Speeding Ticket in Spain
 

Car rental agency charged me 47e for processing and Spanish government wants 100e for speeding. They have photo proof.

Unlike our area in the states, we didn't realize in Spain, they have speeding cameras instead of police cars.

Does anyone have experience with these types of tickets?

Guess we should pay it, right?

Thanks.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!!!! :eek:

Amongst their weaponry are such diverse elements as fear, surprise, ruthless efficiency, an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope, and nice red uniforms.


But yes, you should pay.;)

If you are living in the US I'd ignore it. You will get threatening letters, perhaps many, and then they'll give up. How much will it cost them to take you to court?

Not the case at all. OP's concern isn't that Spain will track him down and sue him, it's that car rental agency has his CC and will simply bill that + further administrative fees if he doesn't pay up.

OP's mistake was in not paying the Eur100 fine directly. When he didn't, the car rental agency, as the registered owner, got tagged with the fine and is now coming back after OP.

OP can check his contract, but I am 100% certain that the car rental agency has the right under the contract to do so.

Pay it before the Eur147 doubles or triples.

Be dignified and pay up. You may want to return to Spain someday, and this sort of minor misdemeanour does tend to get noted on a computer and pop up undemanded when you present yourself at immigration in the future.

Rental agency responsibilities (and charges) ended when they turned over our stateside address to the government.

No police presence. A camera took a photo of our speeding car.

Nope. It's the Spanish government. The agency already charged us 47e for document search. The 100e is a fine from the government. The agency said we might not get any notice, but instead, the ticket came within a week of the rental agency handing over our information.

Thanks for your help.

Yeah. Looking this thing over. I'm not sure how I can pay. Send 'em a personal check in US$? Actually might work. Wire transfer would be easiest.

I mean, there's no pre paid return envelope as we have here in IL.

I am sure that an interbank (Swift) transfer would be the way to go. We don't all have the same system for payment of fines ... but I think you should make sure that the payment is in Swiss Francs, as they probably charge a mean rate for US dollars!!

(And you'd hate to have money laundering compounding your speeding ticket!)

This has to be in the dumb post category. In Spain the hire car company will simply take all the costs from your credit card as per the agreement you signed.Pay it promptly and get a huge discount, ignore it at your peril and I can assure you your credit card company will be of no help in argueing the charges.

I would just send an email and see if you can use a CC to avoid bank transfer fees. If not, people in Spain pay by bank transfer for lots of things, so that should work. Spain can be worse than the City of Chicago for extorting money.

In the future watch out for these signs that indicate Radars (Though they exist without them as well)

http://i.imgur.com/budTN8S.jpg

Hey! I saw that sign. I was thinking it was the "danger" of police radar around.

I hope there's only one ticket, 'cause I had the pedal on the floor most of the way from MAD-ALC (small engine Citroen).

I looked over the paper sent from Spain and I was able to pay online with a credit card.

A little hard to understand, but worked it out with Google and there was a 50% discount for paying quickly.

The receipt came in the email quickly and all seems well.

Thanks for your help.

I got a ticket in Spain a few years back. Was able to chargeback Avis the admin fee because they charged a card I had canceled (there was a decent delay between car return and their receiving the ticket). Though I think that is a rare opportunity as the admin fee for providing your info to the authorities is typically stated in the terms and conditions of your rental contract (I.e. the charge that just showed up from Hertz in South Africa a month after my return :)).

The actual ticket from the Toledo area came a month or two later. I ended up paying it online (and I think there was a discount for paying online/by a certain date, but could be confusing it with another country - have had a few speeding fines in Europe). I planned to return to Spain and drive again, so figured it was better to pay it.

Assuming you went via Albacete, according to the official website there are 4 on the A-31. That's not counting the 100 km/h radar near Getafe on the A-4 in Madrid. They exist as either a little box beside the road or on the reverse side of an overhead sign.

http://dgt.es/portal/es/informacion_...&carretera=a31

Thanks for the picture! Was going to ask about bringing my passport but already found out that is a big no-no.

So glad there's a 1KM warning before use!

Thanks for this page.