DH has speeding ticket-from Spain!

2010

You admit that you did break the speed limit/law, so what`s the problem.

Stroma

I wish people would stop putting uninformed posts on here, it's already gone beyond the hire company, they have done what the law says they must do to pass the address of the hirer on. Now the only way they can get paid the penalty is by hiring a British debt collector to do that.

Debt collectors have ZERO powers, they can be IGNORED completely in cases like this. They can't even bring it to court because they are not the creditor, and the small claims judge will more than likely throw it out as its beyond the juristriction of court.

Now the OP has received the correct advice, the moralising on this is irrelevant, and the point 2010 is that this money will not go to the police or the justice system there, it goes straight into the pockets of the dca who has paid a couple of quid for it.

Gryphon005

Stroma wrote: »

I wish people would stop putting uninformed posts on here

So do I........

Your advice is both dangerous and wrong!!! It is only valid if the OP does not return to Spain, and does not wish to hire a car in Spain again in the foreseeable future. It is clear from srm's posts that DH wishes to do both the above.

As others have already pointed out, the car hire firm will have both credit card details and identity information for the main driver, and will, almost certainly, have T&C's in the hire agreement that cover the payment of fines, penalties etc for traffic offences whilst using their vehicle.

The OP, it seems, has received a legitimate speeding ticket from the Spanish authorities, which either needs to be paid or contested in a court in Spain (unless there is the option to name another driver, in which case the other driver will need to choose one of the above).

Stroma wrote: »

and the point 2010 is that this money will not go to the police or the justice system there

Oh yes it will! Payment can be made via the official Spanish website (probably quoted on the ticket) or via a branch of a bank in Spain.

It's very easy to sit behind a keyboard in the UK and issue advice. It's an entirely different matter when you're faced with a vigorous demand for payment (of the original fine, plus possible penalties for late payment) by an armed Guardia Civil officer.

Stroma

Utter rubbish, the hire company is not now involved, they have done their duty to pass on the hirer details. Euro Collections (or other debt collector) has bought the debt from them, and they cannot actually enforce it at all.

As for data sharing by hire companies, get real will you, they have data protection there, they cannot share data across different companies, the same as here!

And equally you are sitting behind a keyboard putting misinformation on this thread, they are certainly not going to be concerned by a penalty that they cannot enforce, the same situation happens here with foreign drivers.

Your interpretation of this is basically completely wrong

Gryphon005

Oh well, since you seem to quote "Utter rubbish" at any opinion contrary to your own, we'll have to agree to differ on the advice offered here.

I believe you seriously underestimate the will of the Spanish Authorities to enforce fines incurred by foreign drivers, particularly on their return to Spain. The evidence for this will become more apparent with the passage of time.

It will be interesting to see which strategy the OP adopts with respect to this ticket. Also, the longer term outcome if the "ignore" route is chosen.

schoolrunmum

It's a moot point whether we will pay it anyway-the form is entirely in Spanish and my Spanish just don't vut the mustard...I can't figure out HOW to pay it..

Gryphon005

schoolrunmum wrote: »

It's a moot point whether we will pay it anyway-the form is entirely in Spanish and my Spanish just don't vut the mustard...I can't figure out HOW to pay it..

If it's in Spanish, this blog may help:
http://www.mamunahmed.com/08/speed-camera-fines-how-to-pay-spanish-speeding-or-driving-fine-from-uk/

Stroma

Gryphon005 wrote: »

Oh well, since you seem to quote "Utter rubbish" at any opinion contrary to your own, we'll have to agree to differ on the advice offered here.

I believe you seriously underestimate the will of the Spanish Authorities to enforce fines incurred by foreign drivers, particularly on their return to Spain. The evidence for this will become more apparent with the passage of time.

It will be interesting to see which strategy the OP adopts with respect to this ticket. Also, the longer term outcome if the "ignore" route is chosen.

What exactly can they do here ? This is a speeding ticket, they are not going to get Interpol involved. And as this is utterly unenforceable and there is no cross border cooperation between the dvla and the equivalent there, ignore is probably the best option.

And if you stopped posting utter rubbish there would be no need to say it, would it ?

Gryphon005

Sigh!!..........There is no need for Interpol or the UK DVLA to be involved at all. The Spanish Authorities will have all the ID (passport and driving licence) they need.

The car hire firm will have a credit card on file, so that if the speeding ticket is not paid by one of the named drivers, the hire firm's T&Cs will probably mean that the ticket is paid that way (plus a generous admin charge, no doubt). In the unlikely event this doesn't happen, I'd expect DH to be "pulled" on one of his future visits to Spain and instructed to pay the outstanding fine (plus any penalty) on the spot!

I stand by what I said in post #16 of this thread, and see no need to comment further on this topic.

nigelbb

Gryphon005 wrote: »

Sigh!!..........There is no need for Interpol or the UK DVLA to be involved at all. The Spanish Authorities will have all the ID (passport and driving licence) they need.

The car hire firm will have a credit card on file, so that if the speeding ticket is not paid by one of the named drivers, the hire firm's T&Cs will probably mean that the ticket is paid that way (plus a generous admin charge, no doubt). In the unlikely event this doesn't happen, I'd expect DH to be "pulled" on one of his future visits to Spain and instructed to pay the outstanding fine (plus any penalty) on the spot!

I stand by what I said in post #16 of this thread, and see no need to comment further on this topic.

Why do you imagine all these terrible things will happen? Just imagine the boot is on the other foot & it is Senora Coupon-Mad who has picked up a speeding ticket in the UK before returning to sunny Espana. The UK police don't have her passport details nor do the car-hire company. They probably have only sketchy details of the driving licence(s). The hire-car firm won't pay the speeding ticket as that has to be paid by whoever was driving. It's not like a 'proper' parking ticket where the hire-car company pays & then takes the money off the credit card on file.