JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — After months of waiting for his car title, a local man is crediting 5 On Your Side with getting him the help he needed.
It comes as several people reached out to us experiencing their own issues with the Missouri Department of Motor Vehicles.
When Scott Nauert wanted to sell his car he was told to tap the brakes by the Missouri Department of Motor Vehicles until they could sort out troubles with the title.
“It’s been about 6 months,” said Nauert.
Tired of waiting he reached out to 5 On Your Side for help.
“I can’t thank you enough,” said Nauert. “You got the results I was looking for. I got this crisp, new, beautiful title in the mail on Tuesday.”
Nauert’s title also came with an apology.
“They just said they were running behind and they were a little short on help,” said Nauert.
A Department of Motor Vehicles spokesperson told 5 On Your Side in April alone the department issued more than 198,000 titles, with an average turnaround time of 3.13 days.
“It’s never taken three days even before COVID,” said Nauert.
After sharing Nauert’s story multiple people experiencing the same issue reached out to 5 On Your Side with the same problem.
“They told me that my title was missing, and they couldn’t find it,” said Ambert Huitt. “The bank said they had sent it way back in March. It was almost a year, I think 11 months to a year, to get everything sorted out. It was a complete nightmare.”
“COVID has been kind of out of the way for a while now,” said Brandon Bell. “That was the excuse at the start of this. It’s been over a year, so it would be great to be done.”
“Get your act together,” said Huitt. “We are paying your salary, so I think we deserve answers.”
5 On Your Side pushed the Department of Motor Vehicles for answers as to what is causing these issues, and they sent the following statement:
“The Department of Revenue continually strives to provide the best customer service possible and issued 2,070,749 title documents in calendar year 2021. While the majority of title applications are processed in less than 10 business days, issuance of title may be delayed for several reasons, including but not limited to, inconsistent reporting of information from lienholders, selling individuals and vehicle dealers, and information omitted from the title application. These inconsistencies and omissions require reconciliation of information within the Department and may cause additional correspondence between all parties. The Department recommends customers allow 12 weeks for title processing, but underscores that only those with inconsistencies and omissions may take that long to process. Inquiries may be made to the Department by calling 573-526-3669 or emailing MVBMail@dor.mo.gov. Additional information may also be found at the Department’s website: dor.mo.gov.”
“I recommend to anybody that is interested in buying or selling a car right now to be very patient, have your ducks in a row, and be prepared to call Channel 5 if you need any help,” said Nauert.
At KSDK we’re focused on you and the stories you ask us to cover. If you have a story you would like to share, or an issue you would like us to look into, you can email Holden Kurwicki at hkurwicki1@ksdk.com.