FREDONIA, N.Y. — Fredonia native, Jason Remington sold his 2009 Chevy Aveo back in January 2023.
It was your typical transaction. He surrendered the vehicle's license plates to the Chautauqua County Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and never looked back.
But on Friday, Sept. 15 that changed, when he received a ticket in the mail from the New York City Department of Finance.
"The first one I giggled, I thought it was maybe they just got a number mixed up," Remington said.
The ticket was for speeding in a school zone on Jamaica Avenue in Queens.
"Driving 38 in a 25," Remington said.
The car wasn't his, but the license plate was the same sequence, KTU-6972, that he had given up months ago, although initially, he said he didn't realize it.
"It confused me, I didn't recognize the plate. I definitely didn't recognize the car it was on," Remington said.
Not a day later on Saturday, Sept. 16 he got another ticket in the mail. This time it was for parking in a bus lane, also down in New York City. The best part? Remington has never been to the Big Apple.
"I mean, I've never been within five hours of New York City so it's not me," he told 2 On Your Side.
Remington said he worried the violations could hurt his driver status in New York, so on Monday, Sept. 18 he started making calls, first to the New York City Department of Finance. That office instructed him to dispute the tickets in their 'NYC Pay or Dispute' mobile app, so he did.
But while doing that, Remington found two more tickets from back in May; all four totaled about $250.
Next, he visited the Chautauqua DMV, which confirmed and issued him a receipt validating what he thought had happened back in January, that his license plates had been destroyed.
One question remained: Why was Remington being billed for tickets issued to a license plate number that was no longer registered under his name?
"It's been stressing me out over the last couple of days. I didn't know what to do," he said.
As the station On Your Side, Remington contacted Channel 2 on Tuesday, and after reaching out to both the state Department of Motor Vehicles and the New York City Department of Finance for comment, we got an answer.
And 2 On Your Side learned that he isn't alone.
According to a statement from DMV Director of Public Information Walter McClure sent via email, the DMV has received multiple complaints about tickets being issued by New York City, except the Department of Finance appears to be using outdated registration information.
"We have found through multiple customer complaints about tickets issued in New York City that the NYC Department of Finance is not timely or accurately utilizing registration information. The DMV has repeatedly brought customer complaints to their attention," said Walter McClure, the director of public information for the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.
The DMV doesn't handle the issuance or adjudication of any violations or tickets from camera ticketing programs like the one that ultimately billed Remington.
Similar to the City of Buffalo's failed school zone speed camera program, a camera in New York City simply snapped a picture of the KTU-6972 license plate and billed who they thought was the right person.
McClure added that the DMV will provide Remington with a registration abstract as proof that he did not own the plates in question at the time the violations occurred. They will also be contacting the New York City Department of Finance.
"If it happened to me I would imagine it could happen to anybody," said Remington.
A spokesperson for the New York City Department of Finance told 2 On Your Side their office would investigate and provide more information when available.
Two days after our story aired, the New York City Department of Finance informed 2 On Your Side that Remington's two most recent tickets were dismissed. The other two would be.