Fines Abroad

[4midable]

Specifically police fines whilst driving. 100 euros
Anybody had an experience in Greece of a police fine

Got one today with 14 days to pay. Driving on a pedestrian road or something
We leave the island in 8 days

Should i pay or just leave without

[Claret Till I Die]

Leave it, you'll be fine

[fatboy47]

Presume hire car?

[Lancasterclaret]

Specifically police fines whilst driving. 100 euros
Anybody had an experience in Greece of a police fine

Got one today with 14 days to pay. Driving on a pedestrian road or something
We leave the island in 8 days

Should i pay or just leave without

Have you tried waving your blue passport in their face and shouting about soveriegnity?

(I'd just pay it btw)

[4midable]

Hire car yeah
Fine for driving on an incorrect street unbeknown to us

[4midable]

Have you tried waving your blue passport in their face and shouting about soveriegnity?

(I'd just pay it btw)

No passport involved.
Driving licence only

[Bosscat]

Be prepared to be arrested if you try and leave the country ... also Greek prisons are not pleasant ... but don't despair we will send Pushpinpussy over to represent you in court

[ŽižkovClaret]

Do you want to be able to return to the EU? Could be a nasty surprise otherwise next time you try and enter

[tally]

Tricky but if you have an hire car and you paid with your credit card then there exists a way for police to know the hire firm and it is an open ended agreement until you return the car to the hire company. Then if you had no damage blah blah etc your card is then debited for your original agreed price. I do not really know if the police have any jurisdiction regarding your hire car agreement. Its only 100 EURO but still up to you wether you pay or not.

[Tall Paul]

You don't normally pay your debts, why bother this time?

[Burnley1989]

You don't normally pay your debts, why bother this time?

For what it’s worth I’d pay, I got a €1200 fine on a Greek island back in 2008 for a crash on a lads holiday, considered flying straight home but probably a good job I payed it now tbh, didn’t enjoy being locked up on a lovely sunny day at 19, paranoia set in when they told me they’d be waiting for me at the airport

[Foshiznik]

Await the Interpol International arrest warrant and serve your sentence in a Greek labour camp. It's basically a free all inclusive trip for a year or two.

[Paul Waine]

Specifically police fines whilst driving. 100 euros
Anybody had an experience in Greece of a police fine

Got one today with 14 days to pay. Driving on a pedestrian road or something
We leave the island in 8 days

Should i pay or just leave without

5 or 6 years back I'd hired a car in Majorca. Last day we had a bit of time to spare heading to Palma airport, so we found a place for a coffee in a small town near a beach. A number of weeks after I got home a letter arrived from Spanish police. They'd got my details from car hire company - who charged an extra admin fee against my credit card for identifying me as the hirer/driver of the car. It took a bit of sorting out to settle the fine.

I'd pay it now while you are there. It will be cheaper than being pursued for non-payment after you've flown home.

Good luck and enjoy the rest of your holiday.

[tally]

Paul:
Exactly the point I was trying to make

[clarethomer]

Your fine has risen from an honest mistake.

If you choose not to pay- that is not an honest mistake.

If you can pay it- why wouldn’t you? Life is too short to be messing with foreign police and hire companies with your credit card for €100

[Loyalclaret]

I had two on the same road in Ibiza over a 10 day holiday They came to my home address via the hire company. I paid as I travel to the island quite regularly, hire cars and couldn't be bothered with any bother down the line.

I've also had my car impounded there too but that was pay straight away to release it.

[Squidgy]

No doubt on this one.

Pay the fine. If you do leave the country without paying then don’t ever expect to go back without issue. Further to that the fine May follow you to England and there were plans in place to allow process to take place abroad including use of debt collectors abroad. I don’t know if this is in place yet but is it really worth it.

[Rileybobs]

Cutsy boarding the plane at Corfu International Airport.

[Shaggy]

First of all if you have used a reputable car hire company then what they will do is pass on your details to the police and charge you an admin fee for the privelage. The police can then try and pursue you back home but in reality you could ignore them. The only time you may experience any difficulty is if you travel back to Greece again and they escalate the matter to through their court system your passport number will likely be marked.

There won’t be any police waiting for you at the airport etc

Having said all that for €100 just pay it as it’s the right thing to do and there’s no more hassle. It will be something you can have a laugh about in years to come.

[pushpinpussy]

Specifically police fines whilst driving. 100 euros
Anybody had an experience in Greece of a police fine

Got one today with 14 days to pay. Driving on a pedestrian road or something
We leave the island in 8 days

Should i pay or just leave without

Sometimes it can take other countries up to 12 months to pursue something against you. Sometimes they don't even bother. If its a police fine then the 1959 Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters permits the exchange of information and evidence on criminal and administrative matters between certain countries.. I believe Greece have signed up to this. If its a civil matter it is not unknown for other countries to get a debt collecting agency from the UK to chase the debt for them.

[Ightenhill_Claret]

Got a similar fine in Italy - was driving a people carrier with some friends for a wedding, apparently went down a street or through a zone that I shouldn't have. First I knew about it was when the fine arrived at home a few weeks later - hire company had charged me €35 for the pleasure of handing my details over to police.

I paid it because didn't want any hassle the next time I was in Italy wanting to hire a car. Always think that it's worth paying just to avoid any unnecessary stress.

[Tricky Trevor]

Got a similar fine in Italy - was driving a people carrier with some friends for a wedding, apparently went down a street or through a zone that I shouldn't have. First I knew about it was when the fine arrived at home a few weeks later - hire company had charged me €35 for the pleasure of handing my details over to police.

I paid it because didn't want any hassle the next time I was in Italy wanting to hire a car. Always think that it's worth paying just to avoid any unnecessary stress.

Italy is a nightmare. There is one at the top of the hill, going up from the railway station in Siena. A historic wall, drive right of it you are ok, go left and you are in a traffic free zone but no advance warning. Similar in Pisa, you take a left turn and the sign is there but no advance warning again. I’m fairly sure they are deliberate to catch tourists but they should be illegal.

[aggi]

No doubt on this one.

Pay the fine. If you do leave the country without paying then don’t ever expect to go back without issue. Further to that the fine May follow you to England and there were plans in place to allow process to take place abroad including use of debt collectors abroad. I don’t know if this is in place yet but is it really worth it.

Yes, pretty sure it's happened recently. There's been a spate of people being chased for fines incurred abroad.

[4midable]

You don't normally pay your debts, why bother this time?

Strange comment?

I went to pay it earlier. Couldnt be bothered with hassle later down the line

[4midable]

Your fine has risen from an honest mistake.

If you choose not to pay- that is not an honest mistake.

If you can pay it- why wouldn’t you? Life is too short to be messing with foreign police and hire companies with your credit card for €100

PS - no credit cards involved with any part of the car hire. All cash

[SirBob]

I threw up in the back of a police car in Belgium once, got a bill of €100 decided to just pay it as it’s quite like to go back one day

[ClaretDiver]

PS - no credit cards involved with any part of the car hire. All cash

Then I suspect it was a dodgy car hire firm in the first place…just pay it, would you refuse to pay it in the UK? Would you moan about a foreigner coming here, driving like crap, getting a fine and dodging it??

[bobinho]

No passport involved.
Driving licence only

You’re missing his point. He has a point about this. I’m surprised you aren’t aware of it…..

[4midable]

Then I suspect it was a dodgy car hire firm in the first place…just pay it, would you refuse to pay it in the UK? Would you moan about a foreigner coming here, driving like crap, getting a fine and dodging it??

I went and paid it about an hour after posting

The firm we have used are the no1 firm on the island

[Stayingup]

Do you want to be able to return to the EU? Could be a nasty surprise otherwise next time you try and enter

You really think the EU is in any way that organized? They're shambles.

[claret wizard]

Italy is a nightmare. There is one at the top of the hill, going up from the railway station in Siena. A historic wall, drive right of it you are ok, go left and you are in a traffic free zone but no advance warning. Similar in Pisa, you take a left turn and the sign is there but no advance warning again. I’m fairly sure they are deliberate to catch tourists but they should be illegal.

I’m waiting for one of these fines from January in Sauze d’oulx. Pedestrian zone is only 4 hours in the day, just as I arrived. Not landed yet though.

[ŽižkovClaret]

You really think the EU is in any way that organized? They're shambles.

I have heard of people here in CZ having their bank accounts frozen over unpoaid debts. They may not be quick, but once they are after you, its best to have paid

[CharlieinNewMexico]

Last time I was in the UK I got 6 speeding tickets in 2 weeks from those cameras you have. Hire car firm sent them to me over here

[KateR]

After a trip to Amsterdam, where I spent a week driving to different cities I got a letter but it was all double Dutch to me so I ignored it and to be honest I really didn't know what it was. Flew back to Amsterdam a few years latter with a colleague for business, passport control were taking there time and next thing two very large gentlemen in uniforms appeared and took me in to the back room, not a word spoken. Wasn't long before I was in a room with another gentleman in uniform, pointing to a computer and a letter, again in Dutch, he translated and advised me about speeding and a fine I had to pay. As I started to object he quickly pointed out I wouldn't be allowed in the country until it was paid! My colleague was interested in the why and wherefore, advised him at the end he would be getting the hire car and to be careful

[CharlieinNewMexico]

After a trip to Amsterdam, where I spent a week driving to different cities I got a letter but it was all double Dutch to me so I ignored it and to be honest I really didn't know what it was. Flew back to Amsterdam a few years latter with a colleague for business, passport control were taking there time and next thing two very large gentlemen in uniforms appeared and took me in to the back room, not a word spoken. Wasn't long before I was in a room with another gentleman in uniform, pointing to a computer and a letter, again in Dutch, he translated and advised me about speeding and a fine I had to pay. As I started to object he quickly pointed out I wouldn't be allowed in the country until it was paid! My colleague was interested in the why and wherefore, advised him at the end he would be getting the hire car and to be careful

You vicious criminal

[Tribesmen]

I have heard of people here in CZ having their bank accounts frozen over unpoaid debts. They may not be quick, but once they are after you, its best to have paid

Yep pay the fine i would say .
Years back i got done for jaywalking in the States , i was told to pay it on the spot which i did the next day and have been back a few times since .

[CJW]

Specifically police fines whilst driving. 100 euros
Anybody had an experience in Greece of a police fine

Got one today with 14 days to pay. Driving on a pedestrian road or something
We leave the island in 8 days

Should i pay or just leave without

Shows a distinct lack of class that you're even asking.

[chipbutty]

Last time I was in the UK I got 6 speeding tickets in 2 weeks from those cameras you have. Hire car firm sent them to me over here

I presume that's a joke, right?

You'd have been hit with a driving ban if you lived here

[ElectroClaret]

Many years ago, me and a few mates were fined for speeding in Florida ( think it was the dollar equivalent of fifty quid) to be paid within a few days at a post office.

We were advised to cough up or else we'd never get back in the States if it was outstanding.

So we did. Not so much between 4 of us.

[Awayfromburnley]

I literally cannot understand what the issue is with people receiving fines for misdemeanours.

You **** up you deal with it, like an adult, actions have consequences.

Pay the flipping fine. You drove on a pavement!!!!!

You have grounds to appeal then OK, but you won't..

[ecc]

Can't trust Johnny F. That's why we got out of Europe. That said, we like travelling there. As long as the locals speak English.

[Bosscat]

Last time I was in the UK I got 6 speeding tickets in 2 weeks from those cameras you have. Hire car firm sent them to me over here

Bloody dead right too ...