I’ve been sent a parking ticket from a holiday in Italy a year ago – do I still have to pay? Consumer rights lawyer DEAN DUNHAM replies

I’ve just been sent two parking tickets for €98 (£82) from Italy. I was on holiday there more than a year ago – and they’ve only just been issued. Do I have to pay?

J.B., via email

Dean Dunham replies: The Italian Highway Code, or ‘Codice della Strada,’ is the cornerstone of road safety and traffic regulation in Italy. It covers everything from speed limits to traffic signals and parking regulations.

Article 260 of the code deals with offences committed by foreign nationals and states that a notice of violation of the traffic code must be sent to the foreigner within 360 days of discovery of the violation.

However, the notification time may be extended to 450 days if the driver living abroad has committed an offence in a rental car. 

In which case, the notification must be sent to the car rental company within 90 days, following which the rental company has 360 days to send the penalty notice to the offender.

So, in your case, it sounds like the parking tickets have been sent out of time. If so and you were driving your own vehicle, respond to the tickets and cite this fact and invite them to withdraw the charges.

However, if you were driving a rental car at the time, my advice is to pay the tickets, despite the time issue.

I say this because in Italy when you receive a fine while driving a rental car the fine is notified to all rental companies until it is paid, meaning it is difficult to hire a car again if you have an unpaid fine against your name.

If you pay the fine in Italy, the fee is cut by 30 per cent if paid within five days. You, of course, never had the opportunity to do this – and nor would most holidaymakers.

Another reason not to ignore fines from overseas is that authorities may use debt collection agencies to recover fines. 

These agencies operate across Europe and are appointed by authorities in one country to act on their behalf to recover fines in another country.

If you are contacted by a debt collection agency, it’s important to address the situation promptly. 

You’re not left in any doubt if you’re speeding, as police will charge you on the spot – in Italy fines start at €42 (£35) for going 10kph over the speed limit and can reach up to €21,714 (£18,278) for exceeding it by 40-60kph.  

Can I get my money back for a late delivery? 

I ordered an outfit online from a High Street shop for a family wedding and paid extra for guaranteed named-day delivery. 

My parcel did not arrive on the set day and the store says the courier is to blame, not them. Can I get my money back?

P.N., via email

Dean Dunham replies: When the shop offered you named-day delivery and you accepted and paid for this, it became a term of the contract between you.

So, when the outfit failed to arrive on the named day the shop breached your contract, leaving you entitled to a refund for the delivery charge you paid.

The shop’s position is totally wrong and legally flawed, as the delivery contract is between itself and the courier and does not include you.

For this reason, the shop cannot use the courier’s failure as an excuse not to refund you; instead, it should refund the delivery charges and then take the issue up with the courier.

You should therefore cite the above and demand a full refund of the delivery charges. If the shop still refuses, you can turn to your debit or credit card if you paid via either of these methods.

If you paid within the past 120 days, raise a ‘chargeback’ claim via your bank or card provider.

If you are outside 120 days and paid with a credit card, you can raise a Section 75 claim if the total amount you paid for the outfit and delivery exceeded £100.

In either case, you must tell your bank/card provider that the shop is in breach of contract for failing to deliver on the named date and show evidence that you took this up with the shop first and it refused to refund you. It should be a very straightforward claim.

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