histories, ChoicePoint WorkPlace Solutions Inc. maintains employment history information, and Resident Data Inc. maintains tenant history information. Each of these companies designed an easy process for consumers to request their free file disclosure." http://www.choicepoint.com/factact.html
Nearly every employer in the USA, Canada and overseas can check with ChoicePoint if your information is correct per a resume or a claim. It's very hard to lie in this computer day and age.
Where they came up with 3 is beyond me. I said why is this being brought up now? They said that all 50 states are now going to share information between each other. 
I gave them the correct VIN number! What's up with that.
5 weeks to go.