Fairfax County – Department of Tax Administration

Same issues as everyone else here, I am being penalized for their lack of ability to do their job properly and in a timely manner… this place is a disgrace to our country. I’ve lived all over the country and never been so screwed over by government processes without regard. So sad, Fairfax county should be ashamed.

i really like the extended hours they have on thursday so i can stop in to fill out forms after my day job. this is a great service they provide.

I received a letter from fairfax county about my car tax stating that i owe them car tax for last 3 years !!! I have allways paid my car tax bills so
when i called and follow up they said according to their record my car has been sold
three years ago ! I have been driving the same car for last 10 years and never sold it
I told them, and why would i pay the car tax if it was sold.
I send emails and complained. they got back to me and said there was a mistake in their system. then they said they will wave the late payment penalty and i still have to
pay the last 3 years car tax. So i had to take week day off to follow up and beg my
bank to dig into last 3 years checks to find the ones that shows i paid my car tax
to this unorganized department.
eventually I got the copy from bank and send it to them.
Today i got a surprising notice from County of fairfax threatening me that they
will report me to credit agency due to none payment pluse my vehicle is subject
to DMV registration hold.
This was my last straw and i think they did not even bother to comunicate
the problem that they caused for me with other department.
from the way things going i won’t be surprised if they put hold on my vehicle
registration instead of an apology for the wrong assumption, complication of simple payments and my checks that they have cashed and did not registered in their system
and waisting my time and frostration of the letters penilizing me for the matter
that is in dispute and not finalized !!!
I have lived in fairfax for last 15 years because it soppused to be one of the best
county in united states but I think the department handling car taxes is a big
shame for this county.

** 1 Star **
I paid my personal property tax bill earlier this Fall — I mailed them a check. It took them over 3 weeks to cash and post my check. They then penalized me and claimed I was late on my payment. They received my payment well before the deadline — but because of a combination of slow, crappy, antiquated processes and systems — it took them 3 frickin’ weeks to cash my check! Not my problem that you all are a bunch of slow, moronic, automatons. Oh wait, it is my problem, because you have placed a lien on my VA Department of Motor Vehicles registration renewal.
So then I pay their stupid late fee — which was another $ 20 some odd dollars. Some 3 weeks later after posting payment of my late fee — they still have not updated the VA DMV records to show that the lien should be removed.
I discovered this all today when I went to the VA DMV office at Fair Oaks Mall. The DMV recommended I call Fairfax County and ask them to either update the record, or to give me some proof to give to the DMV.
I called them from my cell while still at the Mall. The woman I spoke with on the phone was rude and unpleasant. She informed me that their computer systems were down and unavailable and would not be back online until Wednesday, January 3, 2008. I was flabbergasted — I asked if I could come over to their office in the Fairfax County Government Center and pick up a hand written receipt. She told me no — they could not look at my records with the system down. To say I was pissed was putting it mildly. She then proceeded to counsel me that I should be more responsible — blah, blah, blah. So I told her to have a wonderful day and a happy new year and I hung up.
I then rushed home, logged onto their web site, printed off my record, which depicted that my account was paid in full. I went back to the DMV — they let me come right up to the counter without waiting in line again. The lady at the counter told me she could not accept the printout from the County web site as proof of my payment. A supervisor then came over and told me that the County faxed over confirmations a couple of times earlier today — they recommended that I call them and request the same. I then recounted my earlier interaction with the County. They reiterated and asked that I try again.
So I went to the pay phone in the DMV, dumped in my .50 and called the County. I was transferred and put on hold for about 10 minutes, then the phone system clicked a few times and hung up on me. I was livid! I called back again, and this time got a nice lady, I begged her to not transfer me until I had recounted my tale of woe. She then told me to hang on while she checked with her supervisor. A minute later, she confirmed that I was indeed paid up, and her supervisor had just updated the DMV system to reflect that the lien was removed. I asked if they would send a fax over anyway (at this point I am paranoid). She then checked — her supervisor came on the phone — and she promised me that the DMV would see the update immediately.
I then recounted my tale of woe — and I told her about how the previous woman I had talked with had treated me. She asked if I knew her name — I did not — but I told her how I got to her. She told me that was the «Accounts Delinquent» department, and that she manages those folks. She told me should would have a talk with them next week about their manners. She apologized profusely, and I thanked her, still a little dubious about what I would find when I went back to the DMV counter.
Much to my relief — the change they made over the phone was instantaneous — and in less than 5 minutes I had my registration renewed and new stickers for my license plates.
So much for the system allegedly being down.
When you deal with this agency — mail everything, certified, registered, and insured, and request that the agency sign for the letter so that you can prove when you sent them something, and when they received it.
I’ve heard some other tales of woe about this department, and how they treat people. It took my mother almost 6 months to remove a lien from a car that she had paid, even after she moved to another county!
The nice lady at the end salvaged their rating — I’d be giving them zero stars if it were not for her kind intervention at the end of this aggravating process.