Motoring fines from Italy

billie25

Thanks Redx, Iceweasel and IamEmanresu for your constructive help on this. I guess it is as Dazster says. The police must have got my friend's name and address from the car hire company who will have her card details so that probably means paying up before any further charges are added.
Thanks again.

Johno100

Iceweasel wrote: »

There is a Cross-Border International EU Agreement on traffic offences and fines - 2014 I think it was.

Countries like France and Italy have huge problems with speeding fines in particular - I seem to remember reading somewhere that over 50% of the speeding tickets in the Summer are foreigners who then don't pay when the letters arrive - we Brits are the worst offenders apparently.

As usual the UK (and Ireland and Denmark) didn't like the 2014 agreement and obtained a short-term exemption, so currently any foreign fines are pretty near unenforceable unless something very serious occurred like failing to stop after an accident or causing injury.

But come May 2017 the 3 countries not already implementing the agreement have to conform.

Mr Cameron of course may soon have us exempted for a much longer period.

But of course the opt out also means we can't access the data needed to persue foreign offenders on UK roads. These things are always a two edged sword as I suspect the little Englanders will find out if their wet dream of brexit comes to pass.

PasturesNew

billie25 wrote: »

.....driving in restricted traffic zones .... never saw anything saying not to drive down these streets and other cars did!!

Restricted means some vehicles can. Could be registered locals, or local business workers, or others.

You probably wouldn't see a furren sign, in a furren town, when you're more focussed on directions to places and not running people over.

Following others seems reasonable if you're "lost", but if they enter a restricted zone (because they live there) .... then you'll be looking at their rear bumper, not the signage.

Guys_Dad

I hired a car in South Africa and months later Hertz charged my credit card with about £12 I think (it was some time ago). I had been caught in a speed trap.

I rang up Amex and queried why I had a charge on my card when I had been in the UK for months when the charge hit. Amex wrote it off or backcharged Hertz - in either event I didn't pay!

I can't see a credit card company being so generous today but I am 100% sure that your card will be hit if you don't pay up. You could still face admin charges from the hire company, of course as well.

mccabesville

Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone can help me with this one.

I have received a payment deadline reminder for a speeding ticket I picked up in Florence dating back to 2011!! I remember the original letter coming through about 5 years ago which I ignored at the time and heard nothing else back.

Now the reason I chose to ignore it the first time is because the car was rented through my father-in-law's Hertz Gold member's card, paid for with his credit card, the address on the ticket is his address not mine and no one at the rental company looked at my licence or passport. Surely there is no way for them to prove it was me driving the car; it could have been anyone with my name or anyone else for that matter.

Anyway, I've just written them an anonymous email stating that no one of that name lives or has ever lived at that address to avoid the use of "coercive debt collection" being used against my father-in-law.

Also as the fine was nearly 5 years ago, can anyone tell me if I am now protected by directive C-224/00?

Many thanks in advance for your opinions.

Jaypeg

I had 6 motoring fines from Italy come in the post after spending a month driving around the country back in 2015. 4 of the fines were from Florence and the other 2 were from Bologna.
I ignored all 6 of the fines, didn’t reply to their letters and ignored all of the follow up letters.

3 years later and...... absolutely nothing has happened. Letters stopped coming 2 years ago and haven’t heard anything since.

My advice is to ignore them and they’ll eventually leave you alone.

Don’t pay

Kirchenmaus

Ho ricevuto 6 multe per l'automobilismo dall'Inghilterra che sono arrivate dopo aver trascorso un mese a guidare il paese nel 2015. 4 delle multe erano di Londra e le altre 2 erano di Brighton.
Ho ignorato tutte e 6 le multe, non ho risposto alle loro lettere e ho ignorato tutte le lettere successive.

3 anni dopo e ...... assolutamente non è successo nulla. Le lettere hanno smesso di venire 2 anni fa e da allora non ho più sentito niente.

Il mio consiglio è di ignorarli e alla fine ti lasceranno in pace.

Non pagare

pappa_golf

Kirchenmaus wrote: »

Ho ricevuto 6 multe per l'automobilismo dall'Inghilterra che sono arrivate dopo aver trascorso un mese a guidare il paese nel 2015. 4 delle multe erano di Londra e le altre 2 erano di Brighton.
Ho ignorato tutte e 6 le multe, non ho risposto alle loro lettere e ho ignorato tutte le lettere successive.

3 anni dopo e ...... assolutamente non è successo nulla. Le lettere hanno smesso di venire 2 anni fa e da allora non ho più sentito niente.

Il mio consiglio è di ignorarli e alla fine ti lasceranno in pace.

Non pagare

Bologna not brighton!

Coupon-mad

Kirchenmaus changed all the Italian locations to English ones, and changed Italy to 'Inghilterra'.

Brighton is (ahem!) a bit like Bologna; a lively City with shops & cafes and a footie team!

pappa_golf

no comments on footie team , !!!! kerr girls would have beat them into submission by half time