Problems With Autoeurope In Italy???

I didn't have a problem last year, but it hasn't been a year and I know ZTL fines can come in later. However I know with 100% certainty I didn't cross any ZTL cameras, so i don't see how they could fabricate that. I mean, this is Hertz, a huge multinational corporation, I don't see why they would attempt to fabricate fees and risk that kind of drama. But I guess anything is possible.

I imagine thousands and thousands and thousands of people rent from Hertz in Italy every year, and I've never heard of this before, one would think it would come up a lot on these and other boards if it were a big problem?

That's what I was thinking too Debra, but when I read what Steve posted it started freaking me out!

http://ask.metafilter.com/25493/Long-distance-parking-violation

"The rental car company will absolutely hunt you down. Anybody who says otherwise is full of xxxx. Me: parking ticket in Germany. Hertz: charged the card I used to rent the car. "

"This happened to me with Hertz in Italy. I got a ticket and couldn't figure out how to pay it, so I just let Hertz deal with it. About 60 days later, I got a letter from Hertz saying that the ticket had been paid and my credit card had been charged the cost plus a small additional fee......"

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=570523

" When I got a speed camera ticket on a rental in New Zealand the nice people at Hertz were kind enough to pay the ticket and charge my credit card for the amount. Keep an eye on whatever card you used for the rental..........

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/rent-a-car-risk-a-ticket-surprise.aspx

...and in the US:
"..........Hertz received hundreds of thousands of tickets annually worth millions of dollars in fines, says spokeswoman Paula Rivera. Hertz would pay those tickets, try to figure out who was renting the vehicle at the time and then go after the renter (usually charging his or her credit card and adding a $20 service charge), Rivera says."

It would seem to me that if the rental car company pays the ticket and then goes after the renter, any option to appeal is gone.

.........my point exactly! That is why I refuse to rent from Hertz.........they don't give you the option of appealing.

'They have been known' rather than 'this is what the butt-heads did to me', makes it seem anectdotal and passed down info rather than a personal experiece.

I wouldn't worry about it. I'd use who ever had the best deal.

When Hertz - or any other rental company - receives a request from a Police Authority in Italy for information on a person renting a car, they HAVE to comply, and they ARE going to charge you administrative costs. If the rental agency pays a fine for you, of course they're going to charge you for that as well.

I think you will find this issue covered in every rental contract from every rental company.

It's a mistake to single out Hertz; Avis or Budget or any other company would do exactly the same thing.

What concerned me was that I felt that Steve was implying that Hertz would do this, even if you did not go into a ZTL, etc. Maybe I just misunderstood what he was trying to say.

Of course any rental agency would have to comply with the authorities if the renter actually breaks the law. To expect any different would be naive, no matter what agency someone rents from.

Here's the real deal. Whether he knew it or not, Steve drove into a ZTL. The police have pictures of the license plate and in some cases, Steve smiling as he's driving through. It takes time for the Police to track down the license plate and contact the owner. If the owner is a rental car company, they will rat you out. They all do it. I believe that some companies will place all charges onto your credit card using your previous credit card information.

You have 60 days to appeal but as we have learned from many posts on this site, you get a notice from some type of collection agency up to a year later. It seems that the rental car company doesn't even have the decency to inform you about the ticket.

CLICK HERE for some information about the ZTL process.

we rented from Hertz and our rental agreement said they were authorized to charge an administration fee to our credit card for any traffic offenses. my understanding is that the fee is for reporting your name and address to the police so they can send you notice of the ticket. they would do this only if traffic cams caught you for some reason. and I believe other rental agencies would do the same.

this is no reason to avoid Hertz. we got a better rate from then than from AutoEurope this last time, although we have also used AutoEurope in the past with no problems.

just be careful about the ZTL areas and obey the speed limits.

Thanks everyone. I got a good deal, so I am keeping my reservation as is!

Hertz didn't give you the ticket - the traffic authorities did. If you want to appeal, you'd appeal to them. If you haven't yet received the actual ticket in the mail, you eventually will, although it may take months. The ticket will also contain information on how to contest the fine, if you think you have a case.

Once again, it's not right to blame Hertz. They're only the messenger. In fact, their paying your fine may even have saved you from a late fee imposed by the traffic authoirities.

The point may be that not all rental car companies handle traffic tickets by charging you for the fine themselves. (Unless Italy is an exception.)

Unknown to me at the time, I received a speeding ticket (6 mph over the limit) due to a traffic camera in the Lake District in England about three years ago.

Alamo sent me a letter a few months later telling me they'd charged my credit card an administrative fee - I think it was $60 - for dealing with it and that I might be hearing from the English authorities regarding a fine.

With the sketchy information in their letter, I found a website for the Cumbria Constabulary and sent an email to a random email address on the site asking what I should do to take care of it.

A week later someone replied, saying that after looking into the matter they weren't going to pursue it. I guess I got lucky.

Sacramento Andrea: Just don't break any Italian laws and it will be a moot point! Have fun.

"The point may be that not all rental car companies handle traffic tickets by charging you for the fine themselves."

Which is why you should always read your rental contract to find out how your particular rental company handles traffic fines.

I could be wrong, but I think that somewhere in most rental contracts, you authorize the rental company to charge your credit card for traffic fines, administrative fees, etc.

As usual, it's all in the fine print.