UK Driving Violation in Poxy Hire Car??

Cecil Mor

Aloha Guys,

I thought I'd run this by ye just to get a few outside opinions.

For the 1st week of April I had to head to the Uk for work purposes and hired a small crapbox Vauxhall.

Arriving home this evening I found a letter waiting for me from the hire company demanding £62 due to traffic violations or else they release the legal hounds.
So there I am thinking I must've been revving the guts out'a the little heap past a camera somewhere but I was wrong.

Enclosed was a letter from Gloucester city council with pictures of the car driving down a single lane street which was also a bus lane.
Bang, £30 fine for driving down the bus lane. It would've been £60 but the hire company paid immediately.

Cost to me is the above plus an admin fee of £27 and vat.
Seemingly that's what it'd cost the company to have office girl Mandy open an envelope, make a phone call and read out the company credit card details.:rolleyes:

What p*ss'es me off is that I had hired a SatNav from the company, which is what I was following for all my city driving and which led me down that damn single lane one way bus lane.
Upon returning the car I commented at the desk that the SatNav required its software updating as it had got confused on a couple of occasions and did screw up on a couple of times when obviously traffic flow or road layout had changed.
Unfortunately, and needless to say, I didn't complain via email which would've provided a documented complaint regarding this issue.

I imagine I have feck all options but thought I'd throw it out in case anyone else had a similar story.

Cheers All!

Anan1

Forget about trying to blame the sat nav, they're only a guide.;) Was this bus lane properly signposted?

johnos1984

I hire cars all the time in Britain.

Read the small print as all of the extra charges etc. for fines are clearly listed

Nissan doctor

You got fined for driving down a bus lane, there is nothing to complain about. The sat nav wasn't driving the car.

coylemj

Cecil Mor wrote: »

.... just to get a few outside opinions.

Bet you're sorry now. Next time ask your mates in the local, you'll probably get a more sympathetic hearing!

Cecil Mor

I never said anything about wanting sympathy or someone else to blame I'm looking for opinions or similar experiences.

I was simply a stranger visiting a strange city, Yes, it was sign posted but as I said I turned onto a street that turned out to be single lane and one way. So, what were my options, reverse back up a one way bus lane or perform an about turn and drive against traffic on that single lane? I do think its a case of overkill and definitely a case of shooting fish in a barrel.

Summer time in any Irish town with a one-way system you can sit and watch visitors/tourists do exactly the same thing.

And as regards the SatNav, if the company is prepared to offer such equipment as an option and charge their customers for its rental they should at least ensure that it is up to date as regards routes & software.
The cost of this against the revenue it generates over the year via its rental is a paltry cost

r3nu4l

Cecil Mor wrote: »

I was simply a stranger visiting a strange city, Yes, it was sign posted but as I said I turned onto a street that turned out to be single lane and one way. So, what were my options, reverse back up a one way bus lane or perform an about turn and drive against traffic on that single lane? I do think its a case of overkill and definitely a case of shooting fish in a barrel.

The point is that if you had been paying proper attention to road signs then you would have seen that it was a bus lane and not done what the sat nav was telling you to do. Simple as that. A few weeks ago I had to drive into Central London (Westminster) via the City and also had a sat-nav. A couple of times my up-to-date sat nav tried to lead me down streets that are no longer open to traffic. In London and other cities in the UK, road layouts can change literally overnight. Doesn't matter how up to date your satnav is that won't be picked up.

Summer time in any Irish town with a one-way system you can sit and watch visitors/tourists do exactly the same thing.

I did the same in Bath and thankfully the traffic warden I spotted and asked for directions wasn't a jobsworth and didn't fine me. We all make mistakes, you were unlucky enough to be caught and fined.

And as regards the SatNav, if the company is prepared to offer such equipment as an option and charge their customers for its rental they should at least ensure that it is up to date as regards routes & software.

See above

robtri

Cecil Mor wrote: »

I never said anything about wanting sympathy or someone else to blame I'm looking for opinions or similar experiences.

I was simply a stranger visiting a strange city, Yes, it was sign posted but as I said I turned onto a street that turned out to be single lane and one way. So, what were my options, reverse back up a one way bus lane or perform an about turn and drive against traffic on that single lane? I do think its a case of overkill and definitely a case of shooting fish in a barrel.

Summer time in any Irish town with a one-way system you can sit and watch visitors/tourists do exactly the same thing.

And as regards the SatNav, if the company is prepared to offer such equipment as an option and charge their customers for its rental they should at least ensure that it is up to date as regards routes & software.
The cost of this against the revenue it generates over the year via its rental is a paltry cost

as stated above sat navs are guides, you cant blame the Rental car company for this...

at the end of the day you drove down a bus lane, you where in the wrong, no one else and you got fined...

and the admin fee is fair.. not as simple as you said...

the only thing is that if u living oer here hard for them to legally chase you... but if they have your credit card details, they will just run your card for the charges and let you try to dispute them, they will have a signed contract by you to back up there costs and your fine...

keithclancy

Hahahahah ... it was the Sat-Navs fault ...

I mean .. If it was a bloke directing you into a parking space and you rammed into a car while parking, whose fault would it be

Its just a guide, you drove down a street you weren't supposed to.

The fact that you weren't looking at the road signage is worrying, they were even in English

P.S. Unless the Poxy rental wasn't capable of going over 30mph then you would quite easily set off a camera.

E39MSport

To be fair to the OP, it's a shock to the system and very confusing for an Irish man on UK roads.

All those appropriate sign posts and well placed warnings are a thing of beauty.

who the fug

E39MSport wrote: »

To be fair to the OP, it's a shock to the system and very confusing for an Irish man on UK roads.

All those appropriate sign posts and well placed warnings are a thing of beauty.

There was no Irish translation on them, that was the problem.

Anan1

Despite all the warnings, people have driven off the ends of piers while following sat nav instructions.

Buffman

Following the Sat Nav can lead to trouble.:D

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The real solution is to have more than one Sat Nav, to be sure to be sure!:D




But seriously OP, if you don't pay they'll probably just take it off your credit card anyway. It was probably part of the small print in the T & Cs.

ShiresV2

Sorry you got done, but welcome to modern Britain.

Presumably you got done by a council CCTV camera, or one of their CCTV vans.

I'm quite sure that the people on here crucifying you for making a simple mistake will be the same ones complaining in 5-10 years time as Irish councils look to make up their funding shortfalls with similar schemes.

Our man in Havana

The hire company should be naming the OP as the hirer and transferring liability to the OP. The OP can then choose to pay or appeal. At the moment if the OP wanted to appeal he can't as the fine has been paid. UK councils won't entertain an appeal a.) once it is paid and b.) from someone who is not the liable party.

Anan1

ShiresV2 wrote: »

I'm quite sure that the people on here crucifying you for making a simple mistake..

Who's crucifying the OP for making a simple mistake?

Our man in Havana

I surmise he means the people with highly held moral views.

Anan1

Our man in Havana wrote: »

I surmise he means the people with highly held moral views.

I thought people were criticizing the OP for trying to blame the sat nav, rather than for driving down the one way street?

keithclancy

I followed the Sat Nav once, Sat Nav said it was 120 when it was actually 80 (Ring road didn't exist next to the motorway in the maps)

The only person I blamed was myself for being an idiot.

mikedragon32

Our man in Havana wrote: »

The hire company should be naming the OP as the hirer and transferring liability to the OP. The OP can then choose to pay or appeal. At the moment if the OP wanted to appeal he can't as the fine has been paid. UK councils won't entertain an appeal a.) once it is paid and b.) from someone who is not the liable party.

What is there to appeal?

He was caught driving down a bus lane, he even admits to having done it. He may plead ignorance (to no avail) in court, however coughing up now saves time and money.

I have some sympathy for the OP. When you have Car Hire firms with satnav options like NEVERLOST, it can be a bit ironic when you get hit with a fine. But yes, as already posted, satnav is a guide not gospel.

gofaster_s13

The fine was paid by the hire company so legally the OP is in the clear, the UK hire companies legal people can't chase you for fee's over here.

Anan1

gofaster_s13 wrote: »

The fine was paid by the hire company so legally the OP is in the clear, the UK hire companies legal people can't chase you for fee's over here.

The OP might want to read the t&cs of their rental agreement to see whether the hire company can charge the money (plus, perhaps, further hefty service charges) to their credit card. Another point worth considering is whether possibly saving £62 is worth not being able to use that hire company again. In deference to Our Man in Havana, I have deliberately excluded any moral argument from this post.;)

Our man in Havana

Defective paperwork is the usual course of appeal of these things.

slave1

Frustrating but understandable, next time hire a small bus and you'll be okay;)

07Lapierre

gofaster_s13 wrote: »

The fine was paid by the hire company so legally the OP is in the clear, the UK hire companies legal people can't chase you for fee's over here.

Thay dont have to chase him. Assuming they have credi card details, they simply take the money.