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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A Yellowknife woman is exasperated that it took her six trips to the licensing office to successfully renew her NWT driver's licence.

The first time Gale Runge made the trek, on the Friday of the Thanksgiving long weekend, she didn't have all the right documentation. The second time, a customer defecated on a chair causing Runge and others to leave.

But the third, fourth and fifth times were due to a communication breakdown Runge said she just could not get over.

In August, Runge paid the fine on a speeding ticket she received. However, months later, her record showed the fine as still outstanding – and Runge was told she can't do anything with her licence until it shows as paid.

"(The city) forgot to tell the people at the courthouse it was paid," according to Runge.

And because the fine showed as unpaid for so long, not only did Runge have a 'Y' next to the fees unpaid question on her record, she also had a court date and an additional $25 fine she didn't know about.

Luckily for her, she said, courthouse employees understood her plight and waived the extra fine, which was put there, she said, because the court was unaware she paid the original fine.

Normally, when a fine is paid at city hall, the city then contacts the courthouse and the courthouse contacts the department of motor vehicles, said Doug Gillard, manager of municipal enforcement.

Grunge's situation is "very rare," he said.

"Usually within hours we're notifying the courthouse that a payment has been made and then probably within 24 hours, depending on how busy (the courthouse is), the person's service restriction has been lifted and then they're able to get their licence and registration renewed," he explained.

"Everything generally goes fairly smoothly," he added.

Runge said she was assured last Friday everything would finally be cleared over the weekend and by Monday, this week, she'd be able to renew her license. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

"It's just so Mickey Mouse," she said.

Runge was not able to renew her licence until her sixth visit on Wednesday.

According to Al Kaylo, director of road licensing and safety, Runge's difficulties were due to a glitch in the department's system.

"We actually had a system problem and we had it for about three weeks. I'm sure this lady might have gotten caught up in that process," he said.

Anybody running into what Kaylo calls "unusual" situations should contact the manager of the driver vehicle licensing program, he said. That is what Runge did to finally get her record fixed.

"This was very unusual. It's certainly not a thing that comes up daily, weekly or monthly. I think it's once in a blue moon," added Kaylo.

While Runge would like to see some cohesiveness in the system, Gillard noted it's not as easy as it sounds because the courthouse and the Department of Transportation operate on the territorial level, while the city operates on the municipal level.

"They're the ones that are communicating and putting the restriction on," said Gillard.

"We don't have access to the restriction or even to ask (for it to be removed). That request has to come to the courthouse."