On April 21st 2025 I went to the Tennessee DMV to change my New York State Drivers License over to…read morea Tennessee Drivers License after a move. I was informed that Tennessee couldn't issue me a drivers license because I had a problem with my license from when I lived in Florida back in 1997. I paid the $2.00 fee for a printout titled "Problem Driver Pointer System" which basically stated that there was a problem with my driving record in Florida and I needed to get the problem cleared before Tennessee could issue me a driver license. The report gave me a telephone number to call the FL DMV, but didn't tell me what the problem was.
I called the number as soon as I got home. Unfortunately, I got an automated message saying, "all agents were busy assisting other customers. Please try your call again later." This happened a few times until I finally got an automated message that asked if I wanted to leave feedback after the call. I thought that might be the key to getting a live agent, so I said I wanted to leave feedback. After the automated message repeated itself for about two hours, the call abruptly hung up on me. Discouraged, but not defeated, I called the number again, but to no avail. For over a week it was rinse and repeat. Something told me in my gut that I was going to need the help of an attorney to get this issue resolved, and I made an appointment with Amanda Howard for a consultation on April 29th 2025.
In the meantime, I tried the FLHSMV My DMV Portal in an attempt to resolve the issue online, but was unable to get beyond the Driver's License Check portion. I was however able to print out an abstract, but that didn't tell me any more than the report that the Tennessee DMV was able to print out for me. I spoke with my mom's cousin who lives in Florida to see about getting an attorney who practices DMV related law. That attorney directed me to a couple of numbers to try, as their office didn't handle DMV related issues. They also informed me that I could try the Florida Bar Association Referral Service. I'd left messages with them requesting they contact me, but heard nothing from them.
I don't ever recall having so much as an unpaid traffic ticket when I lived in Florida, so I didn't understand why I had a problem with my license there. After I moved back to New York in 1997 I had no issues getting my New York License. I'd never been in trouble with the law, and have a clean record.
When I got up this morning I recalled Mrs. Howard's assistant telling me that Amanda didn't practice Florida DMV Law, so I was simply going in for a consultation to see if she could point me in the right direction with somebody that could. For me this seemed like the 11th hour, as I needed to get my drivers license within a certain time frame. Time seemed to be running out.
When I sat down with Amanda, I explained the situation to her, showed her my documentation, and she went right to work to try and help me resolve my License situation. She called the number I did for the Florida DMV and was went through the same ordeal I did for well over an hour, probably closer to two hours. They abruptly hung up on her as well, but I noticed that while she was on hold, she was quickly typing into her phone the whole time. She didn't seem to get discouraged by the DMV's hold vortex, rather became more determined to help me get the issues identified and resolved. A couple of times she suggested that it may have been due to a ticket, and that I might even have to drive down to Florida to resolve the issue in person. I was disheartened by that because I had just moved down to Tennessee with my elderly mom, and she depended on me to drive her to get groceries and take her to doctors appointments.
I was ready to just concede to that course of action and jut make the trip to Florida, but Amanda doubled down and with an air of confidence I'd never seen before, she made a few phone calls and somehow got another number to try at the Florida DMV. She got through to a live person, explained the situation to the agent who told her there were no outstanding tickets and would need to speak with a manager. Amanda left the agent with her telephone number and things looked promising for the first time in over a week. After paying the consultation fee, I said my goodbye's and left her office to get groceries. I didn't even make it from my car to the entrance when I received a call back from Mrs. Howard. The DMV agent's manager called her back & informed her that the problem with my license was that I was no longer a Florida resident. She said that my record would be cleared and I could go back to the Tennessee DMV to pick up my driver license after 48 hours. I was overcome with relief. Her perseverance, dedication, diverse knowledge and professionalism has made a difference in the lives of both me and my mom. This is one lawyer who just won't give up.
