Foreign speeding ticket

[dirk01]

If, hypothetically, I had got a foreign speed ticket in a hire car, say (for the sake of discussion) 58kph in a 50kph limit), would I have to declare that to my UK insurer?

[Cooperman]

What's to declare. You would not have been found guilty as you would not have been to court. You won't be paying any so-called 'fine' and will receive no points.

[DBSV8]

dirk01 said:

If, hypothetically, I had got a foreign speed ticket in a hire car, say (for the sake of discussion) 58kph in a 50kph limit), would I have to declare that to my UK insurer?

hypothetically you can file the speeding ticket in the trash can , no need to pay

[stemll]

DBSV8 said:

hypothetically you can file the speeding ticket in the trash can , no need to pay

Except that, being in a hire car, the hire company will probably pay it and charge the OP accordingly while adding on their "admin" charge. So the OP only has an additional hire charge and why would an insurer want to know about that

[dirk01]

stemll said:

DBSV8 said:

hypothetically you can file the speeding ticket in the trash can , no need to pay

Except that, being in a hire car, the hire company will probably pay it and charge the OP accordingly while adding on their "admin" charge. So the OP only has an additional hire charge and why would an insurer want to know about that

That is exactly what happened. Hypothetically

[ekona]

The question asked is normally this:

"Have you had any driving related convictions, endorsements, penalties, disqualifications or bans in the past 5 years?"

If that is how it's phrased, then the answer is yes and you should declare. In the real world, would I bother? Hypothetically, no I wouldn't.

[HantsRat]

ekona said:

The question asked is normally this:

"Have you had any driving related convictions, endorsements, penalties, disqualifications or bans in the past 5 years?"

If that is how it's phrased, then the answer is yes and you should declare. In the real world, would I bother? Hypothetically, no I wouldn't.

Well no he hasn't. He hasn't been found guilty and has not admitted to the offence. The hire car paid the penalty for him. He has just been charged an invoice from the hire car company which is not a conviction or penalty.

[Ekona]

Semantics, but I agree with you. However, was it the hire company that was speeding? No, it was the driver, and the insurance company are trying to figure out their level of risk for the policy. It's reasonable to tell them of the fact the OP was caught speeding in another country.

I still wouldn't bother, and tbh I'm just playing devil's advocate here, but really the correct answer is to tell the insurer and let them make the judgement call. They may care, or they may not, but at least you've disclosed.

[DBSV8]

Ekona said:

Semantics, but I agree with you. However, was it the hire company that was speeding? No, it was the driver, and the insurance company are trying to figure out their level of risk for the policy. It's reasonable to tell them of the fact the OP was caught speeding in another country.

I still wouldn't bother, and tbh I'm just playing devil's advocate here, but really the correct answer is to tell the insurer and let them make the judgement call. They may care, or they may not, but at least you've disclosed.

there is no reciprocal agreement between foreign countries as yet to disclose traffic offences / speeding tickets that occur abroad .
as stated the op was not convicted of the offence , he would have simply lost part of his deposit / extra surcharge .
This will not count against him on his insurance in his home country

[Ekona]

You're right, countries don't have to disclose between states. However, the insurance company is trying to assess their risk, so for full disclosure just tell them and let them decide whether to make an issue of it or not.

I wouldn't bother, but to be 100% safe it's always best to err on the side of caution with things like this.

[dirk01]

HantsRat said:

ekona said:

The question asked is normally this:

"Have you had any driving related convictions, endorsements, penalties, disqualifications or bans in the past 5 years?"

If that is how it's phrased, then the answer is yes and you should declare. In the real world, would I bother? Hypothetically, no I wouldn't.

Well no he hasn't. He hasn't been found guilty and has not admitted to the offence. The hire car paid the penalty for him. He has just been charged an invoice from the hire car company which is not a conviction or penalty.

Not entirely true. I think I misled before.

The hire car company charged me for finding me. Still me that has to pay the fine overseas

[caziques]

Do a chargeback on the credit card for any additional items added after the hire period has ended.

At the very least the car hire company will have to spend some time justifying their charge, which they can't charge for.

Until the speeding "fine" is paid it remains an allegation, and there is really no justification for passing on hirer details (there is no proof the hirer was the driver, and there is no proof an offence even occurred,until it's paid).

[DBSV8]

dirk01 said:

HantsRat said:

ekona said:

The question asked is normally this:

"Have you had any driving related convictions, endorsements, penalties, disqualifications or bans in the past 5 years?"

If that is how it's phrased, then the answer is yes and you should declare. In the real world, would I bother? Hypothetically, no I wouldn't.

Well no he hasn't. He hasn't been found guilty and has not admitted to the offence. The hire car paid the penalty for him. He has just been charged an invoice from the hire car company which is not a conviction or penalty.

Not entirely true. I think I misled before.

The hire car company charged me for finding me. Still me that has to pay the fine overseas

you do realise that you have no obligation to pay the fine , it depends how often you will be returning to that particular country

as stated back charge your card and job done

[martinbiz]

The hire co will not have paid the ticket (assuming this is Europe) they cannot do this. If it is a criminal offence (ie speeding)it is to do with the driver not the hire co. The charge will be an admin charge for the paperwork to supply your details to the relevant authorities and any enforcement or fines will then follow from them or they may not bother, all pretty much the same as over here. Parking offences and similar are relevant to the owner / keeper and are a different matter, they will usually pay them and then charge you plus an admin fee.

Any admin fees they apply are not chargeable back on your CC as someone has suggested. You will have signed up to their T's and C's when you hired the car and these fees will be in there however carefully hidden.

Edited by martinbiz on Thursday 25th June 14:34

[dirk01]

DBSV8 said:

you do realise that you have no obligation to pay the fine , it depends how often you will be returning to that particular country

Fair bit

[caziques]

martinbiz said:

The hire co will not have paid the ticket (assuming this is Europe) they cannot do this. If it is a criminal offence (ie speeding)it is to do with the driver not the hire co. The charge will be an admin charge for the paperwork to supply your details to the relevant authorities and any enforcement or fines will then follow from them or they may not bother, all pretty much the same as over here. Parking offences and similar are relevant to the owner / keeper and are a different matter, they will usually pay them and then charge you plus an admin fee.

Any admin fees they apply are not chargeable back on your CC as someone has suggested. You will have signed up to their T's and C's when you hired the car and these fees will be in there however carefully hidden.

Edited by martinbiz on Thursday 25th June 14:34

Any charge on a credit card can be charged back. The entity who put the charge on has to show the cc company the amount was correct - which takes time. At the worst the card company will reverse the chargeback.

[martinbiz]

caziques said:

Any charge on a credit card can be charged back. The entity who put the charge on has to show the cc company the amount was correct - which takes time. At the worst the card company will reverse the chargeback.

The pedants on this forum get worse. Yes agreed, so the net result is no chargeback! It may take a week or a month.