Florence · rental cars and ZTL fines
A rental company letter that looks like a fine: how to recognise it
Sometimes what reaches you after a rental is not the real notice, but a letter from the rental company that looks like one. Here is how to tell the difference and what to do.
A letter that looks like a fine, but is not
In our work we have often seen a practice of rental companies that we find not very transparent: the customer does not receive the real notice, the one issued by the Polizia Municipale, but a letter from the rental company that looks like a fine. At first sight it seems the same thing. It is not.
How to notice it
You notice it by what is missing. A letter of this kind leaves out exactly the information the customer and the garage need to reconstruct what happened: the date of the event, the time and the place of the offence. The real notice reports them; if they are not in the sheet you are holding, you are not reading the notice of the Polizia Municipale.
Why it is a problem
Without date, time and place the garage cannot work out the cause of the event, and so cannot help you have the fine cancelled. But the greater harm is to you: without a real notice to challenge, and with the essential details left out, you find yourself answering for a penalty under the Highway Code without knowing what you are accused of and without being able to exercise the right of defence. This is a cornerstone of our legal system, and it matters even more before the acts of the public administration, which are sometimes issued even when the conditions for them are not met: that is why being able to challenge them is essential.
What to do
Do not pay on the basis of a letter that does not tell you what happened, where and when. Ask to receive the real notice, with the date, time and place of the offence, and remember that the appeal is filed against the notice addressed to you, within 60 days of its notification (see ZTL fine with a rental car and how to appeal to the Prefetto). As soon as you have it, contact the garage with the parking ticket: with those details the story can be reconstructed and the appeal prepared. For City Parking write to multe.ztl@gmail.com or phone the garage (Fiesolana, Via Venezia, Borgo Pinti).
ZTL fines: all guides
ZTL fine for foreign drivers · When does a ZTL fine arrive? · Why keep your garage parking ticket · ZTL fine with a rental car · Rental company letter or real fine? (you are here) · Pay the ZTL fine or appeal? · Can the garage appeal for me? · Prefetto or Giudice di Pace? · How to appeal a ZTL fine · Rental company fees for fines
Questions from international drivers
How do I tell a rental company letter from the real notice?
By what is missing: the letter omits the date, the time and the place of the offence, which the real notice of the Polizia Municipale reports.
Why is the letter a problem?
Without date, time and place the garage cannot work out the cause of the event or help you, and you cannot know what you are accused of or exercise the right of defence.
Should I pay on the basis of the letter?
No. Ask to receive the real notice, with the date, time and place of the offence.
When does the appeal have to be filed?
Against the notice addressed to you, within 60 days of its notification. As soon as you have it, contact the garage with the parking ticket.