[PeterCoultas]

MrMichael: have no sympathy – my experience is a dual carriageway off the motorway onto a city by-pass with dual carriage way and they recon a 30 mph limit is ok – equally city parking is a joke – if we can get away with it then great! Sensible limits are worthy of respect – otherwise they should be dissed !

[MartynSinclair]

One of the largest outstanding fines account belongs to the US Embassy in London who feel they are above the law and do not need to pay road related fines..

http://www.itv.com/news/london/2013-07-11/american-embassy-tops-the-league-for-amount-of-fines-owed/

[MrMichael]

PeterCoultas, I agree, any speed limit should be in accordance with what a reasonable driver might think is reasonable on such a road. In Engineering terms, if you want reduced speeds on a long straight road, put obtacles in the way….such as parked cars, chicanes, sleeping policeman (humps).

By their nature driving and parking restrictions are put in for the benefit of some, and thus to the disadvantage of others. All parking and driving restrictions should have community consensus, and thus it follows they should be effectively enforced. If they do not have community consensus then they should be changed.

Martyn, The issue with embassies is that they tend to go with their own laws other than those of the country they are in. Parking penalty in the UK are not a part of the criminal justice system ( it was decriminalised in 1999). In the US it is a part of the criminal justice system and thus the U.S. and others consider themselves exempt. To be honest, the UK embassy in Washington and NY is just as bad. There is one major city in the UK where I do consultant work for that does not take the nonsense, and the major embassy’s such as USA, France, Germany pay the penaltys. They know that authority has no truck with Foreign office/department for transport advice of not to tow away diplomatic vehicles.

[backintheseat]

My KIA was adequately capable of shattering the 30mph barrier as the flashing lights proved SimonS1. You are mistakenly thinking of the many 2cv’s that are inevitably driven by vegetarians because they can’t go fast enough to kill anything.

[SimonS1]

MrMichael – yes very frustrating I guess. However at the time I was a non resident and the Saudi license was my main license. I did everything required by law including providing an address and showing my license but I guess it was too much trouble.

I did also get flashed near Quimper a couple of years back and never heard anything more on that either.

[LuganoPirate]

MrMichael, I understand your point, and I’m being judge and jury here but I felt in each case the fine was unjustified.

I always pay parking except on two occasions. Once when I needed a sackful of £’s to pay a £ 1 per 4 minutes off the Strand. I changed much as I could from helpful passerbys but I was 4 minutes late and the only thing the warden could say was you’re lucky you’ve not been clamped mate!

As to the congestion charge. I wrote 3 emails to TfL when it was introduced, asking if foreign registered cars were exempt (in some continental cities, such as Milan at the time, they were) and if not, how to pay. I never received a reply and no one at immigration could give me any information.

As to speeding, well err, no real excuse except I genuinely had not realised I was a little over the limit on the motorway (I never speed in towns) and I’m likely no worse than Johnny Englander who belts up the autoroute knowing the French at the time don’t send fines over to England.

[MrMichael]

LuganPirate, if you feel it unjust, you have the right of some type of independent appeal in all cases.

In the case of your being 4 minutes over on parking, you will be pleased to know that the law is now that you have 10 minutes grace, so if you buy an hours parking it is now 1.10. Caution though, that is onlyOn Street and in council operated car parks.

In the other cases, I agree with you too. I was not having a pop at you and Simon, it is just a frustration when loopholes in the law mean that foreign nationals can get away with things a local could not. It is law that is wrong, not the people that find the loopholes. It is not the odd penalty picked by otherwise law abiding people I worry about, but those that know the rules and ignore the rules knowing UK PLC has no way of holding them to account. I have also been working with the DVLA to make the six month stay for non UK registered vehicles a law with some teeth. Success on that with tow always now commonplace across England & Wales.

I also fully accept that the same goes for UK nationals when abroad. When MrsM kindly tested the Australian system for issuing camera enforcement speeding tickets to UK nationals picked up in a hire car, I paid them. Grudgingly, but paid.

[LuganoPirate]

MrMichael, interesting about the 6 month rule. I have a Dutch friend who works 4 days a week near Ashford, Kent. He’s UK employed so pays his taxes and NI. He drives on a Monday and back to Holland on Thursday. He owns his property in Ashford as it’s cheaper than renting and he considers it a good investment.

Will he risk being towed away?

[NTarrant]

Mr Michael – I tend to agree with you, the problem with the UK is we are too soft. Many years ago when driving Eurolines London-Paris a colleague was caught speeding by 10kph by a camera hidden behind a bridge paraphit. A little down the road he was stopped and escorted to a rest area where a fine was demanded.

He didn’t have the cash, the polic took the keys out of the coach put him in the police car and taken to a cash machine where he had to withdraw 100 euros. He paid the police who issued a receipt (it was checked by the company and was genuine) they handed back the keys to the coach and duly left him to find his own way back to the coach.

Imagine what would have been said if our police did that!

[MrMichael]

@LuganoPirate. provided the vehicle leaves the UK at least once within six months, no. Ports have ANPR, even a day trip to France will start the six month clock from scratch. If staying longer than six months without leaving the vehicle is liable for UK tax. It is the tax that is the issue, and why foreign cars are towed away, they are untaxed.

@Ntarrant, I tend to agree, although what you describe seems rather draconian and does seem to bypass any appeals process that I think in the interest of justice should be available. Consideration was given where any outstanding debt to HM government, it’s agency’s, and local authorities should be paid prior to re-entry in to the UK. It would have been complicated and time consuming so it was dropped. However a company is out there sending bailiffs around to foreign addresses in Spain and Poland and a few other places enforcing debt to Local Authorities. It is not legal in every European country, and not surprisingly France is not one of them. As it is no cost to the Local Authority it is good for the taxpayer, but disapointing for Johnny Foreigner who thought he had got away with it. Much of what they recover is penaltys from hire cars (back on topic!) with a collection rate of about 25%.

[lloydah]

Just returned a car to Sixt in Nice Cote D’Azur yesterday. Full of trepidation as have been “had” before – although with Avis and a few years back – but no real problems. He took longer trying to sell me the extra insurance saying the GB hire car cover I had was no good, “as it’s likely to be stolen etc etc” and then backing down when I asked if he meant that France was full of car thieves. Had agreed to a Passat estate on line but was given BMW 320 estate with all the extras, including a scratched front bumper which he wrote down so no hassle there. Returned it full to a very agreeable young female who took a cursory look at the outside, the fuel gauge and signed it off. So, a decent experience for a change.

[LuganoPirate]

Sixt is not a company I often rent from, though thanks to my Leaders Club membership I do get offered some good deals, so I just booked for 5 days next week from LHR with them. A Mercedes for 5 days for £200 seems a good deal. I hope my experience will be as pleasant as yours lloydah. I shall report.

[jsn55]

Here in America, car rental companies, from the el-cheap-os to the best known national brands, are cheating their customers more and more blatently. I’m involved with a travel forum where we advise people how to extricate themselves from travel problems. The forum is inundated with complaints about car rentals, from the simple full/empty tank scam to a charge of hundreds or thousands of dollars for “damage” many months after the car has been returned. The chicanery seems to be growing more blatent every week. Are you experiencing anything like this in th UK?

I rent 8 or 10 cars a year and have not had a problem. I’ve chaulked it up to the fact that American Express or Chase will protect me and the rental companies know it. But maybe I’ve just been lucky.

[CathayLoyalist2]

I guess the lesson here is check the car thoroughly before starting the rental, That said not that easy when you arrive early morning, say at an airport, off a long haul flight and it is cold ,wet, icy or snowy and who has a torch with them. Equally get the damage form signed off as well because I always get the attendant to sign it, yet I see many renters miss that step potentially opening themselves up for spurious charges. I also use my Amex card to cover all my charges which the rental companies do not like even to the point where on several occasion the counter staff have insisted that Amex isn’t that good and say “do you really want the worry hassle of being under insured”.

[MartynSinclair]

If I cant use my Amex Plat card to cover car hire, especially in the states, I choose another hire company.

if the counter agent claims I am underinsured, I ask him/her to confirm this in writing on headed paper.

Any scratches / damage, on COLLECTION are photographed and emailed straight away to the hire company and my company server.. to get the date stamp.

If the offer for an upgrade is offered at the counter and if I am remotely interested, I offer them 25% of the cost and if I am really really interested, will offer it in cash…

Any arguments at the end.. straight to Amex..

[Author]

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