Rental Car in UK - Flashed by Gatso - Outcome???

v2rs1111

Just got flashed by a Gatso van in the UK in a rental car and was just wondering what the outcome of this will be?

Will I get a fine?
Will I get points?

Anyone know how this works?

Saab Ed

Well they dont come from Italy, France or Austria thats for sure

Silvera

I had a hire car ('08 Focus Diesel) a few months ago when I was visiting Bristol and was very wary of all the speed cameras about the place.

My understanding is that the Police will send the fine to the registered owner (i.e. the hire co) who will in turn check their system to see who had the car that day (i.e. you) and simply charge the fine to your credit card.

It might be best to ask the receptionist what the procedure is regarding paying the fine when you are returning the car.

tossy

You wont get points but there is a high chance you will get a bill for the fine,my mate recently got a fine from the Australian police for breaking the limit down there.

The rental company aren't going to pay the bill on your behalf.

SAABMAN

Since the new rules came in, points gained in UK are applied here and vice-versa.
Because you were in a rental there may be no points because of all the paperwork involved. The rental company will get the fine they have to prove who was driving and all that, but expect the fine to be taken off your credit card.

eringobragh

SAABMAN wrote: »

Since the new rules came in, points gained in UK are applied here and vice-versa.
Because you were in a rental there may be no points because of all the paperwork involved. The rental company will get the fine they have to prove who was driving and all that, but expect the fine to be taken off your credit card.

Thats bollocks if ever I hear it. There's no cross border points system.

OP Stick the recieved notice here (Save the Planet ):

v2rs1111

cheers for the replies... anyone know what the fine is? Don't mind paying the fine at all but don't want the points

eringobragh

v2rs1111 wrote: »

cheers for the replies... anyone know what the fine is? Don't mind paying the fine at all but don't want the points

€0 if you chuck it in the bin.. £60 otherwise.

Silvera

I believe the fine is c.£40.

There is no exchange of points between Ireland and the UK yet.
The UK authorities would not agree to it as the Irish central driver database is not up to scratch ...as yet.

IMHO you are right to pay the fine. We are very quick to give out about UK/NI/European drivers speeding etc in Ireland. If we are caught out we should pay up. Honest is the best policy!;)

Seth Brundle

SAABMAN wrote: »

Since the new rules came in, points gained in UK are applied here and vice-versa.

Which new rules would these be?

SAABMAN wrote: »

Because you were in a rental there may be no points because of all the paperwork involved. The rental company will get the fine they have to prove who was driving and all that, but expect the fine to be taken off your credit card.

How long will it take them to look up who had borrowed a particular car reg on their database?

SAABMAN

Silvera wrote: »

I believe the fine is c.£40.

There is no exchange of points between Ireland and the UK yet.
The UK authorities would not agree to it as the Irish central driver database is not up to scratch ...as yet.

I'm pretty sure it was to start in January. And that you could be disqualified too. I'll find out later

v2rs1111

lovely... I really couldn't afford points on my license... i was speeding and will pay the fine if it comes to me... If not I won't worry about it

Thanks

SAABMAN

v2rs1111 wrote: »

lovely... I really couldn't afford points on my license... i was speeding and will pay the fine if it comes to me... If not I won't worry about it

Thanks

Why worry about something that might never happen:)

v2rs1111

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/penalty-points-plan-for-northern-drivers-in-republic-put-on-hold-14202116.html

Looks like I'm off the hook with the points :-)

Thankfully!!!

tossy

SAABMAN wrote: »

Since the new rules came in, points gained in UK are applied here and vice-versa..

What new rules

eringobragh

tossy wrote: »

What new rules

I think he was recalling a past dream:rolleyes:

Esel

SAABMAN wrote: »

I'm pretty sure it was to start in January. And that you could be disqualified too. I'll find out later

We're certain it is not in effect, so don't waste your time.....

Seth Brundle

SAABMAN wrote: »

I'm pretty sure it was to start in January. And that you could be disqualified too. I'll find out later

There were plans to share the driver databases but whilst both sides want the other sides data, they have various reasons for not wanting to share their own data so currently there is no sharing.

eringobragh

kbannon wrote: »

There were plans to share the driver databases but whilst both sides want the other sides data, they have various reasons for not wanting to share their own data so currently there is no sharing.

He may be refering to the cross border cooperation over disqualified drivers mentioned in the media a while ago??

Keith186

kbannon wrote: »

Which new rules would these be?
How long will it take them to look up who had borrowed a particular car reg on their database?

It's up to the registered owner (hire co.) to prove who was driving the car in order to apply the points to them. Just because he hired it doesn't mean he was driving it in fairness.

tossy

I hate the way some people read about some policy change being muted in the media and then assume its actuall policy and go round preaching it! read further than the headline next time!

Keith186 wrote: »

It's up to the registered owner (hire co.) to prove who was driving the car in order to apply the points to them. Just because he hired it doesn't mean he was driving it in fairness.

The register owner i.e the hire co will press type type type on a keyboard hit enter and see that joe bloggs was renting the car that day,the fine & points wil lthen be passed onto joe bloggs and it will be up to him to prove he was not driving it,in much the same way as our system over here works i.e you inform them who was driving it and then they forward the fine & points on to them.now because you are outside the state and resident in another country (ireland) the points will just fall by the wayside but they will still look for the fine,seeing as its within europe i would bin the fine notice myself,its not going to come back to haunt you unless you started building them up! in the case of my mate and Australia he paid up as it might come back to bite him on any future working visa application.

I have also heard of rental companies just charging your credit card for the fine.

Ferris

This happened to me a couple of years back, I hired a car off Avis and then got flashed in southampton. Avis charged me 20quid or something to 'handle' the speeding fine but I never got any notice or fine from the UK.

mik_da_man

I used to work for a car rental co so have a good idea how this goes.

You get flashed by the camera
Fine gets sent to the rental branch
They send it to their head office who deal with fines
Head office check who the car was rented to
9 times out of 10 they can't charge the credit card
They send the bill to the customer
Some customers pay
If not the below happens:
By this time the fine most likley will have increased
The rental Co pay the fine in order to avoid being brought to court
They send a reminder to the customer with the increased fine.
If the customer is resident in another country the rental co take it as a bad debt.
If the customer is resident in another country no points are transferred.

FACT

(I always wanted to use FACT:) )

conlonbmw

mik_da_man wrote: »

I used to work for a car rental co so have a good idea how this goes.

You get flashed by the camera
Fine gets sent to the rental branch
They send it to their head office who deal with fines
Head office check who the car was rented to
9 times out of 10 they can't charge the credit card
They send the bill to the customer
Some customers pay
If not the below happens:
By this time the fine most likley will have increased
The rental Co pay the fine in order to avoid being brought to court
They send a reminder to the customer with the increased fine.
If the customer is resident in another country the rental co take it as a bad debt.
If the customer is resident in another country no points are transferred.

FACT

(I always wanted to use FACT:) )

I have worked car rental in UK, most of the car rental co's are franchised.

You get flashed by the camera
Fine gets sent reg owner, usually car rental co.
They check who the car was rented to and by law they have to disclose the driver's name and have a copy of said license
They charge the credit card you used because you gave them authority to do so when you signed the rental document
The rental Co are not liable for the fine as they have declared the driver

You cannot get points.

pete4130

Just call the bank, say you lost your credit card and they send you a new one, with a new number....no way they can charge your card then. Did this recently myself when some telecom company tried to charge me 2 months advance fees when I cancelled my service with them...card cancelled, new one in the post with a new number attached.

Our man in Havana

Why do people post what is a load of bollox as fact?

When the car hire company gets the letter from the police, they see who was hiring the car and they send those details to the police. Many companies charge a fee for doing this. It is then up to the particular police force to follow up if they wish. Once they see it is a driver from outside the UK the matter is binned or placed in the "too hard" pile.

FACT!

GerardKeating

SAABMAN wrote: »

Since the new rules came in, points gained in UK are applied here and vice-versa..

Are you sure that has come in yet, thought it was next year.

GerardKeating

pete4130 wrote: »

Just call the bank, say you lost your credit card and they send you a new one, with a new number....no way they can charge your card then. Did this recently myself when some telecom company tried to charge me 2 months advance fees when I cancelled my service with them...card cancelled, new one in the post with a new number attached.

Actually when the OP rented the car, they signed a mandate to agree to pay for any such charges and they can be applied to the card, even if the number is changed.

Our man in Havana

How do you know this?

Omcd

GerardKeating wrote: »

Actually when the OP rented the car, they signed a mandate to agree to pay for any such charges and they can be applied to the card, even if the number is changed.

This is true. I know this courtesy of a small bubble of vapour in the tank of a hire car I returned. I think what happens is that when you sign the rental agreement, the rental company enters into an ad infinitum agreement with the credit card company for the credit card company to honour any charges the rental company puts against that card number relating to the current hire transaction, and what matters is that the card number is valid at the time of the agreement, so whether or not the card is valid at the time of charge actually being applied is neither here nor there, you'll still end up getting a credit card bill from the credit card company for it - but I do not know for a FACT that this guessed explanation is a FACT.

Further advise to avoid post car hire credit card charges - always fill the tank to the brim of the filler pipe, not just to where the pump doesn't want to fill it any more. This has happend to me twice now:mad:.