An Irving, Texas, man is getting tickets and fines for cars he doesn't own — and his motorcycle's license plate is to blame.
In the last year, Kirk Thor has received about a dozen notices saying he owes fines and fees across the country — from South Texas to Oklahoma, Nebraska and Florida.
The plate on his Harley Davidson motorcycle reads "NO TAG."
"I saw a friend get a ticket that didn't have a license plate on his car," he said. "It said 'no tag,' and he didn't have to pay for it. It never came back to him, so I thought to myself, 'If I get this, maybe I won't have to worry about getting tickets, either,'" Thor said.
But the plate has the opposite effect.
Thor, a doctor and local executive with a large company, figures police officers and deputies are writing down "no tag" in the plate description when writing tickets for cars without license plates. And Thor, who paid extra to get "NO TAG," is getting the tickets.
But he said he doesn't plan on changing his license plate to avoid the problem.
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Thor said he loves putting vanity plates on his vehicles, saying it's a way for other drivers to get a laugh.
"[It's] something for people to chuckle at when they pull up behind me at a light," he said. "I've had 'wicked' on a black sports car. I've had 'smitten' when I was dating my wife."
Thor said the fines range from $300 to $600. He hasn't paid and, so far, has explained away what has happened.
Thor said he has never personally received a ticket while riding his Harley.
"I mean, I've done nothing to ever get pulled over, so all of my tickets have come from other people's transactions," he said.
He has received letters and even a few phone calls from people asking him to pay the fees.
"They put a lot of pressure on you because some of them are collection agencies, so they're just trying to do their job and make a buck," Thor said.
When asked how he stays cheery about collection agencies calling his home to collect money he doesn't owe, Thor said he thinks he laughs about it now because he's only had the bike for a year.
"Maybe you guys should come back in 10 years and interview me and see if I have the same state of mind," he said.
