Hungarian Penalty Charge Notice epc plc 14 July 2022 at 11:47AM in Motoring 29 replies 2.6K views

debtout

Hi all recently went on a round trip to Europe and passed through Hungary. Today got a penalty charge notice ; £35 and £44 administration costs. I have 60 days to pay. I have seen an old thread on here but not sure how that ended up so need some advise. 
I never saw any toll charges, but equally I'm liable as I did make the trip. Can Hungary officials legally pursue this debt in the UK?.

 Also of concern is that they have the right car registration number and adress but they misspelt my name. Where do I stand legally as they have effectively charged me based on the wrong name. So for instance instead of calling me say Tony they have called me Tany. Would this be a basis to query the validaity of the charge as the name isn't correct? 

Brie

I would have thought the name was a simple typo and immaterial to the actual charge which is for the car.

Whether you have to pay this - that I don't know.

But how did you get this PCN?  In the post?  By email??  Every time I travel I suddenly get lots of scam emails from the countries I've visited which I always delete and block.

Jenni_D

EPC are debt recovery agents who seem to specialise in foreign traffic penalties. I don't believe they have ever gone further than sending "scary letters" - they can't raise a criminal (penalty) claim in the UK, and unless they've been assigned the "debt" (and the debtor has been notified of that assignment by the original claimant) then they can't raise a civil claim in the UK as they are not the claimant.

debtout

Hi all so just to update you all. I ended up paying the penalty charge, as didn't want any hassle, at a cost of about £80. Then today, another one came through, it appears different dates and I'm now thinking, something has got to give. I know a few others have said there is no possibility of legal action, If I chose to ignore, as the crime was committed outside of the UK. How much weight is there in this? Has anyone actually been in this situation and chose not to pay? 

pattap

Hi all

I'm in almost exactly same situation, I have purchased wrong vignette type so the ask is to pay the difference, fair enough and some hefty admin fees.  I was about to pay the penalty but another letter have just arrived with a PCN for an offence that took day after the first one - vignette purchased was for 10 days. I can't see any reason rather then a badly design system to ask this twice. 

I have called EPC without providing any reference numbers at that point and I've been told to send an email to their customer service with all the details. Guy on the phone said this will most likely will be "maximised". As English is not my first language I have not idea what he meant by this. 

macman

debtout said:

Hi all so just to update you all. I ended up paying the penalty charge, as didn't want any hassle, at a cost of about £80. Then today, another one came through, it appears different dates and I'm now thinking, something has got to give. I know a few others have said there is no possibility of legal action, If I chose to ignore, as the crime was committed outside of the UK. How much weight is there in this? Has anyone actually been in this situation and chose not to pay? 

No crime was committed-it's a civil matter. 
They can certainly pursue a civil claim through the UK courts, but whether they would do so is not a question anyone can answer-even supposing it was genuine.
Were you still in the country at the date of the second charge, did you break whatever the rule was?

pattap

I've reached out asking why two separate PNC'S

they got back to me with the below

The Hungarian public road network (motorways, highways, national roads) can only be used

with a valid authorisation for road use (e-Vignette/e-Matrica). Nemzeti Útdíjfizetési Szolgáltató

Zrt. has confirmed that there was no authorised purchase for the above vehicle at the given

time of contravention. Based on the Decree no. 45/2020. (XI.28) of the Ministry of Innovation

and Technology on the motorways, highways, and national roads subject to toll payment, a

Penalty Charge for unauthorised road use must be paid in accordance with the given vehicle

category, if a vehicle does not have a valid authorisation for road use at the time of inspection.

Please be advised that in accordance with the legislation of the Issuing Organisation one

PCN may be issued for each calendar day when the Hungarian Motorways are used

without a valid vignette.

Please ensure that payment is made in order to avoid further charges being added. Payment

can be made as per the instructions on the notice.

Please note that based on the decision of Nemzeti Útdíjfizetési Szolgáltató Zrt. the due date

cannot be extended and case will not be placed on hold.

Car_54

macman said:

debtout said:

Hi all so just to update you all. I ended up paying the penalty charge, as didn't want any hassle, at a cost of about £80. Then today, another one came through, it appears different dates and I'm now thinking, something has got to give. I know a few others have said there is no possibility of legal action, If I chose to ignore, as the crime was committed outside of the UK. How much weight is there in this? Has anyone actually been in this situation and chose not to pay? 

No crime was committed-it's a civil matter. 

That would be true if it had happened in the UK. Do you know enough about the Hungarian legal system to be confident it's not a crime there?

debtout

pattap said:

I've reached out asking why two separate PNC'S

they got back to me with the below

The Hungarian public road network (motorways, highways, national roads) can only be used

with a valid authorisation for road use (e-Vignette/e-Matrica). Nemzeti Útdíjfizetési Szolgáltató

Zrt. has confirmed that there was no authorised purchase for the above vehicle at the given

time of contravention. Based on the Decree no. 45/2020. (XI.28) of the Ministry of Innovation

and Technology on the motorways, highways, and national roads subject to toll payment, a

Penalty Charge for unauthorised road use must be paid in accordance with the given vehicle

category, if a vehicle does not have a valid authorisation for road use at the time of inspection.

Please be advised that in accordance with the legislation of the Issuing Organisation one

PCN may be issued for each calendar day when the Hungarian Motorways are used

without a valid vignette.

Please ensure that payment is made in order to avoid further charges being added. Payment

can be made as per the instructions on the notice.

Please note that based on the decision of Nemzeti Útdíjfizetési Szolgáltató Zrt. the due date

cannot be extended and case will not be placed on hold.

I think we just have to pay and count our lose on this one. Can't see any other option,as we're likely to end up paying in excess of £216 if they start legal summons. Kind of like serves me right and will check and ensure I follow legal process whenever I travel from now, something I never did! We could follow the advise on here that the crime not commmited in the UK, but the bailiffs don't care, if they smell an opportunity for money, they will come nocking! 

pattap

Yes I'm happy to pay one of them. Asking to pay two in my eyes is more of a daylight robbery rather than a reasonable law. I have sent another email asking if this can be done.

debtout

pattap said:

Yes I'm happy to pay one of them. Asking to pay two in my eyes is more of a daylight robbery rather than a reasonable law. I have sent another email asking if this can be done.

Mine are for different days apparently, so I doubt they will agree, but it's worth a shot. How many days were you there?