Title Transfer Debacle for Fred’s R100RT

4/21/2023 – My friend Steve and I went to the PA Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to get the titles transferred to us, each with a different bike (I passed Fred’s 1971 R75/5 to Steve).

The titles (Texas) were not signed over because Fred was deceased. The death certificate was signed by his friend Ben, indicating that there were no heirs. Ben is the person who hired the auctioneer to sell Fred’s stuff.

PennDOT rejected our paperwork and sent us back with a form for Fred’s friend Ben to sign saying there were no heirs. So I needed to find Ben.

We also needed to do a VIN rubbing to verify the VINs. We did the VIN rubbings.

5/6/2023 – I found Ben via the auctioneer, and Ben agreed to meet me at PennDOT and get this resolved in person.

PennDOT gave multiple forms to Ben to fill out and sign, and he did.

PennDOT rejected the auctioneer’s (Bruce’s) Bill of Sale which read that I paid the sales tax to Bruce, and he paid the state (Treasury). PennDOT said the Bill of Sale was not a “receipt” and did not contain proof of sales tax payment. We tried to explain that a Bill of Sale is the same thing as a receipt.

PennDOT required an itemized Bill of Sale with more details.

So Steve and I got updated Bills of Sale from Bruce.

5/12/2023 – Steve and I went to the same PennDOT person that we worked with on 5/6/2023 with the updated Bill of Sale.

I asked if I should wait for my number to be called, and she hesitantly took me ahead of time. I called Steve up to the counter.

She went through the paperwork, asking me to fill in more information. I was wondering what she would reject next, thinking “Am I going to be sent back once again?”

Finally she charged me for my title transfer. Inserting my credit card into the machine felt like I had won the lottery.

I showed the second bike’s paperwork to her, and Steve stepped up.

She said, “He needs to take a number, I don’t know him.” We said that it was the exact same transaction with the same paperwork, just a different buyer.

We got her supervisor over, and he rejected the updated Bill of Sale and ask for a receipt. We stated once again that a Bill of Sale is a receipt, to no avail.

Steve succumbed to the insanity and paid the sales tax to get his title. Steve may appeal to the Department of Treasury because the tax was paid twice, once by the auctioneer and once by Steve.

PennDOT is very efficient when a transaction is simple, i.e., the vehicle has a Pennsylvania title, and it’s being transferred to another person in Pennsylvania.

However, when it’s not cut and dry like this one, it seems that fear can prevail.

What is the concern of PennDOT with these types of transactions? That the bike was stolen? They could just run a stolen vehicle check.

Or if it’s about sales tax, can they call their state Treasury comrades and verify that auctioneers pay taxes on a monthly basis?

I blame the organization, not the person who waited on us. When someone is trained to fear doing something wrong, and not rewarded for actually helping a customer, this is the kind of customer service that can result.

I can only hope that PennDOT reads this and can focus on customer service in the future.