parking ticket in italy

There have been reports of Italian authorities using collection agencies to get their fines. That seems to be the main risk you face.

Have you contacted the hotel owner yet? If he sincerely made an effort to fix the problem, surely he could make a phone call to the police and speak to an authority (in Italian) to get the latest on your status. If your hotelier can't or won't do anything, you can search this site for many other discussions of traffic tickets in Italy. They will continue to hound you and you risk increasing penalties if not taken care of. Good luck.

So, sidney, if I get a traffic ticket when I am in Dallas, Texas and I never plan to return there, is it OK with you if I just don't pay it? I can afford to come to Texas from Canada and rent a car and have a nice vacation but I just don't see why I should pay that ticket. Are you OK with that? Pay the darn ticket, sidney, because who knows, it just may be a "european union thing".

Compared to the many other postings on this subject, do think Sidney has a better case given that he tried to comply and had some assurances that he was in compliance. I would take a run at the hotel again for assistance. Curious, where or how did you obtain a handicap plaque? Or were you just using your US's plaque? A US sign has no standing in Europe. No one knows exactly what will happen if you do not pay. Neil will advise you to blow it off. But remember those folks have no risk and it is super easy to say that. For a long time it appeared that nothing would happen. But recently there have been a couple of postings where US based collection agencies have been involved. But no report on the end result. A big concern could be the collection agency dinging your credit report. I would monitor that closely and be prepared to protest loudly should that happen. You are in uncharted waters but let us know what happens so we can provide better advice in the future.

sidney, I don't think anyone here can tell you with any degree of certainty, what will happen if you don't pay the ticket. In addition, HelpLine rules prohibit counselling anyone to break the law. It sounds like you tried to do everything properly, but got nicked anyway. As someone else mentioned, were you using your U.S. handicapped sign, or an Italian one? That may have made a difference. There have been many posts here over the years from people who were told by their hotel staff that they had "registered" the car so it wouldn't be ticketed with ZTL fines. In many cases, they weren't in fact "registered" so the drivers got a ticket anyway. It may be too late to protest the ticket, as the "window" for disputes has probably passed. As someone else mentioned, the first place to start would probably be to contact the person at your hotel who dealt with the local Police on your behalf. They may be able to help? In any case, even if you get the ticket cancelled you may still be out the €30 to the credit card firm, unless you dispute that also. Good luck!

Well... is this fair? Probably not. Would I risk not paying it if I ever wanted to rent a car in Europe again from Hertz? Probably not. I would be worried the whole time it might have resulted in some sort of warrant (and I'm usually not a worrier) I would just be done with all the nonsense (after 1 last try with the hotel) and pay it and just pretend I spent it on a great dinner. Money gone.

I hgot a ticket in the UK.. Actually wrote to the issuing police and requested that they send me the cost and how to settle it. They wrote back that it was not worth the efort and quote "the matter was dropped". However I carry a copy of this reply and the dismissal notice with me when ever I am again in the UK.. JUST IN CASE.
So when all else fails, fall on the sword and write the police ,offer to pay etc see what they say. It worked for me. HF