![]() ![]() The French Interior Ministry told me that fines must be issued within a year of the infraction, so you’re almost off the hook. ![]() For you, Henry, that year actually expired earlier this month, though the point is moot since you got your bank to reverse the charges. In fact, as Europcar told you in one exchange, their policy is to refund that fee upon request if the customer does not receive the violation notice in one year. Whether 45 (or 60) euros is an appropriate fee for simply passing along an address is an open question, but Europcar and Sicily by Car both disclose this policy in their terms and conditions, and companies worldwide have similar policies. That jarred a memory from my own travels, and I unearthed an email I received in July 2018 from Sicily By Car, charging me a 60-euro processing fee for an unspecified traffic fine that I never received. In reporting on your story, I spoke to several people who received traffic violation notices up to 18 months after renting a car in Europe. But you told me you haven’t received it, which is not surprising. That’s why all the company could tell you at first is the time and date of your offenses, although it eventually determined they were speeding infractions of some kind - but would not tell me how they got the additional information.Īs required by law, Europcar turned over your name and San Francisco address to the French Interior Ministry, which should have sent you an avis de contravention - the violation notice - by mail. “The regulatory framework is so strict that you are always on the verge of infringing G.D.P.R.,” said the Europcar official. At least as interpreted by French authorities, it prohibits government from sharing data with a third party, in this case, Europcar, about where you were and what you did. Case closed.īut things in the European Union are more complicated, thanks in part to a 2018 law called the General Data Protection Regulation. #MY PASSPORT STUDIO DRIVER PLUS#The rental company charges your credit card for the fine, plus an administrative fee and pays the government. #MY PASSPORT STUDIO DRIVER LICENSE#Police run the license plate, connect it to the rental company, send over the details of your misdeeds (often with a grainy photo of your car, caught in the act). Had this happened in the United States or many other countries, the process would have been straightforward. This much you already know, from the sparse details Europcar originally sent to you. 15, 2021, the car you were driving was flagged by two different traffic cameras at 2:17 and 2:22 p.m. And some even better news - you actually ended up 45 euros ahead of where you started. ![]() I had a very long video call with a friendly and forthcoming Europcar official - who asked not to be identified because it is against company policy to speak publicly - and he told me the company made some mistakes in your case and would end its attempts to recover money from you. Even if you’re fine with stick shifts and aren’t in one of the many countries where people drive on the left (Japan! Barbados!), you still have to contend with differing traffic laws, confusing insurance requirements, baffling road signs and an appalling lack of Cheetos at highway rest stops.īut you, sir, have stumbled upon a perfect storm of car rental trouble - not a scam, but a nightmarish intersection of European privacy laws, molasses-like bureaucracy, international snail mail and French customer service agents whose English could be clearer.įirst, some good news. Renting a car abroad can be tricky business. Can you help? Henry, San Francisco Dear Henry, I found that highly doubtful - and somewhat akin to going to a doctor who claimed she couldn’t tell me my diagnosis for privacy reasons! My credit card reversed the charges, but Europcar has since sent a collection agency after me. When I asked Europcar for details, I was told they couldn’t tell me because of privacy regulations. I wrote to ask what the charges pertained to and received a response that seemed to imply (although it did not categorically state) that the charges were fees related to traffic tickets issued to me while I had the car. The next month, I saw two charges from Europcar of 45 euros each on my credit card. In September 2021, I rented a car from Europcar in Paris, used it for a day and returned it. ![]()
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