Hello, has anyone ever had experiance of being fined in spain and appealing against it ? I have just had a truck stopped in irun spain for not having a working speed limiter, which they are right about, they have fined me 3002 euro, which i think is too much, so i left the truck there , and now want to find out how to negotiate , if possible, maybe even low loader it home to get it fixed, has anuone any ideas , or experince on doing this. regards
Try and get hold of Vascoingles via PM, he will be the best to advise you, hes also fairly local to Irun too. Incidentally you have not been fined, you have paid a deposit against the maximum fine that a court in Spain could issue if found guilty. If you remove the vehicle without paying the deposit, both you and the driver would be in very hot water.
Yes , thanks for that, i did look at the border and think, well its worth a try, but then had a rethink, im sure there must be a way to deal with this better than just paying up the whole amount without a fight. all help and contacts most gratefull, i have men down there all this week who can run around a bit if neccesary.
Actually, at this point i have paid nothing, its what they want me to pay.!
I have spoken to Karl
I know a couple lads that have been fined for various offences ive only ever been done in spain last few years for over 90hrs in fornght did 95 hours
was fined 320 euros think that was the maximum for that offence
Anyway about 5/6 months later (takes time in spain) it went to court andhad a letter through in spanish saying it had been to court my options were
appeal
or admit guilty and recieve 25p/cent discount
as on digi and had me bang to right took the 25% discount and sent my bank details and got 80euro back in my account 3 months after that
i know someone who got 5000 euro appealed and at end was down to 500 euro but did take over 12 months to get money back
they are starting to clamp trucks now to stop the drive offs
a freind of mine was done last year in barcelona got driver to come straight back with no docs put private plate on truck and gave driver different truck and kept him away from spain
But if you want your truck back then afraid no option to pay unless you can afford to sit it there for a year
My adecision for your dilemma would be if not clamped and empty otr heading home
do you do spain reguler if not across the border and gone and hope dont get stopped in france for permit take it they taken all your docs
but prob leave it til later on tonight and blow it through the night and get the morning st malo boat cheaper than 3 grand
Know people been fined in france and got away with it aswell
or cheap private plate on truck when you get back and wait for new docs before sending back to spain and prob swap drivers around
but if think can fight it and get fine reduced in court then pay the 3 grand and fight it out later
good luck
I didn’t think you needed a permit for running empty?
Odd isnt it ¬ if there was any hint of one of us “bloody foreigners” doing a runner from the UK without paying a fine or complying with one of vosas ridiculous demands there would be uproar on this site. But it would seem that uk drivers/owners seem able to contemplate flouting our laws without criticism.
Whats worse is the truck was sent here in the full knowledge the limiter was faulty, typical bloody foreigners!
Hombre:
typical bloody foreigners!
quality mark 
Well, there is no chance of doing a runner, as the truck would be very, very easily spotted.I have covered the job with another of my trucks and sent the driver on with the other and double manned it home, so i have covered the job anyway,I havent as yet decided what to do, so i simply left the truck there whilst i make my mind up, it doesnt do to rush these decisions .I am leaning towards appealing the fine, i only use that particular truck for a fun , and as i have another truck to use i am not too disturbed by it all…I shall work it out soon enough, but i still havent paid anything, i feel that they almost hold you to ransom, and that most people would just pay up and move on, giving them a nice earner, , i struggle to give in without a fight myself, so we shall see, if it drags on over three years, i will defo pay up, but i can wait that long, we sahll see !, inshalla !
Hombre, whilst i accept your veiws on leaving without paying the fine, i do have a slight problem with your quote, whats even worse is the truck was sent here knowing the limiter wasnt working, on the grand scale of things, its hardly a hanging offence surely !
richmond:
Hombre, whilst i accept your veiws on leaving without paying the fine, i do have a slight problem with your quote, whats even worse is the truck was sent here knowing the limiter wasnt working, on the grand scale of things, its hardly a hanging offence surely !
No, not a hanging offence. However it is common knowledge that fines in Spain tend to be of the very large variety and it is also common knowledge that a non working speed limiter is an offence. You took a risk, you got caught so not much room for complaint really.
Also if the fine was a couple of hundred Euro you would likely take the chance again. At €3002 you are likely to think twice before risking it, which is one of the reasons for the size of the fine.
richmond:
Well, there is no chance of doing a runner, as the truck would be very, very easily spotted.I have covered the job with another of my trucks and sent the driver on with the other and double manned it home, so i have covered the job anyway,I havent as yet decided what to do, so i simply left the truck there whilst i make my mind up, it doesnt do to rush these decisions .I am leaning towards appealing the fine, i only use that particular truck for a fun , and as i have another truck to use i am not too disturbed by it all…I shall work it out soon enough, but i still havent paid anything, i feel that they almost hold you to ransom, and that most people would just pay up and move on, giving them a nice earner, , i struggle to give in without a fight myself, so we shall see, if it drags on over three years, i will defo pay up, but i can wait that long, we sahll see !, inshalla !
excuse me for being a bit green, but in your quote you say the truck would be easily spotted. you also say you run this truck for fun. what fun do you get from running a halage company on that basis. you also say in three years time you will pay the fine. what age will the truck be in that year. when i was fined in the 90s for having a pallet of tiles on a flat with no ■■■■■■■■. i was fined 1300euros. they took my permit and passport. they were returned when the fine was paid. you reply will be eagerly awaited.
Ouch … I have had my fair share of large fines in Spain over the years and have learnt a valuable lesson. I always make sure, trucks / trailers are uptogether, drivers has no petty infringement on there digicards that they could take advantage of and all documents are in date & present.
I have also found there is no room for negotiation on reducing the fine.
Good luck.
I have this truck for fun, i kept it for old time sake, i also have two passports,and, if you dont try you will never know !.I dont run a tpt co for fun, far from it, there isnt any in it any more !.Its good to see that all of the hauliers on here are whiter than white and it would appear that i must be the only person ever to have veared off the rightuous path…Got to go now, off to find some rope, as it would appear to be a hanging offence… ha ha enjoy !
To Richmond,i bet it was the last peage,(toll) near Irun before the French border,they are always there on both sides,how did they know you had a faulty speed limiter?Did they follow you to record the accurate speed for evidence?Will they take the truck to be inspected at a garage of their dispostion to gain a report.
That area of Spain is notorious for heavy fines,as years ago,they got moaned at by the EU for too lenient fines and drivers getting away with infringements,so they come down hard now.
A Portuguese haulier got done for having his orange marker plates on the rear of the trailer for NOT being bright enough,the sun had faded the orange,he appeared a few hours later with a bundle of thousands of euros to pay at the newish Police station which looks like it cost millions to build,the station is off junction 3 by the toll road to France,it is a silver space aged design,and they wont let drivers in to speak to anyone,i tried that,they dont let trucks to be parked near the security area due to the terrorism threats from ETA,there is a supermarket down the hill,which has a cafe,the Transport office to pay or discuss fine issues is in downtown San Sebastion,a bus ride away,i wouldnt take a truck through San Sebastion.
I was fined 2301 for a 28 day activity attestation form which my boss had wrote on it,not allowed,it was done on line,but cant have biro on it,i was kept there for 7 days,drawing the limit daily from an ATM,and used some running money,the fine was given back to me by my boss on return.Also a machine had moved by 30 cms on the flat bed,it was restrained,and in Burgos,i paid for a crane to re-position the load,it moved again.The fine was no wide load permit,had to get that faxed to Victoria via an agent.Has to 100% transiting the Basque.
Richmond,on another topic,near Sunbilla,i got stopped years ago,and asked if i had a credit/debit card,thinking he was after a fine,i said no,he then walked round the artic,and wanted a fine for no spare tyre on my unit,as i told him i had no funds,which is illegal in Spain,(Vagrancy laws.).I did have cards on me though,wrote to the governement,no joy in getting refunded.
Not whiter than white Richmond, but if you are naughty and get caught, takes your medicine…
As an aside, I had a faulty limiter on a scanny V8 that went down with the tacho whilst I was driving to Scotland from the midlands, nothing I could do about it till I got back, I resisted the urge to see how fast she’d go which took a lot of will power but thought if anyone in the know clocked me it’d be more aggro than it was worth. Made overtaking a load easier though. 