We traveled thru Europe in June of this year. Before entering Austria we purchased the Vignette pass at a gas station in Germany and fixed it to our windshield where other drivers had displayed theirs. Yesterday, three months later, we received a fine for €120 plus processing fees from the rental car company. We don’t understand why we received the violation since we did everything we could to follow the law while we were there. Unfortunately, we paid cash for the pass so have no proof of the purchase. Looks like we have no option but to pay up.
How did you affix the sticker to the windshield? I remember an earlier discussion here about one of the European highway vignettes (could have been Swiss or Slovenian rather than Austrian, though), during which someone pointed out that regulations require the sticker to be permanently stuck to the windshield, not taped on so it can be removed. Could that have been what you did?
What rental car company was it?
I bet you got a speeding ticket, not a vignette pass violation.
We applied it directly to the window on the driver’s side as talked about in the previous thread. It was definitely a vignette pass violation. A copy of the violation was included which we Google translated. The rental company was Avis.
Was there any additional information regarding the violation? Was the validity date punched correctly? Do you have a fine notice issued by ASFINAG, the company in charge of the Vignette system, or just a notice from Avis?
Whatever, you should inquire further. On the fine notice the licence number of the car should be noted, make sure that it is correct, i.e. the car you had driven (see rental papers).
Write to ASFINAG's service center: [email protected]
Describe your case and ask for an investigation.
did you peel off the backing and stick it on the inside of the window or use tape?
even paying cash you get a receipt for purchase, and the bottom (I think it is the bottom) of the vignette stays behind with the backing. It will have the number of the Vignette on it. Did you save that?
Thanks for all your help everyone. Since we paid cash I tossed the receipt when we returned home. My advice, based on our experience, would be to snap a photo of the pass on your windshield as proof of purchase and placement. Live and learn.
Don't give up so quickly, writing to ASFINAG won't cost you anything.
Is it possible the violation belongs to whoever rented the car before you did and the car-rental company made a mistake when it checked its rental records?
Just got back from a 2-week trip to Austria. We used Global / Buchbinder for our rental car and were advised that the Vignett was already attached to the car. I suspect that's the norm. I feel you might have got a speeding ticket & not a Vignette violation.
the difference, travelling_aussie, is that the original poster was entering from Germany and a German car would not normally have an Austrian Vignette.
Sorry this happened to you. Just sent you a personal message.
I sent an email today to ASFINAG asking why we received a violation when we did everything we were supposed to do. I’ll post an update if I hear back from them. Thank you for the advice and encouragement. :)
If it wasn't a speed violation then the only two reasons I can think of that you would have received a ticket are improper placement on the windshield OR maybe you accidentally put it in a zone of the windshield that is tinted. It can't read the sticker through the tinted part of windshield glass.
If you paid for the rental car with a credit card, file a disputed charge and/or rental insurance claim with the credit card.
I got hit with a phony $1,500 damage charge from Hertz in Munich. I called Amex. Amex asked Hertz for details and that was the end of it.