An 86-year-old man has won a fight with the Houston toll authority over a car he sold six years ago, and the relief is real even though the case is not fully settled yet. Anthony Runshang Jr. said he has spent six years answering bills for a 1996 Thunderbird he no longer owns, and now the Harris County Toll Road Authority has agreed to clear his $1,980 debt after Action 13 stepped in.
The Sale That Started It
The trouble began in June 2020. Runshang said a couple visited his Missouri City home and offered to buy his 1996 Thunderbird for $300 in cash. He accepted, handed over the car and the title, and the couple drove away.
A few weeks later, the bills started arriving from the Harris County Toll Road Authority. Runshang said he wrote letters telling the authority he had sold the car and was no longer responsible. The bills kept coming anyway.
Letters That Got Nowhere
Runshang said he wrote letters to the authority for six years, each time explaining that he no longer owned the car. Nothing changed. Then, a few weeks ago, a document from the Harris County Clerk arrived. It told Runshang to pay more than $1,900 in unpaid toll fees or face a court appearance on Oct. 1.
That is when he decided to call Action 13.
“I was trying to figure out how to take care of this without going to that court,” Runshang said.
Why The Receipt Vanished
ABC13 reached out to the DMV, which confirmed that Runshang sent a document after selling his car, as required by law, to protect the seller from liability involving the car after its sale. But when ABC13 contacted the Harris County Toll Road Authority, they said a receipt for that document never made it from the DMV to them.
It is not clear why that receipt never showed up in the authority’s system.
A Review Finally Clears It
After Eyewitness News reached out, the authority took the extra step of reviewing DMV data. They finally confirmed that Runshang did, in fact, sell the Thunderbird in 2020.
The authority said they will notify Runshang that the fines are being cleared from his name. But Runshang says he is not ready to celebrate just yet.
What Still Needs To Happen
Runshang said he wants the matter resolved in writing. He also wants proof that he does not need to appear in court on Oct. 1.
“I would like to see it resolved, but I need to see it in writing and know that I don’t need to go to this court hearing on Oct.1,” Runshang said.
The authority has promised to clear the fines. Whether the written confirmation arrives before the court date is not yet known.
Key Dates In The Case
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| June 2020 | Runshang sells his 1996 Thunderbird |
| Recent weeks | Action 13 intervenes |
| Recent weeks | HCTRA reviews DMV data and confirms the sale |
What We Make Of It
This is a small victory, but it is a real one. Runshang fought for six years with no answer, and the authority only acted once a television station asked about it. The DMV record existed all along, and the authority simply failed to receive it.
The case shows how easily a simple transaction can become a long fight when paperwork falls through the cracks. Runshang did everything right — he sold the car, notified the DMV, and wrote letters to the authority. None of it protected him until the authority finally looked at the DMV record itself.
The lesson is simple: proof matters. A signed document sent to the DMV is not enough when the receiving agency never receives it. Runshang had the paper, but the authority needed to check it.
Here is the order of events in the case:
- June 2020 — Runshang sells his 1996 Thunderbird
- A few weeks later — First toll bills arrive after the sale
- Recent weeks — Action 13 intervenes
- Recent weeks — HCTRA reviews DMV data and confirms the sale
- Oct. 1 — Court hearing scheduled if the debt remains unpaid
This is a case worth watching to the end. Runshang deserves written confirmation, and he deserves it before Oct. 1. The authority has promised to clear the fines, but a promise is not a release.
For now, the fight is over. The authority is clearing the debt, and Runshang can stop answering letters for a car he no longer owns. That is progress, even if the final chapter has not been written yet.
Source material: “Action 13 helps clear 86-year-old man's $1,980 toll road bill,” ABC13 Houston.
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