Speeding ticket in The Netherlands

bigSuzi12

While holidaying in Europe this Summer I got clocked in the Netherlands for 110km/h in a 100km/h(Hertz rental car). Just received a speeding ticket for €35 in the post. Hertz gave them my details.

I'm wondering if anyone has ever experienced this and if I should pay or not. If I didn't pay would they be able to get me by going through Hertz? I know I can't get points for it but it might be worth paying it purely for peace of mind.

Also, the fine letter was all in Dutch, so I can't read the terms&conditions. All I can read from it is the fine/cost.

kmick

Cancel your current credit card.
Sit Back.
Relax.

DubDani

I would recommend to just pay it.

35 Euro is not really worth to go through a lot of hassle. If you don't pay, then Hertz will get a reminder with hefty additional fees from the Dutch, and then they will apply these additional charges with the original fine to your CC in the end. They are covered for this in their T&C that you signed when you rented the car.

And according to a report I read last week from the 1st of January all EU countries will start collecting unpaid fines locally that occured somewhere else within the EU.

cruizer101

I'd say pay it, its only 35 that's not even a nite out like. For the peace of mind I think its worth it.

Our man in Havana

Ignore it.

keithclancy

Even if you cancel your credit card it'll come off as its a pre-authorised transaction.

If you were in your own car then you'd be grand, once you give your details to a rental company they'll just bill you for it.

Strange that they even sent out the ticket, normally the rental crowd just bill you and then you get a photocopy in the post.

The minimum fine is 80 euros, not 35, is the ticket in English ?

35 euros sounds like Hertz administrative fee for processing the ticket, not the ticket itself.

I'll bet you got it on the A12 on a Trajectcontrole (Average speed camera) hate those damn things

*EDIT* just looked it up and its 40 euros for +10km over the speed limit.

Category 2: trucks, buses and vehicles with trailers.
Categorie Category 1 1 2 2
overschrijding tot en met 4 km/h crossing to 4 km / h € 16,00 € 16.00 € 22,00 € 22.00
overschrijding met 5 km/h exceeded by 5 km / h € 20,00 € 20.00 € 27,00 € 27.00
overschrijding met 6 km/h excess of 6 km / h € 24,00 € 24.00 € 32,00 € 32.00
overschrijding met 7 km/h excess of 7 km / h € 27,00 € 27.00 € 38,00 € 38.00
overschrijding met 8 km/h exceeded by 8 km / h € 32,00 € 32.00 € 43,00 € 43.00
overschrijding met 9 km/h excess of 9 km / h € 37,00 € 37.00 € 49,00 € 49.00
overschrijding met 10 km/h exceeded by 10 km / h € 40,00 € 40.00 € 55,00 € 55.00

MagicMarker

It's 35 quid ffs. Just pay it.

briano

Pay it.

I was in the same situation, if you don't pay it quickly enough they'll sell your debt to a local debt collector here. When that happened to me they added 100% "Interest and Service Charges" to the original bill

Our man in Havana

Debt collectors have no legal standing in Ireland.

What has happened here is Hertz has simply grassed you up and charged you €35 for the privledge. The Dutch cops will file it away in the too hard pile.

911s

Similar thing happened to me 3-4 years ago. First thing I noticed was an
unknown charge on credit card statement, which I discovered was for a
Dutch speeding fine which the hire company paid "on my behalf". This is the norm as they are the registered owners. A few months later I received
a very official looking letter from Dutch authorities, but as it was "double dutch" to me I choose to ignore it.Received a second letter and filed it in the round file and have heard no more from them.
Can you imagine if the Irish authorities started sending penalty
notices to other English speaking countries as Gaeilge, I don't imagine
they would get much response. Certainly if I received a fine written in Dutch while still in the country I would feel obliged to translate and understand it and pay the fine, but for all I know the letters I received could have been part of a scam as the hire company had already paid my fine - that's my defence anyway!

Our man in Havana

They haven't paid your fine, that is the point. The €35 fee is an admin fee for Hertz to look up your details to forward to the police. It is then up to the cops to chase you if they feel so inclined.

911s

I just can't take Dutch cops seriously as I always keep thinking of the
sketch from Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse

mumof2

send me pm of letter if you want, I can translate.

CiniO

Make sure it's ticket, and not just a fee from Hertz for giving out your details to Dutch autorities.
If it's the fee for Hertz, they'll probably take it from your credit card which you used for deposit while renting.
The real fine will come later probably (or not).

If it's a fine though, and you won't pay it, then next time you will be in Holland you might have problems. F.E. if they stop you and realise you have some unpaid penalties, they might make you pay on the spot, with big addministratiion charge, or even in the worst case arrest you.

MidlandsM

Haddockman wrote: »

They haven't paid your fine, that is the point. The €35 fee is an admin fee for Hertz to look up your details to forward to the police. It is then up to the cops to chase you if they feel so inclined.

+1

and then the rental co will send the cops a made up rental agreement with some ficticious foreigner in spain or the likes.
So, they'll not pay the fine, and they'll scab 35 handy ones of your credit card.:rolleyes:

bigSuzi12

CiniO wrote: »

Make sure it's ticket, and not just a fee from Hertz for giving out your details to Dutch autorities.
If it's the fee for Hertz, they'll probably take it from your credit card which you used for deposit while renting.
The real fine will come later probably (or not).

If it's a fine though, and you won't pay it, then next time you will be in Holland you might have problems. F.E. if they stop you and realise you have some unpaid penalties, they might make you pay on the spot, with big addministratiion charge, or even in the worst case arrest you.

Hertz already scabbed €19 from my credit card last month for administration charges relating to this. The letter I just received is from the Dutch authorities. I'm just gonna pay it for peace of mind. The thing is, it was for 107km/h in a 100 limit. FFS.

keithclancy

CiniO wrote: »

Make sure it's ticket, and not just a fee from Hertz for giving out your details to Dutch autorities.
If it's the fee for Hertz, they'll probably take it from your credit card which you used for deposit while renting.
The real fine will come later probably (or not).

If it's a fine though, and you won't pay it, then next time you will be in Holland you might have problems. F.E. if they stop you and realise you have some unpaid penalties, they might make you pay on the spot, with big addministratiion charge, or even in the worst case arrest you.

That only EVER happens if they have your Passport Number.
They don't check our driving license at Immigration

Our man in Havana

keithclancy wrote: »

That only EVER happens if they have your Passport Number.
They don't check our driving license at Immigration

+1

This is only an issue with road side stops.

mondeo

I heard they castrate people for not paying speeding fines in the Netherlands.. So you better pay it :P

The French tried to make me pay a speeding fine a few months ago but since their scare tactics don't work in Ireland I ignored it and theres feck all they can do about it, their notices loved my shredder

Our man in Havana

And a nice new passport number will make doubly sure of no trouble on any return trip.

briano

Haddockman wrote: »

And a nice new passport number will make doubly sure of no trouble on any return trip.

At only double the cost of the fine! Bargain!

Our man in Havana

The money stays at home that way.

keithclancy

Haddockman wrote: »

And a nice new passport number will make doubly sure of no trouble on any return trip.

Don't think that matters, if thats the case Europol would be knackered

A German colleague of mine was held in Schiphol for a number of hours, missing his connecting flight until he coughed up the money in cash.

If they have no way of linking it to your passport then your fine.

edson

I just got 2 fines (€50 & €150) from The Netherlands as well, from when I was there back in September!! The thing is, they are in the name of the company I work for (rental car on company business). I already paid an admin fee to Hertz, or rather, they took it from my credit card.

Any tips on what I should do?

mumof2

edson wrote: »

I just got 2 fines (€50 & €150) from The Netherlands as well, from when I was there back in September!! The thing is, they are in the name of the company I work for (rental car on company business). I already paid an admin fee to Hertz, or rather, they took it from my credit card.

Any tips on what I should do?

Slow down!! (Rustig aan doen in Dutch!!);)

seriousely, thats a big fine, the latter one, did you receive a letter or just a ticket to pay?

edson

It was an official letter stating when & where the offence took place, how much to pay and by when. There is an English translation of the most important info on the back....

And yes, I agree, slow down!

I really just want to know if I can get away without paying, and without the company getting into too much sh1t! Or do I just man up and pay out? :mad:

inforfun

mumof2 wrote: »

Slow down!! (Rustig aan doen in Dutch!!);)

seriousely, thats a big fine, the latter one, did you receive a letter or just a ticket to pay?

Running a red light will set you back €220.
Fines are high in Holland.

Cant find a complete list in English but take it from me, fines here in Ireland feel like handing over a tip compared to the ones in Holland.

ThreeLineWhip

The problem with the fragmented law enforcement system in Europe is that penalties are really only effective against the country's own residents.

The Gardai are not going to the bother of sending a €80 fine to someone in Berlin.

mumof2

Seeing as im from Holland and if it happened to me while on hols over there (travel over by car every 2 yrs or so), then I'd pay tbh. But if in England, I cruise away not worried about the speed limit there:D as the roads are soooo good!! (Funny thing, on entering Pembroke or Fishguard and driving on to other side for ferry or tunnel crossing - i rarley see a speed limit sign, so often wondered what the limit actually was:p)

Marcusm

mumof2 wrote: »

Seeing as im from Holland and if it happened to me while on hols over there (travel over by car every 2 yrs or so), then I'd pay tbh. But if in England, I cruise away not worried about the speed limit there:D as the roads are soooo good!! (Funny thing, on entering Pembroke or Fishguard and driving on to other side for ferry or tunnel crossing - i rarley see a speed limit sign, so often wondered what the limit actually was:p)

The UK system is that the driver is supposed to establish the speed limit by reference to the type of road: 70mph for motorways and separated dual carriageways, 30mph for lit up town/urban areas etc. otherwise speed signs indicate special limits (20, r40 etc). Works fine without international drivers! :cool:

Mycroft H

Marcusm wrote: »

The UK system is that the driver is supposed to establish the speed limit by reference to the type of road: 70mph for motorways and separated dual carriageways, 30mph for lit up town/urban areas etc. otherwise speed signs indicate special limits (20, r40 etc). Works fine without international drivers! :cool:

It used to work fine here too until they decided in putting speed limit signs everywhere after the km changeover.

ThreeLineWhip

Terminal signs for 30mph limits are still needed in urban areas, but repeaters are prohibited.

Marcusm

ThreeLineWhip wrote: »

Terminal signs for 30mph limits are still needed in urban areas, but repeaters are prohibited.

You are, as always correct, I wasn't trying to be comprehensive. As it happens, my part of London has speed limit signs on nearly every road (swapping from 30 to 20 and back again) which together withthe parking zone start and end signs means multiple sgs on every street/road. Out of the city, I'm constantly challenged to to be precise on the speed limit.

Mycroft H

ThreeLineWhip wrote: »

Terminal signs for 30mph limits are still needed in urban areas, but repeaters are prohibited.

we need these again

ThreeLineWhip

I honestly see no reason why they were removed here in the first place.

CiniO

mumof2 wrote: »

(Funny thing, on entering Pembroke or Fishguard and driving on to other side for ferry or tunnel crossing - i rarley see a speed limit sign, so often wondered what the limit actually was:p)

From my experience I haven't been in such country (except from Ireland) where speed limits would be always indicated by "speed limit" signs.

Nearly everywhere in Europe it works other way. You get "built up" area signs. You get "residential area signs". You get "express-way" or "motorway" signs.
And with all that it's you (driver) obliged to know what is the legal speed limit in all those areas (built up, motorways, expressway, residential, etc).

Ireland it the only place I know where you get "speed limit" signs nearly everywhere.

mumof2

CiniO wrote: »

From my experience I haven't been in such country (except from Ireland) where speed limits would be always indicated by "speed limit" signs.

Nearly everywhere in Europe it works other way. You get "built up" area signs. You get "residential area signs". You get "express-way" or "motorway" signs.
And with all that it's you (driver) obliged to know what is the legal speed limit in all those areas (built up, motorways, expressway, residential, etc).

Ireland it the only place I know where you get "speed limit" signs nearly everywhere.

Haha!!:D And that explains why I don't know what the speed limits should be in England as I live in Ireland, and am used to signs everywhere;)

Now at least from reading the above I have a general idea:p

CiniO

mumof2 wrote: »

Haha!!:D And that explains why I don't know what the speed limits should be in England as I live in Ireland, and am used to signs everywhere;)

Now at least from reading the above I have a general idea:p

For future just before driving abroad it's handy to have a look at this:
https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits

In most countries in EU there are big signs on the border explaining speed limits anyway.

F.e this:


or this:



Last one is IMHO way too much complicated, but doesn't change a fact that everyone driving in Poland should know those speed limits.

mumof2

That certainly looks complicated for Poland!!

Appreciate the link :-)

keithclancy

If your in the Netherlands again, just download Flitsmeister.

Fantastic for safety notifications.

enumbers

Got billed for 3 notifications to the authority s over the last couple of years but never got a follow up fine. 2 in Holland and 1 in Spain if I got a fine I'd probably of paid just in case I happened to be stopped some night in said country with no cash couldn't be good

mumof2

keithclancy wrote: »

If your in the Netherlands again, just download Flitsmeister.

Fantastic for safety notifications.

Cool, thanks for that :-)

moriartym

2yrs ago I was caught in Holland doing 113km in a 100km zone. hardly my highest achievement in travelling fast. hertz sent me a bill for €30 ish to provide my info to the Dutch central justice crowd. I then I get an official letter all in Dutch with a giro on the end of it. the single paragraph in English on the back of the form explains the basics. pay the fine or appeal.

so I try to use to giro in my bank but they don't accept the Dutch giro. the only way to pay it is to set them up as a payee, pay the fine and then cancel it. tedious.!!!
so I decided to appeal it As Gaeilge. Figured as they wrote to me in their native language Ill do the same for my appeal. my native tongue is a recognised EU language also.

I asked a lot of questions about the calibration of their equipment, the unsuitable method of payment provided. I asked about providing me with another method to pay like credit card or pay-pal. The possibility of this being a scam etc etc etc. I then received another letter in Dutch and German. both of which i had to translate to get the gist of what it was. basically it was telling me that my appeal was being referred for consideration and they would be in touch

next they send me "the judgement". all in Dutch so i cant read it without translating the whole waffle. and yet again they send me another unusable giro. I clearly told them I cant use this method. red tape at its finest!!!

so call me stubborn but I copied the letter and sent it back to them telling them i could not understand this and they need to provide the judgement in English so i can understand it. i even wrote back in English this time. think its my basic rights as a EU member.
more letters back to me in Dutch and German. more translations. just info letters saying them received my letter. top marks for the computer sending out these responses.

after some on-line "research" i come across a guy in the UK the was sick of getting letters and calls from agency's. he created a template for a letter to send back to them all. the letter informs them that going forward from the date he sends it, every time he has to respond he will be invoicing them for £100 for his time in creating the response, postage, travel to post office etc etc etc.

so why not have a little fun with this. i sent them the same letter informing them that from now on all letters that i have to respond to i will be billing them for €100 per response. and €10 per minute for any calls i have to deal with.

more letters back in Dutch and German. so i duly send back my responses in Irish and my invoices. i even provide my account to receive payments...:)..
this has been over and back for 2 yrs now. none of my invoices have been paid.. surprise surprise...its laughable really now because they have spent more than the fine is worth in dealing with this. so i will continue for now. i have been back to the country twice and never had any issues travelling in or out.

i will pay the fine eventually. all i am looking for is the answers to my questions i asked in my appeal in English. also a safe convenient method of payment. I think I will send them €1 a month until its paid. just for a laugh about it.

its a great example of all the red tape in the world we live in. all it take is civil servant to get off their ass and sort it out rather than hiding behind an automated system that cant deal with something so simple.

sorry about the rant. yes is am extremely stubborn. yes I expect some abuse for all this here. but you know what, so far its cost me nothing but a few letters and a pain in my side from all the laughs I have gotten from it. yes its stupid because the fine is only €57. but too many times we give into these things. maybe if we all stood up to this the system would adopt a bit of common sense. when stupid meets stubborn, laughs will be had.

Reg'stoy

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

daRobot

moriartym wrote: »

the rant.

Honestly, I applaud you. I respect the resilience.

But, would your time and energy not be better used with something that actually benefits you, instead of dragging something like this out over years?