SAN ANTONIO – The Texas Two Step program has turned into a confusing routine for some drivers.
The KSAT 12 Defenders have received numerous calls from viewers who believe they were overcharged or required to pay for services they don't need.
"I wasted a lot of time and money," Boyd Sawyer said.
He contacted the Defenders after he tried to renew his car registration but was told he must also renew his inspection, although his current inspection had not expired.
"I said, ‘Well, that doesn't seem right because I paid for a year's inspection,'" Sawyer said. "You know, that's like double dipping."
According to the new Texas Two Step, which began March 1, you may renew your registration if your vehicle has a current, passing inspection.
You only have to renew the inspection and registration at the same time if they expire in the same month.
That lasts through Feb. 29, 2016. Starting March 1, 2016, you have 90 days to complete both your inspection and registration.
According to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, some drivers will be legally allowed to operate vehicles that have an expired inspection during the first transitional year of the program, depending on when their inspections and registrations expire.
To calculate when you need to renew your inspection, click here.
Sawyer paid for another inspection even though he was not required.
"I've got five friends of mine who have had the same problem," he said. "And you know, you can't fight city hall, so you just pay them and get down the road."
Your inspection fee remains the same, but how you pay it has changed under the program.
When you renew your inspection, you will receive a vehicle inspection report instead of a sticker.
You will receive a sticker for your registration renewal.
Texas Two Step led to the discovery of a larger problem for local driver Joslyn Gomez.
"When we tried to get a registration sticker done that just expired this past March, we were unable to because they didn't have a vehicle inspection report on the vehicle that should have been obtained in December," Gomez said.
Gomez got her car inspected in December 2014. When she tried to renew her registration in March, she was told to have her car reinspected because there was no record of her inspection with the Department of Public Safety.
Gomez had her car inspected at an Official Inspection Station site in Leon Valley at 7100 Bandera Road, which is now closed.
"They did have history of us paying for the inspection sticker. They had a receipt for us and everything," said Gomez.
Carissa Barnes, the owner of Official Inspection Stations, said the company did report Gomez's inspection information electronically to the DPS.
However, the DPS said it never received the information.
Gomez got her car inspected for a second time in four months in order to register her car.
"I thought, 'How unfair is that that we paid for a service?'" Gomez said. "We didn't receive anything, because here we are in March having to do it all over again."
DPS is now investigating why Gomez's inspection information was never received.
Inspection stations began issuing VIRs to drivers on March 1, so Gomez would not have received one in December.
As the probe continues, DPS advises drivers who get future inspections to keep a hard copy of their VIR.