paying an amende

[hoverfrog]

so I got stopped today in the village - 8 armed police checked over my car, and decided that my front two tyres were a bit worn on the outside rim.

I have to pay 90€ amende (and get new tyres and go to the gendarmerie to get my carte griz back).

The head honcho said I had to go to the nearest tabac and get a timbre-amende and stick it to the sheet and then post it, but of course without driving the car on the road as I'm only allowed to go to the nearest garage! (nearest tabac is 7 km away!)

Anyway, the sheet (on further inspection) says I can pay by cheque - which seems more normal to me!

Has anyone done this by cheque or by timbre-amende? Any advantage one way or the other - is either method more secure? I don't want to send off a cheque then be accused of not paying - the charges go up very steeply if you are late paying. The gendarme told me I had to pay by timbre-amende, and didn't mention the possibility of paying by cheque.

I'm sure if they hadn't been training up the new recruits on the art of routine checks in rural Limousin they'd have let me off with a warning - the car passed it's contrôle technique mid-July and I'm on a 7K/year KM limit because I don't go anywhere!

[Clair]

By paying with a timbre-amende (also called timbre fiscal, although they are slightly different) ensures you get a receipt, which you must keep as proof of payment.

Paying by cheque is possible, but you will not get a receipt.

In some tabacs, it is possible to pay directly using the bar code of the fine... worth investigating?

More info here, but I am not sure it applies to all fines: http://www.radars-auto.com/pv_payer.php

[hoverfrog]

Thanks Clair.

It seems a bit odd to have to go to the tabac to pay a motoring fine, but as you say at least I will have a receipt!

Lucky there's my daughter's car, as I don't fancy the walk :)

[Ford Anglia]

[quote user="hoverfrog"]Thanks Clair. It seems a bit odd to have to go to the tabac to pay a motoring fine, but as you say at least I will have a receipt! Lucky there's my daughter's car, as I don't fancy the walk :)[/quote]

It doesn't seem unusual to me, since most motoring fines seem to be a) sources of revenue, and b) given to an easy target group of individuals who wear "bar codes" on their vehicles for easy identification and are VERY unlikely to kick off. Thus, the thieves, sorry gendarmes, need an easy way for you to be robbed, sorry, pay.

Traffic police: the modern equivalent of "stand and deliver".[:P]

Cue: loads of "holier than thou" types to come on and bleat about how if we don't do the "crime" we won't need to do the time, etc etc, yawn.[Www]

[Sunday Driver]

Cue:  loads of "revenue collector" types to come on and bleat about how the government are only trying to get into our wallets, etc etc, yawn.  [Www]

 

[Cat]

Cue 18 pages of "lively debate" (like the UK plates thread). 

Looks like it's going to be a bumpy ride,  I'll fetch me tin hat [:'(]

[hoverfrog]

well at least they didn't create about my GB driving licence - the recruit didn't know what it was, but the chef said it was an international driving licence and so OK, in spite of the UK address on it.

I wonder if they would've stopped me if I still had my RHD car? They only realised I wasn't french when I asked him to speak a bit slower :)

[Ford Anglia]

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

Cue:  loads of "revenue collector" types to come on and bleat about how the government are only trying to get into our wallets, etc etc, yawn.  [/quote]

LOL, good riposte.

[Sunday Driver]

I'm at my sharpest in the mornings........[;-)]