We went to Italy last November for my nieces 1st birthday (my sister is married to and Italian chap who's parents live near Valdobiadene) we have been there a few times now and love it.. this last trip we stayed in a small town called Asolo . We know you needed a permit to drive into Asolo as my brother inlaws parents told us so when we checked into the hotel they said hey would submit the permit for us (apparently they jus they the local policeman know the car is booked in) so when I received an email from Thrifty saying I had a traffic violation and they were Charing me for the privilege of letting me know I wasn't please to say the least. I immediately called my brother in law who in turn told his mum and she was great she called up the hotel and told them what had happened and they said it was fine they would sort it out with the local police. I did email the hotel to ask if this had been cleared up again no reply I do t want to bother my sisters in laws again (but will if I really have to) I have emailed the rental company who have not replied so i thought it was all sorted only to find this month they have charged our credit card. I am not sure what to do and how do I check the hotel definitely sorted this out with the police? Don't want a massive bill turning up or being stopped in Italy with a big bill next time we go there ? Any advise much appreciated
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16742 posts
p5pam, are you sure the fine is for driving into a restricted area (ZTL) and not something different, like speeding?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23660 posts
There are two parts to your problem. In the rental agreement you agreed to pay an "administrative fee" to the rental agency if they have to look up your name and address for any traffic violation. That is what is happening now. Even if the infraction is dismissed later (hotel took care of it) you are still being hit with the fee and there is no refund. If you were charged again it is probably another violation or it could be the same violation with the hotel but another day. The police have to ask because they don't know if the vehicle was rent by someone else the following day.
If you mil is willing I would turn to over to her. She may actually have to call the police department to get things resolved. The hotel can indicated you were a guest but only the policy can cancel the ticket.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16232 posts
This topic has been covered ad nauseam in this forum, therefore you will find many posts by using the search box above.
Basically many traffic violations in Europe are enforced by photo camera (increasingly in California too because I was photographed in Sacramento this past week at a red light simply because I didn't stop before the white line).
When that happens the authorities send the fine to the registered owner of the vehicle (in your case the rental car company) within 90 days of the infraction. By law the rental car company has 60 days to communicate the name of the person who was renting the vehicle on the date and time the infraction was recorded by the photo camera. Then, once the authorities receive that information, they must send the fine to the renter within 90 days if residing in Italy or 360 days in residing outside of Italy.
Rental car companies charge about 40€ to your credit card each time they have to communicate your name to the authorities for these infractions. That is always stated in the small print of the rental agreement we all sign but never bother to read.
If your fine was for entering the ZTL in that town where your hotel was, something must have gone wrong in the communication by the hotel. Generally the hotel must enter your car info in the City website (so called White List) and in that case the fine is not issued, because the Municipal police always compares the photos with that white list. If something wrong occurred with that communication, that can generally be reversed with an appeal to the Peace Judge or the Prefect (the authority representing the Italian State at the provincial level, who is responsible for law enforcement).
However you don't really know if you received that fine for a ZTL violation in Asolo or another town. Also fines are photo enforced in other circumstances, like red light violations, driving in bus only lanes, and speed limit violations (which is the violation most Italians get fined for because the camera machines give very little leeway).
Now, it is possible that you will never receive the actual fine from the authorities. Some cities don't bother when the violator is outside of Italy, or maybe your relatives may be able to have it reversed if there was a communication mistake by the hotel.
However, I think you have very little recourse against Thrifty for their administrative fee they charge your card for, if they had to communicate your name.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32402 posts
p5,
You may find this thread interesting......
It's my understanding that when permission is granted to go through a ZTL area to reach a hotel, a direct route is specified and this doesn't give visitors the right to wander freely about the ZTL area as they wish. Hopefully Roberto or one of the others can confirm that. If your ticket was for a ZTL infraction, perhaps you didn't use the specified route? Until you get the actual ticket, you won't know what the infraction was.