Looking for some advice here.

I got a speeding ticket in the post a couple of days ago from a holiday in Spain in July. The fine is €100, and the only English on the ticket takes you to a website that is incomprehensible to an English speaker (and also looks pretty impossible to navigate even by a Spaniard).

It's going to be a pain to get the thing paid, and I don't think I can be bothered.

My question is, what would the consequences be if I just didn't pay? I can't imagine the Spanish government spending a huge amount of resources trying to enforce this, but at the same time I don't want to be banned from going to Spain in the future. I recall reading that parking fines for foreigners in the UK are almost always written off as they are too hard to enforce.

Does anyone have any experience or advice?

Cheers

OK, I found some advice from another forum on how to navigate the payment site, and have paid the fine at a 50% discount. There was some chat that you might get banged up if you go back into Spain which I'm sure is a load of rubbish, but having seen what happened to a mate on a stag out there who got locked up for the weekend I wouldn't want to take the chance.

Details?

You've done the right thing, Jonners.

It is my understanding that recent European agreements basically give other EU authorities to request extradition and get it no questions asked. If the Spanish authorities decided they wanted you to face a charge, you'd be over there in a shot.

I think this as Private Eye has been highlighting some recent cases where UK citizens have no defence against being whipped over to another country regardless of their likely guilt or innocence.

He was beaten in the cells by the police for 2 days with rolled up wet towels. Came out covered in bruises head to foot and mentally broken. On release he was meant to go to court the next day, but chose to leave the country instead. As he's from South Africa I don't think there is any extradition agreement, but he knows he'll never go back to the country anyway.

The alleged crime was damaging a car when we were out drinking, he swears he didn't do anything but we were all very p1ssed. Zero tolerance out there (this was Barcelona).

Cheers el_pappje. Certainly not worth it for €50. Having said that, their payment methods are woefully inadequate for non-Spanish speakers.

You've reminded me of a parking ticket from my past.
Somehow the Montreal parking attendants tracked me down to my parents house in Derbyshire... via America where I was working and from where I'd hired a car for the trip.

As a student I worked at a kids summer camp in upstate New York. We popped over the border to Montreal for a good night out and had a parking ticket by the time we woke up the next day. I can't remember why the car was in my name despite everyone else being American. I do remembber that one of the guys pulled a stripper in the middle of a strip club that night though!

I've driven a lot around Europe and picked up several parking tickets and been flashed by numerous cameras (mainly in France)

Never had anything through the post, so i couldn't say if i'd pay it or not!

In France, when elections come around, all the parties promise to wipe out any existing fines in an effort to secure more votes. This must be why i have escaped all my fines (so far!!)

Just a note on cameras over here.

Regarding static roadside cameras or gatsos I've been flashed 3 times over the last 3 years by these followed by the usual letter ostensibly 'fining' me £60 and handing me 3 points.

I've basically given them the finger each time and nothing, bar 1 or 2 more letters 'reminding' me with veiled threats, has ever, ever happened. The first of the three was in July 2007 and most recent November 2009. Make of this what you will but I honestly think most of these 'crimes' are invalid for some reason so they never pursue them past the cursory letters (faulty gatsos maybe?).

I simply completely ignore them and they seemingly forget about it/write it off.

Similarly with seatbelt offences. Done twice in last 12 months (February and April) and just ignored them. Eventually I got a bailiffs letter and that was 6+ weeks ago, like they're going to bother with a £90 job (bailiffs are another story obviously but they're fairly easy to deal with too as they simply have no powers if you take the right steps).

I hope I'm not coming across badly here but I totally resent the camera fine culture in this country, nothing more than a stealth tax imo.

I'm an excellent driver and have only been guilty of fairly marginal offences. One of the seatbelt jobs was a sting with the cops waiting around a corner for people, disgusting. I told him I had no intention of paying and he started making grave threats regarding imprisonment etc. I just laughed in his face and that was back in February.

Each to their own of course but having been done 3 times by gatsos and twice for seatbelts in 3+ years with the last one 6 months ago it's cost me the grand total of..............

£0.00

Obviously I wouldn't advocate my approach as regards abroad given what I've read but this is what I've experienced in GB.