In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I appears that our son is paying the price for dual nationality again! the document came registered, it is in Italian and there is no provision for paying the fine except in Italy. The give away is that there are details like date of birth etc that the hire company wouldn't have been given so they have got the information from the comune. Non payment after 30 days has a threat of ooo's of Euro. And since the so called offence occured in September 2004 we can hardly contest it, he certainly wasn't stopped or any thing like that, this is the first he has heard about it, who can remember what they were doing 18 months ago? We don't appear to have any choice but to send it to Italy for our family to pay it and then argue later.
I would be greatful if you have any further info that might be useful.
Susi
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
There have been reports in the Times etc about scams coming from Italy and Spain where you receive a 'fine' with threats etc. If you are in UK the DVLA advise you just to throw it away. The scamsters are getting their information about you from various sources. If the alleged offence occured over one year ago you can safely ignore it.
Many daft Brits have been paying.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
The way to test the validity is to check to whom the fines are payable and if they accept credit cards. You should check the address details with the actual government offices. Sounds like a classic scam to me. These scams have been exposed recently as some of the fines have targeted non drivers. The prime source of the scam is the car hire companies and the scamsters can find out additional details about victims from internet and other sources. The standard scam is carried out not by purporting to be police but as debt collectors. Check the fine print. Italian police are aware of the scam but are not really interested.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
This is geniune it has the post office slip for payment with it and you can only pay it at certain banks in Italy. I don't think he can ignore it, he is considered Italian by the authorities in Italy. He was called for national service, of course at the time he didn't know it but they sent the police to look for him, they visited all our relatives asking where he was!!We don't want that to happen to him again for just a driving fine!
Susi
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Susi,
If he being cited as an Italian, they only have 150 days to notify. I am not a lawyer but I damned sure would NOT pay. Italian authorities have found that tickets bring in much needed income and will play the game until you stay stop. Send a registered letter with a return receipt to let them know IAW article xx the notification is late.
I can't speak about the national service issue but you can't be a resident of two places at once...Many try and get caught.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
a really interesting post Cardi -so far so good, not had a problem but we all need to take a deep breath before paying for fines we didn't know we'd incurred and perhaps waiting for the follow up to see if we really need to pay
Italian law says they must notify foreigners within 360 days (Article 201 Italian Road Code). Did they send it registered mail with a return receipt? If not, throw it away. It is 150 days for residents.
As far as the points issue, Italians have a database that they are using to track foreign drivers and they "can" record the points in that. They cannot, I repeat, cannot take you license if it is not Italian. They can however say you cannot drive in Italy if you exceed the point issue. I researched this sometime back and it is very contraversial at best.
If you are an EC resident, you are not required to pay the fine on the spot if stopped, if you are not, you are required to pay on the spot and pay ONLY the minimum fine. I argued until I was blue the face and then showed the cop the law in black and white.