# This got to be a speeding ticket



## billyk (Jan 17, 2008)

I was sort of surprised and amused when I see a mail from Germany today. It said "Polizei" on the envelope. It has to be belated speeding ticket.

The only thing I can tell is Euro 36.17, Deutsche Bank Rheinfelden, Luzern/Bern, Autobahn A2...etc. There's something about CHF 60.00. Base on the date, I was on my way from the Ring to Interlaken. 

It is so German that I can't tell what does it say. I want to land myself in Germany again in the future. So folks, how do I pay? (BTW, this should be a sticky)


Gemessene Geschwindigkeit: 93 km/h
Abzug Sicherheitsmarge -5 km/h
Massgebende Geschwindigkeit 88km/h
Abzug Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzung: 80km/h
Geschwindigkeitsuberschreitung: 8km/h

Thanks
Will


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## billyk (Jan 17, 2008)

Yes. It is German. But it is actually a ticket from Switzerland.


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## john lance (Oct 15, 2005)

Yes, it is a Swiss speeding ticket. You were captured on camera doing 93 Kms in an 80 Km zone. They are allowing a margin of error of 5 Kms and fining you on the basis of doing 88 Kms, for which the fine is 60 Swiss Francs, or 36.17 Euros.

You can pay the fine by either transferring the money into the account for which the details have been provided, giving the case number as the reference or you can ask a favor of anyone going over to Germany & Switzerland in the near future, give them $50 and ask them to walk into any Deutsche Bank branch with the "Zahlschein" that you have received and handing it over with the payment.


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## Northcar (Sep 21, 2005)

john lance said:


> Yes, it is a Swiss speeding ticket. You were captured on camera doing 93 Kms in an 80 Km zone. They are allowing a margin of error of 5 Kms and fining you on the basis of doing 88 Kms, for which the fine is 60 Swiss Francs, or 36.17 Euros.
> 
> You can pay the fine by either transferring the money into the account for which the details have been provided, giving the case number as the reference or you can ask a favor of anyone going over to Germany & Switzerland in the near future, give them $50 and ask them to walk into any Deutsche Bank branch with the "Zahlschein" that you have received and handing it over with the payment.


Could he just take it to a bank himself the next time if and when he goes to Switzerland or are there delay penalties. If so, how much time does one have to make the payment? Wouldn't bank fees equal the fine otherwise?


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## Gran Turismo (Aug 7, 2006)

Northcar said:


> If so, how much time does one have to make the payment?


For us locals it's something like 30 days. By paying the fine, the infraction is considered as agreed and the case as settled. If it's not paid, then the case is taken to court, which means MUCH higher fines and fees in any case as long as the evidence (camera foto) can not be debated.

Maybe the "grace period" in this case is a bit longer due to the delays related to find out the driver abroad (from a Swiss perspective) and the time it takes for the mail getting to the US. But I would not expect any additional mercy for US citizens given the current ongoing tensions regarding the Swiss banking secrecy. 

Now how to pay? 
There should be some pink slip attached, looking roughly like this http://www.familienratdavos.ch/files/Link_Einzahlungsschein.gif
Under "Einzahlung für" you should find the name of the bank where you should transfer the amount.
Under "Zugunsten von" the recipient (=police) containing the bank account number in the first line
And in the white lower right corner you should find a reference number which you'll add as reference number or comment for this transfer.


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## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

Northcar said:


> Wouldn't bank fees equal the fine otherwise?


Depends on your bank. Our American bank charges $40.



Gran Turismo said:


> And in the white lower right corner you should find a reference number which you'll add as reference number or comment for this transfer.


It has been our experience that some American banks don't know how to add a reference number. At many US banks, international wires are a very uncommon transaction and no one in the branch knows what to do.

OP needs to make sure that the reference number does get added, otherwise your payment will get lost.

Make sure they do the transaction in the foreign currency. The two banks we use in Atlanta both prefer to do the transaction in dollars. The problem is that the exchange rate always changes by the time the wire actually goes through. With a dollar based wire it is almost certain you will send an incorrect amount.


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## billyk (Jan 17, 2008)

There are Bank names and account numbers on the payment slip. I just have no idea where I can go to transfer it. I wonder if my bank would do such a transfer. Suddenly I wish Paypal works here. :rofl:

There's a phone number to call also. Dont' think it would help.

W


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## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

I would just certify mail a check made out for the USD equivalent, plus some wiggle room for exchange rates. Bank transfers are expensive.

The bad part that you got it from the Swiss. Had it been the Italians or the Portuguese, you could've totally LOLed at it and just forgotten the whole thing. The Swiss OTOH will probably exhume your grave in Antarctica to demand an explanation for a fine unpaid a century ago.


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## FrankAZ (Feb 19, 2009)

*Foreign payments*

I have an XE Trade account. I mostly use it for moving infrequent but largish sums across the Atlantic between my US$, GBP and Euro accounts. But I have also used it for small transfers such as your parking fine. I got fed up of using high-street banks who charge extraordinary fees for what is for them an extraordinary service.

The two big advantages are a very favorable exchange rate much closer to the instant interbank rates than the horrible high-street bank rates which are typically 4% worse; and very low fees. For a transfer such as yours the fee would be only the wiring fee into the Swiss account, typically $19.50 in recent weeks.

It takes about a week to set up your XE Trade account because you have to prove your identity and ownership of the US account from which you will EFT the money. All responses to them are done using a secure website though so no need for FedEx or other expenses.

Essentially XE Trade act as an intermediate 3rd party. You EFT (no charge) money to your account with them and they exchange it and forward the proceeds to the destination. It takes about 5 working days from 'click' to the money being deposited in the overseas account, YMMV.

Today you have to wire Euros from their system into destination Euro accounts; soon they promise free direct deposits to Euro accounts using EFT and then the whole exchange would be no-charge. XE Trade get their cut by operating a slim spread between the currencies and using their expertise to get (they hope) an even better rate than the one they commit to when you 'book' the exchange.

See http://www.xetrade.com


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## Boraxo (Sep 6, 2005)

Consider yourself fortunate - I wish the one I received from Australia was that cheap. 113 km in a 100km zone (ridiculous, would not even be within the margin of error for a US cop with a radar gun) and the fine was close to $200. At that price I decided to blow it off and take my chances next time at immigration 

For $36 I would have gladly paid with a day.


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## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

billyk said:


> There are Bank names and account numbers on the payment slip. I just have no idea where I can go to transfer it.


Most (all?) US banks can do an international wire. Even our credit union was able to wire money. Finding someone in your local branch that can do one correctly can be a little harder.

Getting an XE account is another option. It would cost less. For just one transaction it is a perhaps too much trouble. You have to send them all your personal information too. I've Already had my personal information compromised once. Not by XE, but the experience has made me very cautious about giving out information.


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

PM send


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## b-y (Sep 14, 2004)

Boraxo said:


> Consider yourself fortunate - I wish the one I received from Australia was that cheap. ... At that price I decided to blow it off and take my chances next time at immigration
> 
> For $36 I would have gladly paid with a day.


Wait a minute...isn't it still *required* that you *must have been convicted of a felony *to enter Australia? :angel:


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## chrischeung (Sep 1, 2002)

Boraxo said:


> Consider yourself fortunate - I wish the one I received from Australia was that cheap. 113 km in a 100km zone (ridiculous, would not even be within the margin of error for a US cop with a radar gun) and the fine was close to $200. At that price I decided to blow it off and take my chances next time at immigration
> 
> For $36 I would have gladly paid with a day.


It's a form of taxation. 20mph over, and your license is suspended for 1 month. 30mph over, and its 3 months. Plus radar detectors are illegal. And the chances of fighting a ticket in court are next to nil. All the locals know this and drive accordingly.

My first major infraction in Australia was for 30mph+ over the limit, was a 1 month suspension, and USD300 fine - and that was 19 years ago. It's much more expensive now, and they have speed cameras. I no longer renew my Australian driver's license - if I get caught now, its only money - before it was money and points.

I'd almost wager that doing 113 km that day made you one of the fastest cars on that road.


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## billyk (Jan 17, 2008)

This is an exciting problem to resolve in this boring Winter. If I had a hidden account in Switzerland, it would be such a problem. 

Initially my bank said I need to provide a SWIFT number of the remote bank. Then they said they can only wire US dollar with a SWIFT code. Exchange rate is not guaranteed. To get thing sort out completely, I need an IBAN number.

IBAN is an ISO standard bank account number. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Bank_Account_Number
Although the ticket is from Switzerland, the bank account is a Deutsche Bank account. Using the IBAN generation tab from the following link, I generated an IBAN number in the correct format for a Germany bank account.
http://www.suche-blz.de/

I also double checked with another site.
http://www.ibanconverter.eu/

So it is good to go to help the the Euro economy. If you don't see me post update, that means it work fine tomorrow.

Billy


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

billyk said:


> This is an exciting problem to resolve in this boring Winter. If I had a hidden account in Switzerland, it would be such a problem.
> 
> Initially my bank said I need to provide a SWIFT number of the remote bank. Then they said they can only wire US dollar with a SWIFT code. Exchange rate is not guaranteed. To get thing sort out completely, I need an IBAN number.
> 
> ...


Billy,
If you need SWIFT IBAN number for your Bank *and Branch* - let me know.
To transfer Fedwire thru SWIFT you need to know ABA for your Bank in US and your account number and SWIFT IBAN number for Bank (including branch) and Beneficiary account number - in your case SWISS Police/DMW .
Not every Bank in US has Fedwire office, only big one has SWIFT account. Fedwire can send money thru SWIFT but only in USD.


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## Bikie (May 2, 2004)

I would mail them a check in U$ dollar equivalent. I don't think that will be a problem. I have paid other bills in Europe this way. I once (1970)even paid for a car(Mercedes 250SE} with a check on a US bank.


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## iversonm (Nov 15, 2004)

coontie said:


> The Swiss OTOH will probably exhume your grave in Antarctica to demand an explanation for a fine unpaid a century ago.


As Rolf told me once, "The Swiss? They're more German than the Germans!"


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## zoltrix (Mar 14, 2007)

iversonm said:


> As Rolf told me once, "The Swiss? They're more German than the Germans!"


yea, if you search, there was a post from some dude who got a knock on a door at his hotel room, many years past and found some Swiss dudes asking for money for some unpaid parking ticket. I forgot the details or who posted it but I think it was in some other European country even.


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## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

billyk said:


> This is an exciting problem to resolve in this boring Winter. If I had a hidden account in Switzerland, it would be such a problem.


If you make speeding in a Europe a habbit, open an offshore bank account in Euros.

Seriously. We have accounts in both the US and the UK. Makes the whole thing much easier.


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