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Speed fine Switzerland - german rental

  • 26-10-2015 3:53pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20


    hi, i ve got 2 speed fines from switzerland..one local authority, the other a fixed police camera. I had rented a car in switzerland so the swiz authorities have goten my irish address from the rental company. I don't live in this irish address anymore that i gave the rental company but the present residents have contacted me re - the 2 letters. What should i do...pay up or ignore them?. I dont think i'll be back in switzerland anytime soon. Thanks for your advice in advance.


Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,685 ✭✭✭✭wonski


    bonosmate wrote: »
    hi, i ve got 2 speed fines from switzerland..one local authority, the other a fixed police camera. I had rented a car in switzerland so the swiz authorities have goten my irish address from the rental company. I don't live in this irish address anymore that i gave the rental company but the present residents have contacted me re - the 2 letters. What should i do...pay up or ignore them?. I dont think i'll be back in switzerland anytime soon. Thanks for your advice in advance.

    They will very likely charge your credit card if you don't pay.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20 bonosmate


    why have they not charged my credit card straight up?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,934 ✭✭✭MarkAnthony


    bonosmate wrote: »
    why have they not charged my credit card straight up?

    Some don't. Enterprise France were nice enough to let me pay the fine €45. Enterprise UK pay the fine and charge you an admin fee.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,685 ✭✭✭✭wonski


    bonosmate wrote: »
    why have they not charged my credit card straight up?

    Maybe they already did.

    Or maybe they would do it when the fines remain unpaid for a specified amount of time.

    I don't know what arrangements are in Switzerland regarding unpaid fines and rental companies, but my friend's card was charged by Italian rental company very quickly and without a warning.

    He got a letter weeks later with breakdown of charges.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20 bonosmate


    let me cancel my CC in that case!!


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,611 ✭✭✭Valetta


    bonosmate wrote: »
    let me cancel my CC in that case!!

    Why not just pay the fines and clear your conscience ?

    Also, not sure of the relevance of "German rental" in the thread title?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,934 ✭✭✭MarkAnthony


    The card would still be charged. Rental companies can charge closed cards and override the credit limit. It's why many require a credit card and won't accept debit cards.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 21,730 ✭✭✭✭Fred Swanson


    This post has been deleted.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 24,924 ✭✭✭✭BuffyBot


    bonosmate wrote: »
    let me cancel my CC in that case!!

    You're still liable for legitimate charges prior to account closure.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,069 ✭✭✭✭CiniO


    bonosmate wrote: »
    why have they not charged my credit card straight up?

    Because it's the rental company. They don't issue the fines, so they are not going to (probably they even couldn't) pay your fine.
    They have given your contact details to authority who issued the fine, and that's all they could do.

    It's not Ireland.
    In most countries laws are logical, and rental company won't be charged by local authority for your fine, as fine is your's not theirs.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,661 ✭✭✭Voodoomelon


    Not true. My business partner got a lovely letter from a German car rental crowd (Avis I think) stating that they had charged our card the full speeding penalty amount, plus a hefty €40 odd for the administration of the charge.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 21,730 ✭✭✭✭Fred Swanson


    This post has been deleted.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,611 ✭✭✭✭josip


    In my limited experience, the rental company just charges you an admin fee for handing over your details to the police. Data protection laws in certain countries prevent them from handing over your credit card details.
    The Swiss police/state hand it over it to an international debt recovery agency to pursue the fines in Ireland; the Dartford Crossing in the UK do this.
    As regards entering Switzerland again, I don't think you have much to worry about as long as your passport doesn't have the address at the time of the infringement on it.
    Be prepared for a sequence of letters with the fines doubling each time to frightening amounts. These are automatically generated by the computer system. As soon as it gets to human level, (ie court appearance) these will stop.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,292 ✭✭✭0lddog


    Meanwhile, over at the Travel forum

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057512778

    Post 9 ( keep in mind that both Switzerland & Germany are in the Schengen area and that Ireland is not )

    "Leaving or arriving in Schengen countries gets a bit more complicated - systems they use have the ability to do a lookup for any convictions, unpaid fines or any other trouble between all zone countries, so generally if you leave for your stag party to Slovakia, be disorderly and think you can get away with unpaid fines/ignored sentences, it might come up in the most inconvenient way possible when traveling next time to some other country within the zone "


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