“This whole time…”
Keeping current on your car insurance payments is supposed to give you peace of mind. One woman learned the hard way that even if you think you’re doing everything right. a bureaucratic mixup can lead to serious consequences. In her case, a criminal charge.
TikTok creator Kaley (@kaleythemermaid) says she was criminally cited after unknowingly paying her sister’s Geico car insurance for an undisclosed amount of time.
To start the video, Kaley says, “POV: You just got a criminal charge from the police because this whole time you were insuring your sister’s car … and not [yours].”
Kaley says the Vehicle Identification Number on her car doesn’t match the one on her insurance. That could be related to the fact that she and her sister have the exact same make and model vehicle.
“I wonder if she’s insuring my car,” Kaley says. “If I don’t pay bail or show up to court in 90 days, there’s a warrant out for my arrest.”
Kaley holds up what appears to be a traffic citation. “So my bail is $740, if anyone wants to pay that,” she says. “Or I can go to court at the end of August. But it’s in Carson City, Nevada, and I’m going to be traveling so I won’t be anywhere near there. I really hope the Carson City Justice Court finds favor with me when I call them and tell them the issue.”
Her first course of action is calling Geico and setting the VIN situation straight.
In the caption, Kaley wrote, “Update: The court did not find favor with me.”
In the comments section of the video, several viewers offered advice on the situation and how to best move forward. Others expressed exasperation about how Kaley described the legal process.
“This is a ticket and it’s not bail,” said one viewer.
“Girl, this is not a criminal charge, lmao,” a second person said. “It’s a traffic citation.”
A third person said, “First, I’d call your sister, because if she’s insuring your car, then you just need to show them that insurance card. Then, I’d call Geico, because if you never gave them her VIN, they looked it up and found the wrong vehicle.”
Another person said, “This is a fix-it ticket. Show them that you fixed it, explain the mix-up. They should drop the charges.”
It sounds like what happened is that Kaley got pulled over and the officer discovered the VIN discrepancy while running her insurance information. According to Geico, providing its agents with the correct VIN allows them to give you the right price and keeps you in good standing with your state’s DMV.
Boston news station WCVB reported on how an incorrect VIN can quickly turn into a nightmare for the unwitting driver. A woman reported that her son was pulled over while borrowing a vehicle she had insured through Geico.
Two errors in the VIN recorded on the registration reportedly resulted in police impounding the vehicle, which they believed wasn’t registered or insured. In that case, records showed that the issue purportedly stemmed from Geico’s side of the equation. Even so, the woman and her son had to go to court to resolve what is a criminal charge under Massachusetts law. Ultimately, a judge dismissed the charges.
So, essentially, both sides of the argument in Kaley’s comments have merit. Yes, this mishap can actually result in real legal trouble. In Nevada, driving without insurance is a misdemeanor offense punishable by fine. However, the statute says the driver can resolve the charges by showing proof that they had insurance at the time they were cited.
Update Aug. 27: In a follow-up video, Kaley explained that the issue was her fault. When she was initially insuring the vehicle, she selected the wrong car from the drop-down menu. A Geico representative also told Motor1 that customers should double check the information they submit when obtaining an insurance quote.
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– The Motor1.com Team