Foreign Speeding Tickets (Australian)

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Earlier this year I was down in Australia and I racked up a photo radar speeding ticket in a rental car. $250 AUD. It's been sitting here for 3 months and I'm still deciding if I should pay this or not. Someone here at work thought it was absurd that I would pay a ticket from around the world when you pay or may not even bother to pay a ticket from the next province over.

Are there any ramifications to not paying this Australia ticket? Visa problems if I should ever want to return?

[Ozy_Flame]

It is held against you when you return. You will have to pay it upon re-entry into the country I believe, plus a possible penalty for late payment.

[STAMPEDRED]

I was thinking that is something you would want to frame!

Not everyone gets to go to another country and bring back a photo radar ticket with them.

I would probably pay it if I thought I was going to ever go back there again. Unless its something like Impark then I would just ignore ituntil they buzz off with thier 20 or so threats in the mail to pay!

[arsenal]

it probably will get charged to the rental company, then charged to your credit card. That happened to me with a parking ticket i got in the US.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by arsenal

it probably will get charged to the rental company, then charged to your credit card. That happened to me with a parking ticket i got in the US.

That's what I was thinking.

Who sent you the ticket? The police or the rental company? I don't know how the police would get your information to send you the ticket, so I assume it would be the rental company, in which case, they'll just charge your credit card if you don't pay them some other way.

[Burninator]

A guy work here got a speeding ticket (around $90 US) when he was in the states. Everyone told him not to pay the ticket as they cannot pursue the fine across the boarder. Well next thing you know he has an American collection agency sending him letters and giving him phone calls about the fine, which by now has doubled. During one of the phone calls he said that he thought they weren't allowed to pursue this across the boarder. After that he stopped getting phone calls and letters. That was about a year after the original fine. Fast forward a another year later when he is applying for a mortgage, as he bought a new hosue. Banks says they can't approve this mortgage as he has a debt with a collection agency for over $500!

So what he thinks happened is the state that he got the fine in hired a collection agency to get the fine from him. And he figured this agency is affiliated with either collection agencies in Canada or the banks here. Either way his wife was none too happy.

I have no idea if Australia does the same thing or not, or whether they are even permitted to do so. But it's something to keep in mind. I'd say don't pay it, then fill us in on the details of the international backlash if it happens.

[getbak]

Somebody's going to get the boot...

[Alana Flames]

My friend and I got a ticket a couple years ago down there. It came with a demand to fix a burnt out headlight. Unfortunately, because we actually owned the car, we couldn't sell it till it was paid.... so we just took it to a sketchy junker for a couple hundred bucks(probably all it was worth anyways). We never paid the ticket, and nothing ever happened, it didn't even turn up on our insurance records even though we had insurance on it over there. However, we havn't returned since... so who knows. Also I think it depends which province you got the ticket in... If you got it in perth I doubt it'll matter if you go back to melbourne, etc...

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by Burninator

A guy work here got a speeding ticket (around $90 US) when he was in the states. Everyone told him not to pay the ticket as they cannot pursue the fine across the boarder.

Many states have agreements with at least some provinces to exchange traffic offense information. I know that in Ontario if you get a ticket in New York state you need to pay it. I've known many people who've gotten caught speeding in NYS and none of them have skipped out on it.

On the other hand, I received some parking tickets in Florida over a decade ago. I ignored them since the most they can do is put a boot on your car if you don't pay on time. Since I wasn't going back to the city in question any time soon, no worries.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by getbak

That's what I was thinking.

Who sent you the ticket? The police or the rental company? I don't know how the police would get your information to send you the ticket, so I assume it would be the rental company, in which case, they'll just charge your credit card if you don't pay them some other way.

In Australia, the rental car company hands your details over to the Police for collections. After a $50 "admin" fee. They don't charge Credit Cards automatically like the do here.

Damn ticket was just outside of Malanda, QLD. 83 in a 60. Speed limits are ridiculously low there.

[tripin_billie]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Fast forward a another year later when he is applying for a mortgage, as he bought a new hosue. Banks says they can't approve this mortgage as he has a debt with a collection agency for over $500!

So what he thinks happened is the state that he got the fine in hired a collection agency to get the fine from him. And he figured this agency is affiliated with either collection agencies in Canada or the banks here. Either way his wife was none too happy.

Wow, that really sounds shady because Candian and American credit ratings are, iirc, by law not supposed to be transferable. IE, an American debt should never have an effect on a Canadian credit rating and so on. I would be pissed.

[burn_baby_burn]

I have four outstanding speeding tickets in Australia and never plan to pay any of them. I used to get sent there for the winter by the company I worked for. The first year I was there I got two tickets. One cop told me I needed to get it paid before I went back to Canada. The other cop joked that if I went back to Canada without paying he wasn't going to hunt me down. A few of the other Canadians in our office in Australia got tickets as well. None of them ever paid them. I had two outstanding speeding tickets and applied for a working visa and went back a year later. No problem. Got another two tickets the second time around. One a photo radar ticket on my rental car. I just put the picture up on my fridge and laughed at it. The Aussie goverment sent me letters for a year afterwards and then gave up.

I also have a few outstanding tickets in Saskatchewan and BC as well. The Saskatchewan government is so stupid. I got a ticket there 10 years ago and never paid it. About 5 years later I got offered a promotion in Saskatoon. When I went and got my SK license I was worried that I was going to be arrested. The outstanding ticket never came up and they gave me a SK licence. They had a collection agency call for a few years after I moved back to Alberta. But they finally gave up.

BC still sends me letters about paying my outstanding tickets there. When I went to get my truck loan the lady at the bank said I had some outstanding debts. I said that it was unpaid BC speeding tickets and the issue was dropped. A buddy of mine who also had unpaid BC speeding tickets, I told him not to pay them, went to get a mortgage a few years ago. The bank told him they woudn't give him a mortgage because of the unpaid BC tickets. He phoned me all pissed off. I said "tell them your going to get your mortgage somewhere else". He did and the matter was dropped.

Sorry for rattling on. Just sharing my experiences with you. But use your own judgement.

[Alana Flames]

careful with not paying canadian tickets... it DOES reflect on your credit. The bank that didn't give your buddy the mortgage wouldn't have been the only one...I work at a bank and I can't tell you how many people I've been forced to decline for stuff because of unpaid tickets, ambulance bills, phone bills, etc. It really does effect your credit which unfortunately effects a ton off other things(bank holds, deposits on utilities, credit limits, job opporitunities...). Often the only people who will give credit to people with bad credit end up charging them a ridiculous rate. Long story short, not paying a ticket from within Canada(and I guess some of the states from reading above) could end up costing you a lot more than the fine in interest charges from wrecked credit.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

general rule of thumb: own up to what you did wrong. If you got a speeding ticket pay it. Even if it's another country, better to be safe than sorry.

If for no other reason karma.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by Alana Flames

careful with not paying canadian tickets... it DOES reflect on your credit. The bank that didn't give your buddy the mortgage wouldn't have been the only one...I work at a bank and I can't tell you how many people I've been forced to decline for stuff because of unpaid tickets, ambulance bills, phone bills, etc. It really does effect your credit which unfortunately effects a ton off other things(bank holds, deposits on utilities, credit limits, job opporitunities...). Often the only people who will give credit to people with bad credit end up charging them a ridiculous rate. Long story short, not paying a ticket from within Canada(and I guess some of the states from reading above) could end up costing you a lot more than the fine in interest charges from wrecked credit.

But my buddy did get a mortgage as soon as he threatened to take his business elsewhere. If you work at a bank I'm sure your not wrong. But! I have numerous unpaid tickets in SK and BC. Since then I have financed a new F-350 and a new house. So maybe my bank is just nice.