Donating your car to charity? Avoid a Sacramento woman's "fiasco" | Call Kurtis
SACRAMENTO – A Sacramento woman who wanted to do a good deed by donating her car to charity ended up getting more than she bargained for.
When she ended up getting hit with toll violation after toll violation for her old car that was no longer hers, she reached out to CBS13 and the Call Kurtis consumer investigative team to look into the matter.
Upfront, let's first mention that transfer of ownership – along with the release of liability paperwork you are required by law to fill out with the Department of Motor Vehicles when you sell or donate your car – doesn't mean a thing if no one registers the car in their name after you.
When Vickie Balog donated her car to the Sacramento SPCA in 2019 – to help the animals – she thought she was doing a nice deed. Now, she calls it a mistake.
"And it has been a nightmare," Balog says. "I mean, this fiasco has been ludicrous."
Balog's car ended up being auctioned off. As we've learned, the buyer never registered it.
During the last four and a half years, Balog received toll violations, tickets, tow and storage fees – a litany of violations for a vehicle no longer in her possession. She even received a court notice for ignoring one. It was tied to the car not being registered.
We asked Balog if she was nervous that she could be arrested.
"I was scared to death," she said.
Balog successfully navigated each agency, clearing up every single violation – until now.
She received a collections notice, for a $4,310 bill for tow and storage fees from last May – three years after she did that good deed.
"And I mean, I just didn't know what to do anymore," Balog said. "I mean, it was just, it's been a nightmare."
She filed the required transfer of ownership and release of liability paperwork with the DMV in 2019.
Remember that whether you donate a car or sell it, you technically remain the last registered owner of the vehicle – right up to the point when the new owner registers it. The person who bought Balog's car never did.
The SPCA calls issues like these extremely rare. They referred us to the non-profit organization it uses to handle its donated cars.
CARS, the non-profit that handled the donation, responded to CBS13.
"We will always work with the parties involved to ensure the donor is never financially responsible for any fees incurred after the donation," the organization says in a statement.
CARS went to bat for Balog, and got the collection agency to drop the debt in her name.
What's Balog's message to anyone thinking about donating a car?
"Don't donate it. Or if you do, go down to the DMV with them," she said. "Be sure to get the car registered in their name and then you're fine. But, do not let your car go or anything. Go without knowing that your name is off of it."
If you're selling your car, we suggest meeting the buyer at the DMV and standing in line together to do the transfer.
As for Balog, no more tickets will show up for her. We've learned her old car has since been dismantled.
If you get tickets for a vehicle that you sold – and you did everything right including filling out the release of liability form with the DMV, you can request a letter from the DMV that states you were not the owner when those violations happened.
If you have a problem you can't solve, please remember that CBS13 is the only station in town with a team to go to bat for you. You can fill out our form here.
