VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — People are frustrated with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Folks who need services there said they are tired of waiting on the phone for hours for someone to pick up.
On Thursday, Governor Ralph Northam announced another 90-day extension for people to renew items at the DMV. He said many people are having a hard time making appointments and that more meetings will become available once more Customer Service locations reopen.
“I just think it’s ridiculous that we have to jump through all these hoops,” explained Marilyn Earley.
People said they are waiting for hours on the phone, sending e-mails and receiving no responses, and are having a difficult time making appointments online.
“I’ve lost all patience with them, I’ll be honest with you. I’ve lost all patience whatsoever," Earley said.
Seven DMV locations have reopened across Hampton Roads, but Earley said the location she would typically visit is still closed. She said she’s spent more than 40 hours since the beginning of May trying to get in touch with a representative over the phone and by email. When she calls, it says more than 200 people are waiting and to call back or e-mail them.
“Nobody has ever gotten back in touch with me. I sent another email the other day and they acknowledged it, but they didn’t tell me how they are going to do anything,” explained Earley. "My husband suggested, 'Why don’t you send them an email every day?' Yeah, take time out of my day to have to get it, sit down in there and send them an e-mail and back up the system even more.”
If you want to make an appointment online, some people said it’s difficult. Earlier this month, DMV officials said only a month of appointments is available at any time on the calendar.
“I think it’s ridiculous that we are sitting here trying to utilize the DMV and do what we are supposed to, and we can’t even get in touch with them," Earley said.
Not everyone is having the same experience as Earley. A person who didn’t want to go on camera said he made an appointment online and was in and out of the DMV in Virginia Beach in less than 45 minutes.
Another man got there around the same time said he waited for more than an hour-and-a-half to get his issues resolved.
13News Now reached out to DMV officials to see what the issues are and why people are waiting so long. A spokeswoman provided us this statement:
While DMV has scheduled more than 280,000 appointments and manages about 6,500 appointments each day, we recognize it has been difficult for some to obtain an appointment before the validity of their credential expires. Although the appointment window has been for a 32-day period, Tuesday, we were able to extend the appointment system to accommodate 60 days -- with a 90-day appointment window planned to open by the end of the week. This will add another 270,000 appointment opportunities throughout the Commonwealth.
Due to service changes necessitated by COVID-19, such as our extended closure and, more recently, our new operating procedures, we have noted a marked increase in customer demand in our call and email queue. As an example, customers are currently calling with many questions about our new appointment system and social distancing practices as we reopen offices across the state.
As customers become more familiar with these procedures, we are confident call volumes will begin to return to normal. However, in the interim, we have identified other DMV staff members who can assist with calls and emails at this time and will continue to add others as they are identified and trained. This will enable us to serve customers in a more timely fashion. Additionally, we continue to communicate frequently with our customers via our website, social media and the news media to ensure critical service updates are readily available, answering many customers’ questions upfront.
Here's more information on the 90-day extension to renew DMV-issued credentials: