Speeding in a Hire Car in UK - No Longer Living In UK

anna_grant

Hi all

This is not an area of the forum i usually frequent (I was usually around the Money Saving area) so please be tolerant of me.

I was taking a last trip to Devon with my fiance in June before emigrating to the US to marry him and live permanently. During this trip, I hired a car as Devon is difficult to get around on public transport.

My hire company have now sent me a copy of a NIP for speeding at 40 in a 30 zone. I have checked the camera and it is the highest earning one in Devon (the 2nd highest gets 1/4 of the income of the one that caught me). It is right on the line of a 40 going to 30 zone.

However, I'm not going to contest it. Annoying though it is. I take it that the hire car company have told the police that I was hiring the car and I will have to tell the police who was driving (me).

My issue is that I know I will have to send off my license to get the 3 points added. The police in Illinois require that I have my license on me at all times when driving. Do I have to send both the photo card and paper counterpart even though it is only the paper counterpart that will have the endorsement? I may have issues if I am pulled over by the police over here if I don't have the photocard on me (I have no intention of speeding!).

I have an IDP and I could keep photocopies of the licence and NIP but I don't know if they will be happy with seeing copies.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation to this?

lpaluszk

You do need to "enclose your photocard driving licence and paper counterpart".

From DVLA website

I'd link the source but I'm a "new" user and can't post links.

Aretnap

Are you now living in the US? If you reply to the NIP saying that you've emigrated permanently, providing a US address and saying that you're in the process of exchanging your UK licence for a US one (can you do this immediately? If so no reason not to?) then I suspect that once they check you're telling the truth there's a good chance that they'll simply drop it. Chasing foreign residents for speeding tickets is much more trouble than it's worth.

sort_me_own_yard_out

just to forewarn you a lot of the hire companies will also charge you a bill as an admin charge!! I know the cars I hire for our employees if they get a ticket (and it is unfortunatly a hire car is the fastest car on earth!) we always get a bill from Hertz, Avis and eurocar between £30 -£45 for their admin fee!!

Lum

How long will it take you to exchange your licence for an IL one?

If it's only a week or so, do that and then follow the process for foreign drivers, i.e. they get to create a "ghost" UK licence for your to earn points in the UK

nimbo

if you have now moved to the states don't you need to get an American license??? an American friend could only drive here for six months on theirs...

Guest101

sort_me_own_yard_out wrote: »

just to forewarn you a lot of the hire companies will also charge you a bill as an admin charge!! I know the cars I hire for our employees if they get a ticket (and it is unfortunatly a hire car is the fastest car on earth!) we always get a bill from Hertz, Avis and eurocar between £30 -£45 for their admin fee!!

You can challenge those, they should simply pass on the details of the hirer and that's it.

I already had this discussion with avis (just because they were funny with deposit, not to do with speeding) and they said it's to pay for any parking tickets. I pointed out that they cannot claim jurisdiction over my liability, my deposit got returned within 24 hrs then,

iolanthe07

My son, who lives in the US, received a ticket for speeding on the A303 on a visit here some years ago. He had to pay the car hire firm £25 'administration' fee, but he ignored the ticket and never heard any more.

When I moved to the US in the 90's, it took about six months to be issued a California licence after passing a written test. Of course, things might have changed since then.

anna_grant

Yes, the licensing issues in the US are different between each state.

I now live permanently in the US but will not be able to get an Illinois license until I can show that I have the right to remain in the US. I will not have that evidence for about 8 weeks. I can drive on my UK licence for 90 days. There may be a few days when I cannot legally drive.

The hire firm charged me 35 pounds 'admin' fee for giving my details to the police and sending me a copy of the NIP and a letter. It is in the T&Cs of the hire agreement, so I can't really challenge that (although it is a ripoff).

Aretnap

So do you actually have a NIP addressed to you, as opposed to a copy of the one the hire company were sent? You don;t have to do anything at all unless and until you receive a NIP in your own name, and if the hire company gave the police your US address then you may not get one at all.

cardinalbiggles

Just don't whatever you do ignore it. I know someone who moved abroad and ignored a speeding ticket and you will end up with a court summons and then potentially an arrest warrant next time you step into the UK.