I can’t wrap my head around how people can ignore all those red flags. 2-3 days ago I just got a text from a random number about some parking fine. Not just that, but it said that that day was the last day I could get a 50% DISCOUNT on the fine. A fucking DISCOUNT! What’s next? I can use my Nectar card? Do I get a loyalty card with a stamp on it? But it’s not even the fact that I wasn’t contacted by mail, or there was no other contact given; I don’t even have a fucking car. Or a driving license in this country.
Ha ha, my random text was really vague about what council had issued the bogus parking ticket. By contrast when I strayed into a bus lane one time I got a letter from my council, complete with a very clear photo of me driving my car in said bus lane. And yes, I got a discount for paying right away.
Yeah that’s normal in Britain for council and government fines (as opposed to often unenforceable private parking charges). The shitty part is that if you try to dispute it they don’t put the timer on hold so you essentially play double or nothing on how strong you think your case is. Lose and you have to pay the full thing. Not bitter at all.
Wait, is it normal to have a discount or is it normal to only have the notification in a text message on your phone and nowhere else? Because the latter is rather worrying.
I got a fine for not getting my bus ticket stamped in Florence, Italy. Apparently if you paid it the same day it was one price and that price doubled after a week, month, etc.
Didn’t matter the machine failed when I stamped it because it was out of ink. I even tried to stamp it in front of the officer. He said I could appeal it in person in court. They know tourists aren’t going to appear in court to appeal. I felt scammed but after calming myself down and paying the fine the officer apologized and told me in a few words he hated his job.
They also can’t force a tourist to pay a fine. And it’s not a criminal matter, so they’ll never be able to deny you visa on these grounds.
When the same happened to me I laughed into their faces, they wrote down my passport data and address and kept sending me snail mail with threats for years till I moved. I’m still waiting for the day they’ll force me to pay the 30€ or whatever that was.
I can’t wrap my head around how people can ignore all those red flags. 2-3 days ago I just got a text from a random number about some parking fine. Not just that, but it said that that day was the last day I could get a 50% DISCOUNT on the fine. A fucking DISCOUNT! What’s next? I can use my Nectar card? Do I get a loyalty card with a stamp on it? But it’s not even the fact that I wasn’t contacted by mail, or there was no other contact given; I don’t even have a fucking car. Or a driving license in this country.
Ha ha, my random text was really vague about what council had issued the bogus parking ticket. By contrast when I strayed into a bus lane one time I got a letter from my council, complete with a very clear photo of me driving my car in said bus lane. And yes, I got a discount for paying right away.
Yeah that’s normal in Britain for council and government fines (as opposed to often unenforceable private parking charges). The shitty part is that if you try to dispute it they don’t put the timer on hold so you essentially play double or nothing on how strong you think your case is. Lose and you have to pay the full thing. Not bitter at all.
Wait, is it normal to have a discount or is it normal to only have the notification in a text message on your phone and nowhere else? Because the latter is rather worrying.
I got a fine for not getting my bus ticket stamped in Florence, Italy. Apparently if you paid it the same day it was one price and that price doubled after a week, month, etc.
Didn’t matter the machine failed when I stamped it because it was out of ink. I even tried to stamp it in front of the officer. He said I could appeal it in person in court. They know tourists aren’t going to appear in court to appeal. I felt scammed but after calming myself down and paying the fine the officer apologized and told me in a few words he hated his job.
They also can’t force a tourist to pay a fine. And it’s not a criminal matter, so they’ll never be able to deny you visa on these grounds.
When the same happened to me I laughed into their faces, they wrote down my passport data and address and kept sending me snail mail with threats for years till I moved. I’m still waiting for the day they’ll force me to pay the 30€ or whatever that was.
Well, that’s rather reassuring.
Discounts on speeding tickets are a thing in my country. Maybe they were from somewhere else and assumed it was a thing there too? 😂
I wouldn’t be surprised, considering the accent of scammers calling me with phone plans and stuff.