There's something to be said in how the SC DMV is abusing the Real ID system. The number of people who live outside of SC, never had a SC drivers license, and are being told they now have to do a driving school, and pay all kinds of fees for traffic/misdemeanor offenses from so many years ago, some 20+ years ago, and reinstate a SC DL they never had is abuse-and a complete money grab. Not to mention notices that were sent to fake addresses, also supposedly 20+ years ago.
The SC DMV employee, Diamond, was the most unhelpful, and to keep it real, a dishonest person we encountered throughout this entire ordeal. She attempted to provide partial information (that's being kind, to be honest, she was very dishonest) until we asked for the notice via email while on the phone. Sure enough it was mailed to a non-existent address, and she gave partial information until we had the notice in front of us and she was confronted. She'd initially said "just pay the $100 fine and you'll be good to go". Obviously that was completely inaccurate information that she knowingly gave to get off the phone until she had no choice but to actually address the situation at hand while never acknowledging the notice was mailed to a non-existent address. She also sent the notice as a picture rather than an actual letter (but that's SC for you), so I doubt the legitimacy of it in its entirety, not to mention it's undated. When she was told this was never part of the sentence from the Judge, she stated it was "implied consent" due to a BAC level in 2002, even though the judge (of a court that no longer exists, nor do these records-convenient) thanked this person for their service as he was about to deploy and had just come back from deployment, and then imposed a fine and sent him on his way. Never a mention of implied consent through the entire process, and conveniently proof cannot be provided.
Now hundreds of drivers, primarily veterans, from nearly every state in the U.S., have their drivers license held hostage by the SC DMV, jumping through hoops, paying hundreds out of pocket, likely close to $1000, due to SC's untrained staff, their antiquated systems (because let's be honest, most systems will stop you from mailing something to a nonexistent address-and would also be able to accept online payments rather than mail only check or money order), and obviously some type of money grab. For those who went to court 20 years ago, paid their fines and went on with their life, only to find out SC has a hold on their drivers license all these years later is wild.
Imagine doing something in your early 20s, paying for an attorney, taking care of everything immediately, as instructed by the judge, only to find out in your 50s that the SC DMV is a disaster and will impact your life, and hundreds of others, in a major way. When we encountered this, my immediate response to him was "it's SC so there's no doubt they've done something ridiculous". Well....that was indeed the case. Here it is, only two weeks into all of this, and already $700 out of pocket for something that was taken care of in 2002.
There will be more to come on this, as this abuse of the Real ID system needs to be highlighted. SC needs to be accountable for this nonsense. read more