I wonder if the collective STW mind can help with this. I was in Spain last week and as a result of some navigation ‘issues’ ended up driving the hire car down a street with access limited only to buses and taxis. This was in Granada. Having asked around it seems that this offence is well covered by their cameras and a fine is likely to come through.

Nothing was said by the hire company when I returned the car. If I was to cancel my credit card so they couldn’t charge the fine to that, was is the next likely step? Is it worth the risk or hassle or is it safe enough to just cancel the card and ignore any follow up letters?

I’d imagine it depends if you need to be able to hire a car from that company again at any point?

What could happen ………

The hire company will charge you an ‘admin’ fee – this is their charge for letting the local plod know your details and will charge it to the card you used to hire the car
Local plod may or may not pursue it

Don’t need to use the company again. They were cheaper but we had to queue for nearly 2hours to get the car so wouldn’t bother with them again.

1) European Arrest Warrant
2) Extradition
3) Daily Mail cause celebre

I’d ask your card company if the hire company have any reserve [or whatever the word is] on any funds before rushing out to cancel it

I got a parking ticket in Belgium once. Europcar didn’t pay it, they passed my details to the town hall who sent me a ticket. It is not the hire company’s responsibility, why would they get themselves in a position to be held responsible for hirers’ misdeeds ??

The question is more like, do you want to go to Spain again ? If they bother, they will take it all the way and put a lien on your passport.

From experience in Italy (SIXT):

Council asked sixt for my details.
Sixt charged me 100 euro for providing this. They write to me to say that if I dont pay any fine they will pay it and charge me another 100 euro handling fee on top of the fine.
Council / police write to me with 30 euro fine (illegal circulation – what ever that was!).
Apparently – even if the credit card is cancelled the credit card company will follow this up with you as you have agreed / signed to pay the hire company whatever they ask.

I was in Spain last week and as a result of some navigation ‘issues’ ended up driving the hire car down a street with access limited only to buses and taxis.

I would be quite surprised if anyone will actually notice or do anything, usual caveats apply.

Got a parking ticket on the last night of a holiday in Spain. Couldn’t understand anything it said, so showed it to the hire car girl when returning the car. She looked at me as though I was a gibbering simpleton, and with movement that was somehow both economical and exaggeratedly dismissive she crumpled the ticket in one hand, shrugged, dropped the ticket (presumably into a bin under the counter) and said “You are a tourist – go!” and made little ‘shooing’ motions.

Spanish cops routinely shoo off drivers they’ve pulled over when they discover they’re dealing with a tourist, and when a relative was caught with a handbag stuffed with tobacco when returning from Gibraltar the senior cop waved them through with a dismissive exclamation of “Pah, (it’s only) contraband”.

I suggest the OP doesn’t lose any sleep.

Holy thread resurection Batman! The city centre fine didn’t come through but a motorway speeding fine did 😥 Care hire company has supplied my details and charged us 30euros for that. Decision now is whether or not to pay the 100euro fine itself.

Any idea what will happen if I don’t? Will InterPol be kicking my door in at 3am?

Not worth pissing around for 100 euros shirley – get it paid.

How far away are you from the Ecuador Embassy 😉

I say pay it, you might save Spain an early exit from the euro…

Lol@ Liftman, I was scrolling down and hoping to write something of that nature, but you beat me to it

As said above – they WILL charge the fine to your credit card – and add on an admin charge. Just pay it.

On the otherhand Ecuador sounds nice too!

Do you know that the French and Spanish haven’t got this sorted between them yet? So when I take my Spanish van j to France, which I do at least twice a day, I can speed with impunity. Of they haven’t got it sorted with their neighbors then I wouldn’t worry!!

In an alternative note, I just tried to call a taxi and was told that I was more than sober enough to drive. Crazy country. I love it!

But doug – that’s vastly different. As a similar example – if you drive a UK/ NI reg car in Ireland (Eire) and get flahed by a camera there is no comeback – but get stopped by a flesh and blood garda – your car gets impounded til you pay the fine – or turn up in court to contest it weeks later.

On the other hand – in a hire car in Ireland- (locally registered) they just charge the registered owner. ie the hire company who pass it along with a cheery surcharge.

Don’t worry about it, I got a speeding ticket in Spain earlier this year. I speak pretty good Spanish so called them up and offered to pay and they told me to call back in a couple of weeks. In the interim I spoke to my Dad who lives in Spain and he recommended I ignore it. I did and still not heard anything yet!!

I got 3 in Florence, Italy a while ago. The car hire company charged a “search fee” to my credit card of 20e per ticket. The city emailed me 3x120e tickets. I didn’t pay any of them and there’s been no follow up but then again, I’ve not been to Italy since either 😉

As there are no embassies nearby and not relishing the prospect of being stuck in the same building (potentially for years) whilst I wait to be smuggled out in a diplomatic bag, I opted to pay the fine. Just as well I did as the 100 euros was reduced to 50 euros if paid within 30 days, yesterday was the 30th day!

Thank goodness for Google translate………