Pardon the long back-story, I made it as concise as I could. In Autumn 2007 I, my wife Judy, and her 87 year old Mother, Francis went on a three week vacation trip to Italy. I had pre-arranged on the internet to pick up a rental car from a company called auto-europa/Sicily by Car at our arrival airport in Naples. We landed very late on September 28 just as the car rental offices were closing but managed to get the car lease taken care of. The rental charges were paid by my mother-in-law Francis on her credit card and I was designated as the driver of the vehicle. We took a shuttle bus to the car lot and located the car. After starting it I found that I could not engage reverse gear. Since the rental office had closed my only option was to drive to my hotel. There the manager escorted us into a secure, gated parking lot. The next morning I contacted the rental office, explained the problem to them and was advised to return the vehicle and it would be exchanged. The manager was also unsuccessful in engaging reverse so he opened the gate, helped us push the car out of the parking spot, and I drove back to the airport to get a functional vehicle. After our travels we returned the â??secondâ? car as pre-arranged to the auto-europa office at our departure airport in Pisa. We arrived back in the U.S. on Oct 22. On November 2, 2007 I received a letter from auto-europa stating that the amount of â?¬ 253.75 + VAT 20% had been charged to my mother-in-lawâ??s credit card for â??accident and/or damage" to the original faulty vehicle; the one had we exchanged on 29/09/07 as described above. I would have disputed the claim had it been on my credit card, but Francis didn't fully grasp the situation, and thinking this was a legitimate charge went ahead and paid it. I decided the best thing to do would be to let it go, thinking it had been resolved. In August, 2008 I received another letter from auto-europa dated July 22, stating that: â??a violation was detected during the period you were in possession of the vehicle you rented with our Company from 28/09/07 22.19 to 17/10/07. Please, find herewith attached a copy of the above mentioned fine. We wish to inform you that we proceeded to charge you, on your credit card, for the amount of â?¬ 50,00 + V.A.T. 20% relevant to the file handling fee plus the postal fee as per authorisation you signed on the rental agreement.â? The ticket states that on â??2007/10/13 at 14:56 we were electronically detected driving in a restricted area without authorization, Via G. Garibaldi â?? Varco, Siennaâ?. We were in Siena on October 13, 2007. We arrived early in the day and drove around until we found a spot in a paid parking lot. At 14:56 we had been on foot for some hours and have receipts to prove this with both the date and time marked. At that point we decided to request that CIBC VISA protest the Auto Europa charge on my mother-in-lawâ??s card, but it proved difficult to establish that we weren't responsible so she did not protest further and paid. She then closed that card account and to avoid further harassment. But on February 13 this year I received a letter from a collection agency stating that this debt had been referred to their office for collection, and: â??Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume this debt is valid. If you notify this office in writing within 30 days from receiving this notice, this office will obtain verification of the debt or obtain a copy of a judgement and mail you a copy of such judgement or verification. If you request this office in writing within 30 days after receiving this notice, this office will provide you with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.â? They reference the debt as follows: COUNTRY: ITALY CITY: TORINO VIOLATION: 007 - DRIVING IN A RESTRICTED AREA WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION LOCATION: VIA G. GARIBALDI â?? VARCO PLATE# DB004AB DATE: 2007/10/13 FINE: $131.90 This collection notice -- to me -- is completely out of the blue. My wife and I have worked extremely carefully over decades to earn and maintain what is a pretty good credit rating (792 and 807 FICO respectively) and Iâ??m aghast that a collection agency is contacting me for ANYTHING. How do I fight this? Iâ??m reluctant to deal with a collection agency at all but Iâ??ve certainly found transatlantic multi-language communications have proved frustrating and less than useless. (As alert readers will note, the first infraction was in Sienna and the second purportedly in Turin. They are 436 kilometers apart). I DO have a copy of Francisâ?? VISA payment for the first â??fineâ? -- made to AUTO EUROPA MULTE FIN PALERMO (posted on August 5, 2008). What should my first step in fighting this be? I have about two weeks left to dispute this before it will be assumed by the collection agency as a valid debt. Philip
Send them a letter now, certified mail, that you dispute the debt in its entirety and you request strict proof thereof, including the GPS recordings etc., that establish your location on that date, and proof of any contract YOU have with Auto Europa. Did you not get new paperwork for the new car? Now purchase all 3 of your credit reports directly from each bureau, to make sure this collection is not on your credit.
I would leave out the "proof" bit, since they don't have obligation to provide such. Just say you dispute the "alleged debt" and demand proof of said debt. Whatever paperwork they send in, it sounds like you have pretty solid proof of having satisfied any debt -- legitimate or otherwise -- that they attempted to impose on you. The fact that the OC is an international entity makes this a little difficult. However, the American CA has to abide by the FDCPA / FCRA. If I were in your shoes, I'd send that DV letter immediately, via certified mail w/ signature card required. I suspect the bigger problem here is that it sounds like you have an OC who is just making things up as they go. The fact that they're international may complicate going through the legal process for resolution, and they may know this. Ask your credit card company how long you have to dispute an item. Generally it's 90 days, but it can't hurt to ask. They're going to be your best friend here.
What ever happened with this? I just returned from a trip to Ireland and the rental car agency charged several times the agreed upon amount and refused to give me a statement in Ireland, even when I went back several days later. I plan to dispute this charge, it has not gone to collections.
