Car Rental Siena - Caveat Emptor

This is a well-known issue in Italy. Italian press is very frank that this is simply a money-raising scheme. So, for a pleasant stay in Italy, don't rent a car. Take trains or buses or hire a driver. Another scammy scam is the speed limit issue - speed limits are rigorously enforced and are set very low. No "5 MPH" grace either.

" I recommend NEVER Rent a Car anywhere near Comune Di Siena"
Sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree with that statement since our experience was quite different from your own. The ZTL zones within the city are clearly marked, so while a bit of advance preparation is required in order to avoid them once you've done the homework it's pretty easy to steer clear of trouble.
Also, the SS2 route heading north into Chianti or south into the Val D'Orcia is a modern two lane highway that's well clear of any ZTL's, which you'll only encounter again as you approach the little hill towns where traffic will be restricted to locals only.
We found that driving around rural Tuscany and Umbria was a stress-free and enjoyable experience and, having done it for several weeks without any drama, can recommend it to anyone wishing to enjoy the freedom to explore the area at their leisure.

Welcome to the forum OP. It's such a shame that your pre trip research on Italian driving laws and regulations was so lacking. Otherwise you would have known that ZTLs are ubiquitous in Italy, and not at all unique to Siena. The regulations apply to all drivers, not just tourists. And regardless of your personal views, they are the law. Payment procedures are not a scam, as such, but are simply different from what you have encountered at home. Had you done a search on these forums before your trip, or anywhere online or in a good guidebook, all of this angst might have been avoided.

Not driving in Italy is certainly an option. Especially true if you will be in a city. However, we have had several driving trips and have never gotten a traffic ticket. The trick is to know, and follow, the rules of the road. Said rules are all available online. Oh, and when a speed limit is posted, they mean THAT speed, and not some speed above the limit that you think is close enough. But if all this seems like too much bother, then paying large amounts to car services may be the way for you to go.

We have driven in various countries over at least 10 trips over 25 years. One ticket very early on.

We did not drive in large cities as they can be more chaotic than at home. Having said that we rented a car in Rome and navigated north without incident.

I would not drive in New York City, my driving experience in Boston was exhausting and will not be repeated.

Whether to drive or use public transit and private drivers is a personal choice. Both have advantages and disadvantages. If you are going to visit only major cities and are not interested in towns in between then trains and buses are likely better.

We are less likely to drive now because of our age, but I would not rule driving out.

After multiple trips to various parts of Europe, we are going car-free mostly. While travel to the rural areas is sometimes an interest, we often wish to go to small regional cities, and these are served by trains and buses. The main thing you get without the car is a very relaxed trip - no worries about the car being broken-into, nor concerns about parking in small cities, nor problems with speeding tickets. There are times and places that a car is really better - rural France, rural Italy, rural rural rural. But the charms of "stopping anywhere to have an adventure" is overrated. While a car in Tuscany would have given us options, note that drinking wine while driving is a bad choice, so wine-touring is out. But some US travelers are only happy behind the wheel.

Note that the first notifications that you received, from the car rental company, were simply an “administrative fee” that the rental car company charges you. Since they own the car, they get notice of the ticket from the commune, but they don’t have to pay it if they provide the renter’s name and address so the ticket can be sent to the actual offender.

You agreed to this charge when you signed the rental contract, although you probably did not notice it.

The notifications that came later, from the Commune di Siena, are the actual fines. You pay these to the commune yourself.

The title of your post is misleading. The rental car company has nothing to do with what happened to you. You should have titled your post: Driving in Italy. Caveat Malus Vector (Let Bad Drivers Beware)

You got a traffic violation and the rental company charged you for providing the name of the renter (you) to the Municipal Police of Siena, as every renter agrees to in the contract (it’s in the small print). After the Police receives the name of the violator from the rental agency, they have 90 days to notify the person (if residing in Italy) or 360 days (if the person resides outside of Italy). The Municipal Police notified you of the fine and the due payment (presumably within 360 days from the time the rental company provided your name to the authorities). The missive from the City of Siena should have the detail on how to see the photo of your car entering the forbidden zone and also how to pay. If they don’t give you the option to pay by card but only through a PagoPA platform, which is accessible only by participating banks (only Italian banks do), your only option is to pay through PayPal, since they are affiliated to an Italian bank part of the PagoPA network. If you decide not to pay, the worst it can happen is that the City of Siena might assign the debt to a collection agency part of an international network (some Italian cities do). At that point the amount to pay will be much larger, but there are ways to get the collection agencies off your back without having to pay them. It’s called a Cease and Desist letter. Good luck and next time do some research homework before driving abroad. The rules of the road are not the same everywhere.

We spent a wonderful 10 days driving in Tuscany, including Siena. We received no tickets and had no problem avoiding ZTLs in Siena and other towns.

ZTLs in Siena are clearly marked and impossible not to see. A car in Siena is pretty much useless so we just parked outside the heart of town and took a short walk in. We opted to not drive to Florence but instead took a bus from Greve into town. We choose not to drive in any major European city.

For those who have read this account, don't be dissuaded. Do your homework before you leave and you can have a wonderful experience. Know how to identify ZTLs and remember to strictly observe the speed limit.

This is a situation that's not limited to Siena, and it is not a scam. Many towns in Italy have ZTL / limited traffic zones, and anyone entering these receive a hefty fine. Some of these are enforced by automated cameras so the only way to avoid them is to stay out of the ZTL areas. Hopefully you'll be able to sort this out and pay the fine easily.

The notice of infraction arrived 1.5 years after I drove in Siena. Siena is upset I drove in a restricted Zone to the tune of € 110.40. But not so concerned that they took 1.5 years to inform me of the Infraction. Either they are upset and should inform in a timely manner or forget it. 1.5 years to inform a person of an Infraction seems excessive. The Penalty is too far removed from the Infraction to have any meaning. After a year you will have no idea if the claim of Infraction is real or not. There is no constraint on the municipality to issue Notice to the driver.

Another key point is that the Notice I Got was Notice of Payment. Not Notice of Infraction.

“The Present notice is not a notification of violation and cannot be appealed.”

What does that mean? I never got Notification of Infraction. I only Got Notification of Payment. And that seems like some office walking a legal line that means something to them, but nothing to me.

There is more.

• Payment of the sanction, equal to the minimum amount prescribed by law, reduced by 30 percent, made within five (5) days from the receipt of this Act, of € 110.40 including postal and procedural costs. This amount is already reduced by 30%.
• Payment of the sanction, equal to the minimum amount prescribed by law, be made within sixty (60) days from the receipt of this Act, of € 135.30 including postal and procedural costs.

In case of failure or incorrect payment, after the above deadline of 5 or 60 days from the notification date of this Act, according to
art.203 of Highway Code, this shall constitute the document of execution for the amount of € 218.30 including notification and procedural costs.

Notification Terms and Statute of Limitations. As stated by art. 201 of the Italian Highway Code, the notification of the present act must be sent within 360 days from the *ascertainment** date*. According to sentences n. 477/02 and 28/04 of the Constitutional Court, the delivery of the act to the postal service in charge of the notification, within the 360 day deadline, interrupts the statute of limitations. The notification of the act is considered accomplished when the act is received by the recipient. From that date, the recipient has 60 days to pay or lodge an appeal.

If the payment has not been made, you may appeal to the Prefect or to the Justice of Peace. To be eligible, YOUR APPEAL MUST BE WRITTEN IN ITALIAN, and must be mailed within 60 days after the receipt of the notification, via registered mail with returned receipt, otherwise it will be declared inadmissible. The appeal has to be submitted to the Prefect of SIENA, PIAZZA DUOMO - 53100 - SIENA (SI), or presented to the aforementioned "Municipal Police Station". If the Prefect holds the appeal to be unfounded, he will issue a demand for payment of a sum of at least double that indicated in this report. As an alternative solution, you may also appeal directly to the Justice of the Peace of SIENA, VIA FRANCI 26 - C/O PALAZZO DI GIUSTIZIA - 53100 - SIENA (SI) in compliance with art. 204 bis of the Italian Highway Code. Your appeal must be filed to the Office of the Judge, via registered mail with returned receipt, upon penalty of inadmissibility, before the end of the aforementioned period. The Justice of Peace will convene an appearance hearing in court. If no appeal is presented to the Prefect, no appeal is made to the Justice of the Peace and no payment is made within the above periods, this document shall constitute the document of execution for the enforced collection of a sum equal to half the maximum sanction applied and for the cost of the proceedings.

I got 2 notices sent 428 days after Date of Ascertainment. I never paid them. They last notice they took 200 days for Date of Ascertainment and 349 days after that I got a notice. Convenient for them. 549 Days but less than 360 from Ascertainment. I paid it.

The Municipal Police has 360 days to send you the first notice, but not from the date of infraction, but rather from the date they received the information from the rental agency of the identity of the renter at the time of infraction. The rental agency has 90 days to communicate the information from the time they received the notification. Therefore if the agency sent the information 90 days later, the police could have sent it 360 days after that or 390 days after the infraction, and the data the missive was stamped is the date one must look at, not the date you actually received it. It appears that you have now received additional notices since the fine wasn’t paid after the first one. At this point it is too late to get discounts or appeals. You either pay now the amount p, which is probably higher than the initial 100€+, or not pay at all. If a resident in Italy does not pay, the legal procedure is for the City to send the information to the National Agenzia delle Entrate (National Internal Revenue Service) which will file the case under the specific Codice Fiscale (an individual tax code similar to the SSN) and try to recover the amount due through the tax collection process, if necessary through the seizure of assets. Obviously they cannot do so in your case since there is no National Codice Fiscale for a non Italian or non Resident of Italy. Therefore for foreign residents Italian cities either forget about it, or, in many circumstances, they assign the debt to a credit collection agency, part of an international network, which will then try to collect. If you don’t pay, in the future, you may be contacted by a U.S. based credit collection agency part of that network, which will ask you to pay, probably hundreds of $$. They will make multiple contacts trying to collect, however you can write the collection agency a Cease and Desist letter asking them to stop any contact except for notifying they are taking legal action against you or to notify you they cancelled the debt. They cannot notify you they are taking legal action against you if they don’t or if they have no real intention to do so, as that would be a violation of the Fair Credit Practices Act. Therefore they will disappear because they know they have no chance to collect that type of debt in US courts.

There is no reason to get upset at the City of Siena. Yes, Cities all over in Italy use the stratagem of camera enforced ZTL and speed violations like an ATM to finance their deficits. So basically it is a tax. It is a well known fact and Italians, who are affected by these practices much more, don’t like it either. At least you, as a US resident, can afford not to pay and not face the consequences.

In years of driving on vacations in Italy we have had one speeding ticket and never a ZTL ticket although we spent a lot of time in small Tuscan towns with ZTLs. They are clearly marked. BUT we also booked cars outside the ZTL when picking up in cities because exiting can be done but a small mistake and a couple of turns around the block can rack up several tickets as you pass the cameras. So in Florence we rent our cars from the airport. In Siena we would probably use the train station where we can exit without crossing ZTLs. Hiring a driver is incredibly expensive. Paying attention and learning the rules of the road is not. There are also right of way differences in Europe which you need to know to drive safely. so instead of tendentious rants -- do a little research before you go.

ZTLs are how Italy protects the centers of these medieval towns; without them they would be a nightmare.

Interesting this is the only thing about your trip you have chosen to post. Other than this, did you enjoy Italy? We'd love to hear something positive from you.