Speeding Ticket - From Spain

DubGF

Hi everyone,

Not sure if this is the right forum...

So I was in Spain in March with a few friends. I rented a car for the 5 days, but didnt drive, my mate was added as a 2nd driver as far as I remember.

Anyway, the other day I got a letter in the post, in Spanish, and from what I can gather it is a 100 euro fine for speeding.

Does anyone know how I go about paying this? I am going to pay it because I dont want any complications when I do go back to Spain.

Thanks,
Gary

cbyrne

I could be wrong, but I seem to vaguely remember something about some scam very like this and I think it was to do with sending speeding fines from Spain. I am pretty sure that it works as over here where the fine would be sent to the rental company and they normally just debit your credit card for it. I doubt very much the authorities have the juristiction to chase you for it in this manner. So just be very sure where that 'fine' has come from and who you are being asked to pay. I would check with the rental car company if you are really determined to resolve it!

craichoe

DubGF wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Not sure if this is the right forum...

So I was in Spain in March with a few friends. I rented a car for the 5 days, but didnt drive, my mate was added as a 2nd driver as far as I remember.

Anyway, the other day I got a letter in the post, in Spanish, and from what I can gather it is a 100 euro fine for speeding.

Does anyone know how I go about paying this? I am going to pay it because I dont want any complications when I do go back to Spain.

Thanks,
Gary

Throw it in the Bin.

The very fact its in spanish, even if legit is balls .. you don't speak spanish ffs.

bazzachazza

As the poster no.2 has said you should only know of a fine when more money has been taken from your credit card in the case of hire car's by the hire car company. You won't be contacted directly by the police.

Darragh29

Send them a letter of appeal, in Irish!!!

:D:D

Anan1

craichoe wrote: »

Throw it in the Bin.

The very fact its in spanish, even if legit is balls .. you don't speak spanish ffs.

I can just imagine the reaction here if a Latvian driver binned a speeding ticket on the basis that 'it's balls, I don't speak English ffs.'

craichoe

Anan1 wrote: »

I can just imagine the reaction here if a Latvian driver binned a speeding ticket on the basis that 'it's balls, I don't speak English ffs.'

Schengen country sending a Letter of Notification in Spanish to a non-Schengen country. Not enforcable what so ever.

I live in the another Schengen country, if you get fine in the post from the Gardai here, you throw it in the bin, simple as.

Would be different if you got a fine from an authority that was in the same country where you resided.

geuro

forget about it op, there will be no complications when you go back to spain. keep your money, every 100 euro is worth hanging on to in these gloomy economic times

biko

Don't pay it, alternately check with these guys http://www.spainlawyer.com/

unkel

Any chance you can scan the letter and attach it to a post, OP?

geuro wrote: »

there will be no complications when you go back to spain.

I wouldn't be so sure about that...

Anyway a far smarter way to collect fines from foreigners is via the car rental contract / credit card payment.

Hotwheels

Darragh29 wrote: »

Send them a letter of appeal, in Irish!!!

:D:D

Ok lets start it off

A Chara...

Tar ais do a litir a léamh Tá Bhrón orm....

testicle

bazzachazza wrote: »

As the poster no.2 has said you should only know of a fine when more money has been taken from your credit card in the case of hire car's by the hire car company. You won't be contacted directly by the police.

Negatory.

Throw it in the fire! Im sure Spanish authorities have better things to do than worry about than the unpaid speeding ticket of an Irish man.

craichoe

unkel wrote: »

Any chance you can scan the letter and attach it to a post, OP?



I wouldn't be so sure about that...

Anyway a far smarter way to collect fines from foreigners is via the car rental contract / credit card payment.

Yeh :rolleyes: The Spanish police will be all over him when hes back :P

cyclopath2001

cbyrne wrote: »

I could be wrong, but I seem to vaguely remember something about some scam very like this and I think it was to do with sending speeding fines from Spain.

Very likely that is is a scam see this BBC report.

Darragh29

Hotwheels wrote: »

Ok lets start it off

A Chara...

Tar ais do a litir a léamh Tá Bhrón orm....

Ba maith liom Sharon Ni Beaolhan agus caca Millish... Ta scammal sa speir...

Is mise le meas!

An OP.

axer

OP I think you should pay it. Scammers gotta make a living too ya know.

Heroditas

From Spain eh? I got a letter in the post from Spain the other day saying I'd won a substantial prize in the "Milliones de Europe" lottery and to fill out all my bank details on a slip and send it back to them. Really.... :rolleyes:

DubGF

Right, some are taking the piss, some are not....

The ticket is legit in my opinion because it has the road we were travelling on, the C65 I think it was, on the letter.

The letter had an an post stamp/sticker on it, like registered post, but there was no one here to sign for it when it arrived....

I am aware of the scams going around, but the fact that this has the correct road we were on leads me to believe it is not a scam. I know a friend of a friend who is Spanish and could maybe translate it for me.

I will try scan it in and post later.

When your travelling to Spain nowadays you have to give them prior notice, ie passport number etc, that was my main concern with going back to Spain, incase there is a record of such, think about it, how may people rent cars in Spain and blatentley break speed limits etc etc, the government over there would be potentially loosing a lot of money if they didnt try and recoup these fines.

Thanks,
Gary

Guy:Incognito

I thought fines etc picked up in a hire car went to the hire company who then bill your cc?

DubGF

Stekelly you could be right, I dont know to be honest...

Croc

Op were u actually stopped by the Police or do you think it was a speed camera. ??

If as i suspect you were not stopped then it is a scam,(think about it) how would they have gotten your details.

If it was a camera then the Rental Company get the ticket pay it and then bill your Credit Card, its in the contract you signed.

DubGF

Croc,

No we were not stopped. We were playing golf every day and driving like nut jobs trying to find the courses, so we deffo were speeding. There was also loads of road works on the c65 so the limits were probably lower in sections of the road, and we didnt slow down...

I was thinking that they went to the hire company, the hire company gave the cops my address, and they took it from there. I will try and dig out the T+C's from the hire company and see if there is any mention of paying fines.

Thanks again,
Gary

Croc

I doubt they would have looked for your address from the Hire Company unless you committed a serious offense and speeding does not come within that category.

I am assuming they work the same way there as they do here for speeding, if it were here by camera the ticket would issue to the registered owner i.e the hire company and it would take the same course as i outlined above


I still think its a scam

DubGF

The letter references this site.

http://www.gencat.net/transit/

Looks legit...

cyclopath2001

It's a bit odd that a Spanish political entity would not have a .es domain. (This one's a .net.)

In this case it could be because it's actually the semi-autonomous Catalan community government which has somewhat separatist ambitions encompassing a chunk of Spain and bit of France.

Seems, they have their own police force but little in the way of direct international recognition. Legally, they may be chancing their arm. Bit odd they'd have access to your details as if this information had come from the authorities here, they'd have to have international standing.

Maybe check carefully to see where they want payment sent?

It could be a scam quoting an official site, or it could be a relatively powerless (internationally) local authority. But if they hand the thing over to bounty-hunters, you're screwed.

Darragh29

It's probably the same set up as over here.

In the first instance the registered owner gets the fine.

They (just like here), probably have to pay the fine within a certain period or else they are liable for the fine, or a greater fine, court appearance's, etc, etc.

A hire company is probably dealing with receiving these fines on a daily basis so their priority would probably to fire off a letter identifying someone else as the offender and that's them out of the loop.

I'd just let it fall off the system to be honest...

Scottie99

Stekelly wrote: »

I thought fines etc picked up in a hire car went to the hire company who then bill your cc?

Spot on!

Esel

If you are going to pay this 'fine', be sure to get your mates to chip in their share. You weren't even driving ffs!

testicle

It depends on the Comany. I have hired with Sixt in the past, in Germany, drove in the Netherlands, and received a speeding fine in the post direct from the Netherlands police. The obtained my address from Sixt who charged me for the privilige of giving it to them.

craichoe

testicle wrote: »

It depends on the Comany. I have hired with Sixt in the past, in Germany, drove in the Netherlands, and received a speeding fine in the post direct from the Netherlands police. The obtained my address from Sixt who charged me for the privilige of giving it to them.

I got a ticket on the A12 outside Arnhem, The rental company just sent us a bill and a copy of the letter and charged us an admin fee.

Actually .. what your saying does not sound right as the ANPR system just sends out the letter to whoever the car is registered too, its not some sort of crazy dynamic thing whereby it knows what address was on what car at that time.

So that doesnt sound right at all.

I've even driven a German Reg in Holland and its the same thing, UNLESS your stopped at the roadside in which case they will ask for your address and if its a foreign address or you have a Irish/UK reg they will want cash.

Its not unheard of in Schiphol when your flying out that people will be earmarked for unpaid fines (if the fines are recorded against their passport number)

However there is no automatic system between car rental companies and the police, i very much doubt spain is any better.

Thoie

DubGF wrote: »

Right, some are taking the piss, some are not....

The ticket is legit in my opinion because it has the road we were travelling on, the C65 I think it was, on the letter.

The letter had an an post stamp/sticker on it, like registered post, but there was no one here to sign for it when it arrived....

I am aware of the scams going around, but the fact that this has the correct road we were on leads me to believe it is not a scam. I know a friend of a friend who is Spanish and could maybe translate it for me.

I will try scan it in and post later.

When your travelling to Spain nowadays you have to give them prior notice, ie passport number etc, that was my main concern with going back to Spain, incase there is a record of such, think about it, how may people rent cars in Spain and blatentley break speed limits etc etc, the government over there would be potentially loosing a lot of money if they didnt try and recoup these fines.

Thanks,
Gary

First off, were you in the area around Barcelona?

Secondly, if there was no-one there to sign for it, how did you receive it?

I think a scan would be a good plan, for your own reassurance.

L1011

DubGF wrote: »

The letter references this site.

http://www.gencat.net/transit/

Looks legit...

Possible scam.

The Catalan autonomous government's website is gencat.cat (they have their own sort-of country code).

gencat.net is showing as also owned by them but its clearly been hijacked - http://junres.gencat.net/handcrafted2.asp doesn't look like a governmental site now does it!

I also suspect they'd have updated all their documentation to show the .cat domain name shortly after getting it - national pride issues - and that was in 2006.

Also, unless its telling you to go their to pay it, any fake ticket can easily mention the real website to pass-off as being legit.

craichoe

Again, throw it in the bin

A. They have no Jurisdiction outside Spain
B. You never signed for it
C. You don't speak spanish

Why not drop it into your local Garda station, ask them what to do with it.

G Luxel

are u sure that some of your friends arent playing a joke on you.

robbie99

cyclopath2001 wrote: »

Very likely that is is a scam see this BBC report.

+1

ArphaRima

It might not be fake. Just call the Spanish embassy here in Ireland. Fax the document to them if you like.

If you commit an offence abroad you are liable for it. Being the citizen of another state or residing outside of the country does not protect you from national laws. If for example you didnt pay a fine in the USA you could find yourself arrested on arrival or refused entry. Trust me on that one.

Hanley

fluffer wrote: »

It might not be fake. Just call the Spanish embassy here in Ireland. Fax the document to them if you like.

If you commit an offence abroad you are liable for it. Being the citizen of another state or residing outside of the country does not protect you from national laws. If for example you didnt pay a fine in the USA you could find yourself arrested on arrival or refused entry. Trust me on that one.

The high horse brigade are out in full force today. I mean c'mon, seriously.

Turner

craichoe wrote: »

Again, throw it in the bin

A. They have no Jurisdiction outside Spain
B. You never signed for it
C. You don't speak spanish

Why not drop it into your local Garda station, ask them what to do with it.

Id second that.

The gardai find it hard enough to get irish people to pay fines.

Driver: "Judge i never received the fine in the post"
Judge: "Strike out"


So for the spanish to try and get money or a prosecution in another jurisdiction.. Hahahahahaha.

Hanley

Chief--- wrote: »

Id second that.

The gardai find it hard enough to get irish people to pay fines.

Driver: "Judge i never received the fine in the post"
Judge: "Strike out"


So for the spanish to try and get money or a prosecution in another jurisdiction.. Hahahahahaha.

The fact it was sent thru registered post, but was not signed for, should be enough for it not to be enforcable. Right?

Mr. Presentable

Hanley wrote: »

The high horse brigade are out in full force today. I mean c'mon, seriously.

Oh please, high horse brigade? Get from behind your curtain of they're-all-out-to-get-me and smell the roses. The chap offered an opinion, not a judgement.

MugMugs

Bin it Bin it Bin it............

GF got the same letter a few months back. Thnk she still has it....

Hanley

nipplenuts wrote: »

Oh please, high horse brigade? Get from behind your curtain of they're-all-out-to-get-me and smell the roses. The chap offered an opinion, not a judgement.

Please.... he offered the politically correct dogmatic response. It's obvious the OP doesn't want to pay it, most people, regardless of their "morality" wouldn't bother to pay a fine that came from a foreign country in a foreign language.

unkel

Hanley wrote: »

Please.... he offered the politically correct dogmatic response.

He did no such thing. Re-read his post. And his suggestion to contact the Spanish embassy is surely one I would follow if I were the OP.

Hanley wrote: »

The fact it was sent thru registered post

It was not sent through registered post. Maybe you should re-read the entire thread

Now don't get me wrong in any of this. I wouldn't be inclined to pay out a cent at this stage. But I'd like to find out what's what here

Hanley

unkel wrote: »

It was not sent through registered post. Maybe you should re-read the entire thread

Now don't get me wrong in any of this. I wouldn't be inclined to pay out a cent at this stage. But I'd like to find out what's what here

The below is what I was referring to.... From the way it was written, I read it to be whatever the Spanish form of registered post is.

DubGF wrote: »

The letter had an an post stamp/sticker on it, like registered post, but there was no one here to sign for it when it arrived....

But no, I wouldn't pay a cent either. So at least we agree on that!!

ArphaRima

Not sure where this high-horse brigade sh+te is coming from... I didnt raise my point on morality, but legality.

I would contact the embassy to cover my 8rse.. that's all. I wouldnt want to pay it either. But at least if something ever came up in future, you have the support of the spanish government's representatives in Ireland. ie the embassy

glynf

Hi DubGF,

Igot a similar letter today-my dad signed for it and opened it-have not soon it yet, all in spanish with a pic of a hire car I had in seville back in spain & 140 euros mentioned on it though.

two questions:

What did you do for a finish-did you contact theGuards or thespanish consulate?

Did you/can you recieve penalty points?

cml387

From whois...


Administrative Contact:
Marta Continente Gonzalo, dominisgencat@gencat.cat
Via Laietana 14 3a planta
BARCELONA
ES
+34.935676330


So the website looks legit.

bad2dabone

I got a fine from the Austrian police 2 years ago for driving at 41kmh in a 35kmh zone.

They can feck off sure didn't they give the world Hitler.

B11gt00e

OP. The big question here is -

Did the rental company take your passport details as well as those on your license when you hired the car? - by photocopier perhaps.

lintdrummer

Hotwheels wrote: »

Ok lets start it off

A Chara...

Tar éis do litir a léamh, tá brón orm....

FYP