Alice Essary got a parking violation in the mail for a vehicle she no longer owned. Fortunately, the Bexar County Tax Assessor’s Office was able to step in and help.
SAN ANTONIO — Alice Essary traded in her 2023 Honda Accord in February of 2025. She said a local Toyota dealership gave her an offer on a new car that was too good to pass up.
But then, more than four months later, the City of San Antonio Municipal Court sent her a notice that said she was being fined for parking the Honda Accord in a handicapped parking space in June.
The 84-year-old says she didn’t even have that car anymore and didn’t understand what was happening.
“It was shocking,” Essary said. “I knew it wasn’t my car. It was a license plate I had never had.”
Essary said she called the San Antonio Municipal Court and tried to explain that she no longer owned the car and the plate number in the citation wasn’t hers either. She also still had the paperwork proving she had traded the car in.
“She told me to send that information back to them in writing. I sent it to the municipal court. I wrote it on the notice, the information, and mailed that back to them,” Essary said.
Essary said she then got a second fine notification from the city. She said she called again and was told she would need to go to the DMV to get more proof.
“I had a really bad hip at that time. They wanted me to go to the DMV,” Essary said. “I told them I was in bad health… I hung up the phone and balled and balled. I was really upset.”
The city then sent the fine to a collections law firm and Essary got another notice for $314. Her daughter decided to call KENS 5.
“She thought maybe you could help solve the problem,” Essary said.
The real problem was that the vehicle title for the 2023 Honda was still in Essary’s name in June even though she had sold it in February. That’s why the city was still going after her.
The Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collectors office, headed by Albert Uresti, keeps track of vehicle titles. So KENS 5 contacted the office to see if there was anything they could do to help.
Uresti’s team looked into the issue. Uresti later told KENS 5 that it appears the vehicle stayed in her name until July.
It turns out, prior to July 1, 2025, dealerships were not required by law to fill out paperwork to transfer vehicle ownership when they received the vehicle, despite it being a good business practice.
Prior to July 1, 2025, Uresti said anyone selling a vehicle needed to fill out a Texas Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification form (VTR-346) to protect themselves from this exact situation. This form must be filled out within 30 days of selling the vehicle and allows the seller to protect themselves from any criminal or civil liability connected to the vehicle after the sale.
Dealerships are now required to fill this out by law but people should still fill this out if selling to individuals. Uresti also suggests going to the tax office to sign over titles when selling vehicles.
Fortunately, Uresti’s office was also able to help Essary. Uresti’s office contacted both the City of San Antonio Municipal Court and the collections law firm and provided proof that Essary did not own the vehicle at the time of the violation. The San Antonio Municipal Court then dropped the case.
“We provided it to the law firm and we provided it to the city. The law firm and the city got together and they closed the case,” Uresti said. “She will not get any more notices. We are making sure of that.”
Essary is glad the Tax Assessor’s office was able to step in and help. She’s also glad she called KENS 5.
“KENS 5 was a blessing because I don’t think it would be resolved right now if you hadn’t stepped in,” Essary said. “You’ve made me a KENS 5 fan.”
If you have a problem like this, we want to help you fix it! In our series, Call KENS, we do our best to solve problems for our viewers. The number to call is 210-470-KENS, or fill out the form on this page.