8 year old motorway fine from Italy chased through ZZPS and QDR

kashmirix

Hello,

I'll be grateful for any light you might be able to shed on the following situation:

1. Italy, sometime in 2015. The driver of a rental car apparently drives on an Italian motorway without paying the right toll amount.
2. UK, 2018. A letter arrives from Italian solicitors who claim acting on behalf of Autostrade per Italia SpA asking to pay a €77 fine. No response is sent.
3. UK, 2022. A new letter arrives, this time from a company called ZZPS who are seeking to recover the fine, now stated as £105, followed two weeks later by another one asking for £170. In response, their are informed about "no recollection of ever driving on an Italian motorway" and asked to provide a copy of vehicle rental agreement along with photographic evidence of the alleged transgression. They respond by emailing a single blurry photo of a vehicle rear along with the following text: "Please be advised, we are a Debt Recovery agency and we do not deal with appeals or disputes. We are provided with the above evidence for our collections. All other evidence you have requested will be provided by our client in the case of litigation."
4. In the meantime, another letter arrives about the same case, now from a company called GCTT. I'm unable to provide its exact content, regretfully, but it was strikingly similar to the preceding ones from ZZPS. The response – a request for evidence – goes unanswered.
5. UK, March 2023. QDR Solicitors join the game and demand a payment of £193 "in full, within 14 days" on behalf of "their client ZZPS". Otherwise, they threaten to issue County Court proceedings.
6. Now, four month later, with summer holidays approaching, it would be unfortunate if the matter ended up in court, especially when everyone here is abroad (not in Italy, lol!). So, on random internet advice, a SAR letter was sent to ZZPS yesterday, followed by a letter to QDR informing them about this fact. Buying time tactics.
7. Still, that was pretty much all that came to mind. It's been an easy ping-pong until now, but I fear that expert knowledge will be necessary going forward, and I don't have it. What should be next steps? Appeal? County Court? Can ZZPS chase debts without evidence, such as a rental agreement copy? What's the statute of limitations in Italy for this sort of motor offences? Are they motor offences at all there, or a civil matter? What to do???
   

Any guidance will be greatly appreciated. I can think of many better ways of spending £200 than on paying QDR.

Thank you.

k.

Grizebeck

You wasted your time sending a sar.
All you do is ignore
There are no "next steps"

Fruitcake

Debt collectors in the UK are powerless and can safely be ignored. You are wasting your time by contacting them. There is nothing they can do.

Unless you want to line a hamster cage or make paper logs for a solid fuel fire or there is another bog-roll shortage, stop contacting them.

Coupon-mad

Totally ignore this; stop responding.  You had no reason to respond at all.  Absolute scam rubbish.

IT CANNOT GO TO COURT.

STOP TAKING IT SERIOUSLY.

I fear that expert knowledge will be necessary going forward.

There's nothing to fear.  

Thank Goodness that Brexit now keeps the UK away from daft new 'bright idea' edicts like this that the likes of QDR might have hung their hat on:
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2023/03/01/brussels-wants-to-roll-out-eu-wide-driving-ban-as-it-seeks-to-improve-european-road-safety

kashmirix

OK, thank you all. But then why there are so many threads here about debt collectors dragging people to court, and how to defend one's self against these claims? Can I be sure that this won't happen to me?

Umkomaas

kashmirix said:

OK, thank you all. But then why there are so many threads here about debt collectors dragging people to court, and how to defend one's self against these claims? Can I be sure that this won't happen to me?

There are no debt collectors 'dragging people to court'.  They cannot as they have no contractual relationship with the individuals they are attempting to pursue. It won't happen in your case. Infractions that occur outside of the UK cannot be subject to court proceedings here. It's not going to happen to you!

kashmirix

Umkomaas said:

Infractions that occur outside of the UK cannot be subject to court proceedings here.

Thanks a lot! I wasn't aware of that, priceless advice, I'll keep it in mind going forward!

Coupon-mad

Yes - out of jurisdiction of the UK Courts and it's ancient too; 8 years old.  ZZPS and QDR are trying it on.  Nasty greed.  Taking advantage of people not knowing.

Laugh at the letters.

user1977

kashmirix said:

OK, thank you all. But then why there are so many threads here about debt collectors dragging people to court, and how to defend one's self against these claims? Can I be sure that this won't happen to me?

Where are the threads with people being "dragged to court" about foreign traffic tickets?

alexef

I have same  your situation .Can you update me still they send you letters or they stopped. Any advice please.

Fruitcake

alexef said:

I have same  your situation .Can you update me still they send you letters or they stopped. Any advice please.

Debt collectors are powerless in the UK and cannot take anyone to court.

If you are worried about people sending you unsolicited mail about something that happened overseas, either use it as hamster bedding or make paper logs and burn them for heat (assuming you don't live in a clean air zone).