nytraveler

Thieves?

Who are the thieves?

If you break the rules there is a good likelihood they will find you and fine you. And IMHO a 30 euro fine is modest. As is the fee to the car rental. I would think you could pay the latter with a credit card - but not the former.

I don't understand why the fuss. Here PARKING tickets start at $100 and go up to $250 if thy are egregious (hydrant or handicap space). And if you leave your car in the way of a street sweeper and are caught it will cost in excess of $1200 to get it back - between the ticket, the towing charge and the impound fee. Not following the rules is expensive.

flpab

I thought you were not upset at the ticket but the fees of paying for said ticket. Peg never said anything about thieves that was imdonehere.


I do think the rental car company will bill your credit card. I used the toll pass once in a rental and got a 16.00 convenience fee for 4.00 worth of tolls. I slam those things shut now and pull up and pay. I would try www.xe.com.

Pegontheroad

flpab: You're right. It's the fees for sending wire transfers that upset me. The actual traffic ticket wasn't a big deal.

After I talked to Avis International here in the States, they arranged to pay the Avis/Budget handling fee with my Visa, so I didn't have to pay the $45 wire transfer fee.

Cowboy, I may take you up on your offer.

The ironic thing is that I never purposely break the speed limit in Germany or any other foreign country, but in the past, I have often broken the speed limit on freeways and interstate roads.

IMDonehere

Hertz Belgium was not as agreeable, in fact Capital One could not even find someone in Belgium to speak with them.

PalenQ

Peg, I'd like to clarify that my snarky comment was directed not at you but at ImDoneHere, because he started a thread about his speeding ticket, and another about a parking ticket, I think, and is now trying to hijack your thread to rehash the whole sad thing.>

Yeah and he/she/it actually tried to pass blame off onto an innocent hotel/B&B owner who graciously offered to help him pay for the parking meter or whatever and then he/she/it wondered if the good Samaritaine hotel manager should pay because of his negligence - figure that one out! Trying to make the guy who graciously offered to try to help for any mistake!

bettyk

We did nothing when we received a ticket for some minor infraction in Karlsruhe. Nothing ever came of it.

We have been back to Germany several times since and no problems.

IMDonehere

I knew we would hear from the failed tour guide Palenq.

I just love this posers who claim they would not fight any of these tickets. The people here complain about when others are complimented, but they would not complain about a speed trap.

Some of you are so full of it, your eyes are brown.

BTW, reading comprehension lessons are also in order, I did not start the topic on speeding tickets.

Sorry Plaenq, the owner of the B&B in Gent and I are beyond friends at this point, although Palenq would like to see otherwise.

NYCFoodSnob

<i><font color=#555555>"You do the crime, pay the fine."</font></i>

Fine. But is 5mph over the speed limit on a highway really a crime?

<i><font color=#555555>"I think people should be more careful in a foreign country if they are renting a car."</font></i>

I tend to agree, bit I like to drive fast. When "rip-off" starts to permeate the air of tourism, and you discourage tourists from visiting, you exacerbate the pain of an already bad slump in the economy. Unemployment in Europe is 11% as of today's news.

The camera/ticket thing is costing tourists a lot of money. Money they never budgeted, money they possibly can't spare. The cost of car rentals in a foreign country has gone through the roof. The rental insurance game is the biggest rip-off ever, feeding on people's fear.

The threat of tickets on top of your inflated rental fee is NO WAY to encourage people who are considering a car for their trip. When you discourage customers, they get the message: DON'T COME! At the very least, don't bother spending the money on a rental car, and don't bother spending money on visiting those places that require a car.

As a government, sometimes you have to be careful what you ask for.

NewbE

Oh, please. As if speed limits and their enforcement ever caused anyone to say "Europe, I think I'll skip it." Having paid a thousand dollars or more to fly there, who knows how much for a hotel and restaurants and admission charges and tickets for events, a tourist is unlikely to go bust over a $200 speeding ticket.

Not to mention that speed limits exist EVERYWHERE. You like to drive fast? Some people like to live without fear of being mown down or sideswiped by a cocky American tourist in a rental car. The nerve! They should give you that car for free and remain quiet when you speed through their streets because tourism.

IMDonehere

The car had Belgium tags, maybe they only cut the Dutch some slack.

NewbE

Belgian, you mean?

IMDonehere

I meant Belch.

IMDonehere

Actually for the grammar scolds, I think the use of the proper name of the country is acceptable. The car had UK tags, British or English would be incorrect if the car was from Scotland or Wales.

Real grammar scolds, can the name be used as a proper adjective?

IMDonehere

You must realize that people like Newbe and Palnq are the only ones who are entitled to complain. In fact, they are complaining about other people complaining and what is acceptable for the purposes of complaining. And if Newbe deleted the posts where she complained she would be reduced to a lurker.

Oh, the arrogant irony of it all.

fourfortravel

Minor point, and mostly irrelevant at that, is that Germany's unemployment rate is around 5% (where pegontheroad received the ticket). Here in Austria the rate is about the same, and a friend was ticketed €45 for doing 10km over the limit. No economic slump here, just enforcement of the rules.

There's more to being a tourist in a rental car than Fahrvergnügen. Know the speed limits and the country's use of radar control; and if caught exceeding those limits, pay the ticket. Perhaps the rental car "handling" charge arose from too many tourists skipping out on their tickets?

NewbE

The car had Germany tags.
The car had America tags.
The car had France tags.

I think not.

Cowboy1968

Peg,
You can send me the snapshot of the bank transfer form or take the relevant infos from the cover letter.
That stuff is usually highlighted in bold in the letter, and should be you case # and the name of the recipient (something like treasury of the county or similar, the bank account # and bank code of the county.
My email: [email protected]

hetismij2

IMDone, the Dutch do not discriminate when it comes to speeding fines. Be grateful you didn't get a Belgian speeding fine, that would have hurt the bank balance far more.
As to getting a fine for a few miles an hour over the limit, where do you draw the line? 5km/h is 10% over the limit in a town, even more in parts of the town with a 30km/h limit.
In the scheme of things 5km/h may not seem a lot, but it is a speed limit, not a suggestion.

Rubicund

I was in Ireland last week on business and during a good dinner, the conversation came round to travel and somehow to traffic offences and paying fines. I think I had recollections of similar Fodors threads.

One of my fellow guests worked for the authorities in Dublin and said that if someone paid a fine once they had returned home, this was an exception. Most people ignored them and they are written off after a space of time as the cost of collection usually outweighs the fine. No notes are put against passports etc.

And the worst offenders? US citizens.

bilboburgler

tourists need to follow the laws like everyone else does, if for nothing less than we can all claim to be tourists.