UKC

Anyone had one of these? And what to do about it.

The whole thing is in French so I can't even understand it.

In reply to ClimberEd:

Controversial perhaps..... pay it?

;O)

In reply to SFM:

Er, no. Don't pay it, send it back with a note telling them to shove it up their backside. You won't hear from them again.

In reply to SFM:

Haha Yes I intend to pay it

In reply to ClimberEd:

Glad to hear that, otherwise you could be extradited to face a French court, but that's no longer such a problem since they abolished Madame La Guillotine....

In reply to ClimberEd:

Just ignore it, seriously what's the worse that could happen.

In reply to xplorer: I thought these days they could transfer points to your licence. In which case they could most likely give you some of those aswell as the fine if they really fancied it.

In reply to ClimberEd: Send it back and ask for an English translation. Then make your decisions based on what the thing actually says

In reply to mike kann:

I remember reading somewhere that an international agreement to allow this will come into force in 2015 but I wouldn't suggest the OP takes my word for this without checking as I may have misremembered or just be plain wrong.

In reply to ClimberEd:

Ha guys, as I said I'm going to pay it (when I have worked out how (!) , I was just surprised.

In reply to ClimberEd:

First I've heard of French tickets being sent abroad, how did they get your address? Whatever, if you want to pay you usually get a very big discount if you pay immediately - this will be printed on it so find a French speaker to translate it. Having said that if you don't want to pay the last thing to do is reply in any way as this will confirm your address. If you don't want to pay just ignore it. The French attitude is not to reply or pay up, between the two you'll get the worst of both worlds.

In reply to ClimberEd: I wouldn't pay - what do you think the UK £9 Billion net contribution to the EU is for But seriously, I still wouldn't pay.

In reply to ClimberEd: I understand that there is a company in the UK that collates 'tickets' from several different countries (maybe just EU, not sure)and has the powers to collect the debt on behalf of the said countries.

They have an agreement with the DVLA and get your home address through them.

Seems to be a bit naughty that no one seems to give a toss about foreign drivers in the UK, getting away scott-free after committing breaches of traffic law here.

In reply to Bruce Hooker:

There's definitely something going on. We got a ticket here on one of our UK registerd vans.
I'm assuming they got our details from the insurance company.

E

In reply to Enty:


OK, so its the Mail but this should answer some questions....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2160834/How-DVLA-makes-thousands-mo...

In reply to ClimberEd:
I believe they are legally obliged to send you the charge in your own language. I wouod send a photocopy of it back with a letter politely asking that they send you a translated copy. If they do, pay it. If they dont bother, you are in luck.

Last year I was (wrongfully) charged and given a €400 fine, with a threat to double it upon non-payment, by the italian police for failing to send them some documentation (the charge didnt specify what) following an accident. It was all in italian and I just worked out what I could using google translate. I had shown them everything they asked for at the time but saw no way to plead my innocence so just sent them a letter as above (after much internet research) and have never heard back. I will be slightly nervous the next time I land at an italian airport though!

In reply to bluebealach:


Is that true then? What are you basing that on?

To be fair, I'd have thought the same as you were it not for my neighbour coming to me 3 weeks ago with a letter he'd received to his home here in Bavaria, telling him he'd driven into the Low Emission Zone in London, without registering his vehicle, and that if he did it again he'd be liable to a hefty fine. He is German, and was on holiday in his German registered vehicle. I'm not sure if I was more surprised at the authorities in the UK being so diligent, and sending it to the registered keeper in Germany, or the fact that it was written in perfect German!

Tim

In reply to Green Porridge:

Tim,

I was basing it on the Mail article and on conversations with friends and colleagues that were of a similar opinion.

Having red your account its rather more satisfying to know that it appears to be a bi-lateral agreement maybe??

Graham

In reply to ClimberEd:

I received a French speeding ticket this week at home. It dated from when I used a hire car back in April. The authorities must have got my details from the hire car company. I did a bit of internet investigation to see if it was worth ignoring. In the end, I decided that the 45 euro fine (no points) was worth paying for peace of mind. I didn't want the possible hassle stored up for any future France visits. Fine was easy to pay using a card via the web address printed on the back.

Tony

In reply to bluebealach:


The UK has given tickets out to foreign cars for ages, I lived in Italy for 6 years and friends who brought Italian plated cars here had tickets sent through back in 2000, parking and speeding - all the time I was there - till 2005- it would never happen the other way around. A UK plate was like a free parking badge as long as you avoided tow away zones

In reply to ClimberEd: I had a parking ticket from Italy a few years ago sent to my home here in Guernsey which I thought was quite impressive. I ignored it and nothing's happened so far, but I've not been back with that car.

In reply to bluebealach:

This is 100% true. They are a debt collection agency and they pursued me for a £10 penalty change incurred in Oslo (in a hire car) and explained clearly that if I didn't pay, they'd take me to court and record the unpaid debt on my credit record. I paid the debt directly to the Norwegian authorities which really put their noses out. I then received several threatening phone calls and letters since they'd clearly bought the debt from the Norwegians.

IMHO, the possible consequences of not paying just aren't worth it.

Dave

In reply to ClimberEd: there should be a website link on there somewhere and you can pay online. as bruce says, much much cheaper if you sort it out quickly with french fines.

In reply to ClimberEd:

Tell them where to shove it! And I don't see legally how a private company can buy your debt. They may buy it, but your legal responsibility lies only with the French equivalent of the DVLA I would have thought. Private companies can't arbitrarily make a contract between you and them.

In reply to Green Porridge: > Seems to be a bit naughty that no one seems to give a toss about foreign drivers in the UK, getting away scott-free after committing breaches of traffic law here.

In the UK, DVLA produce a 'ghost' licence for foreign drivers if they commit endorsable offences. The 'UK' points are endorsed onto this licence. The same totting up rules apply - 12 or more and banned.

In reply to ClimberEd:

I was unknowingly zapped by a speed camera in France late last year, while driving a hire car. The hire car company recovered the fine via my credit card.

Steve

In reply to ClimberEd:

Bad they got your address. I triggered multiple cameras on French autoroutes and never heard a thing (one actually flashed my number plate back at me.) I always thought the philosophy was you pay to use the road then go as fast as you want.

Personally I'd bin it and forget about it. Can't see them sending the Gendarme's round for a speeding ticket somehow.

And if it does come to something well who was driving at the time? Oh yeah it was that mate of yours from Lithuania, now living in one of the Southern African states last you heard. Plausible denial, something that politicians are expert at.

In reply to SARS:

The usual method of debt recovery companies is to send you increasingly hostile letters to intimidate you. I'm sure this must work with a lot of people otherwise they must waste a load of money in stamps and paper.

If you stand firm they eventually give up and go away.

In reply to stp:

Or possibly admit you've done something wrong, pay the fine and take the hit because it's the right thing to do.