05 July 2012

How to pay a Catalonian (Catalunyian) Speeding Ticket

I recently received a speeding ticket while in Catalunya (NE Spain). The ticket was in Spanish and it took a while to resolve, so here is a summary of what to do if this happens to you. 

I initially did some google research and found a couple of useful links of which this was the best. You need to scroll down because the first part of his instructions pre-date the option to pay over the internet. The correct procedure is outlined in the postscript and in the comments. 
I followed these instructions and got to all the right pages but it would not except the ID number. I kept trying until I gave up and called the Travel Department (DGT) on 00 34 902 508 686. I gave the women the number and she said the ticket was not from DGT but from the local Catalan Government (the clue was that is said Servei Catala de Transit on the summons). 

So I found their site and after a lot of looking around I figured how to pay online.  The site is www.gencat.cat/ovt but rather than repeat all the steps I went through to find the right page there is a link here that will take you straight to the payment page. 
1. Follow the  link 
2. Once you get on to that page enter the Numero de Expediente from the top right of the summons. Enter this number without dashes or slashes
3. Then for ID select Altres (others)
4. Then put in the ID number from the bottom centre of the summons (it will probably include some version of your name)
5. Click cerca
6. The next page shows the details of your fine. At the bottom right is a button "pagament amb targeta" pay with card, click this. 
7. A new window pops up, fill in the card number and expiry date then press continuar
8.  Next window fill in the short code on the back of the card, click continuar again 
9.  The final window should show that you have made a successful payment. Look for the big green tick. 
10. To print a receipt click on imprimir
The fine was very reasonable. Because I paid quickly I got a 50% reduction and only paid 50 euro for doing 150 kmh in a 120 kmh zone. That's half what it would be in the UK and if I was caught doing 150 kmh in Norway they would have sent me to jail - no really they would. So all in all don't mind paying it. Firstly the law is very clear, you know the limits and if you chose to ignore them you should not moan about the consequences. Think of it as an extra tax, you want to drive quickly then you have to pay the speed tax from time to time (like all taxes its higher in Norway!). Also the Spanish economy is buggered so any help we can give them is useful and should not be resented. 

POSTSCRIPT Jan 2013
It seems that the link doesn't work anymore but someone has posted in the comments that you can call 0034 902 400 012, select option 2 and then get a person who speaks English and will take your card details. I have not tried this. If anyone finds the new link and sends it to me I will also update the directions above.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Many thanks for taking the time to help fellow transgressors

Pete Tott said...

An excellent walkthrough. Thanks. I checked out the website on the back of the form and got no where fast. Thanks again

Pete T

Anonymous said...

Really appreciated that, was having murder trying to understand it.
Thanks again
Will C

Anonymous said...

A big thank you,
I was trying for days and was getting nowhere,
you saved me an extra 50 euros my friend,

snoops said...

Brilliant!
Thank you

Julie said...

5 out of 5 Thank you so much this was so helpful and easy to use. once again thanks. Saved me 50 euro Julie

Kari said...

Thank you very much John!
Kari

Anonymous said...

Many thanks for the info, worked just FINE :)
Jonathan

Anonymous said...

your post does not seem to working

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately the link no longer works

Anonymous said...

If your speeding ticket is from
Servei Catala de Transit the easiest way to pay is to phone their office on.
0034 902 400 012
After a load of Spanish you will get an option (2) to speak with someone who speaks English. A very
help lady sorted payment out in minutes


Anonymous said...

You can pay the Catalunya fines here now. It will find the traffic offense record and will eventually take you to a La Caixa portal which accepts credit cards. The ID number is at the bottom of the notification, in my case it was my driver's license.

http://jrslaw.com said...

I will surely remember those tips.

Anonymous said...

#1,www.gencat/cat.ovt #2 sanciones de traficco #3 choose option of engkish on top right on this page and then follow the instructions...thanks

Anonymous said...

sorry friends not engkish (English)

Martin said...

Hi, I went to the gencat.cat/ovt web page, entered my details from the ticket and it said "you cannot pay because the term has expired". Any idea what that means?

Anonymous said...

Hi
I have exactly the same problem as Martin. Has this been resolved Martin and if so how did you do it?

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this - got this advice after failing on other websites!
Got my fine recognised, but then a message "*You can not make your payment because it is finished."
Trying to call various numbers suggested, but all engaged. Any explanation/guidance most welcome!
Fi

Anonymous said...

Hi Fi
Exactly the same as me. I am going to try the number listed when home from work and hope to get through. All very frustrating!
Mark

Anders said...

Same for me...

Anonymous said...

Hi all,
I called 0034 902 400 012 last night to attempt to pay my fine having been unable to do it online due to the "You can not make your payment because it is finished."
error message.
I was told by a very helpful operator that I need to write back to the Servei de Transit enclosing a copy of the fine notice and inform them that the details on the letter are incorrect because I am unable to pay online. The operator found my details quickly and was very apologetic. This is very frustrating but it would suggest that a number of us have been doubly inconvenienced by some form of administrative error relating to the fine notices. I'll be writing this week but also will attempt to contact SVT via email if I can find a contact email address. Does anybody have any other suggestions??
Thanks, Mark

Anonymous said...

Hi all
After a very frustrating day yesterday, I have just been able to pay online.
Go to https://multestransit.gencat.cat/sctPagaments/AppJava/views/expedients/cerca.xhtml?set-locale=ca_ES.
Enter details and it works!.
FYI, my passport had additional letters in it in their reference and I used all - and had to maintain upper case, otherwise it was not recognised.
Good luck! And drive safely! (I have three to pay!!!)
Fi

Anonymous said...

Hi
Me too the site link has just worked despite not working previously and I was able to pay via credit card. The site is in Catalonian but you can use google to translate. Very quick and straightforward to pay once you are on the right page!
Thanks and phew!!
Mark

Anonymous said...

Just paid my fine using the telephone number, option 3 for English. Also found this number on the second page of the ticket now, albeit not very prominently. Very easy to pay and only the ticket and a credit card required.

Graham D said...

Thanks for the info. I have manged to pay my fine using this link!

https://multestransit.gencat.cat/sctPagaments/AppJava/views/expedients/cerca.xhtml?set-locale=en_GB

Regards
Graham D

Anonymous said...

So helpful. Just paid my ticket in 5 minutes. Many thanks

Becton

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the help I paid over the phone in double quick time - just one change - the option for English is now 3.

Limestone Alabama Speeding ticket said...

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Beatspeeding said...

Excellent post! Thanks for posting this.
Speeding Tickets

Anonymous said...

I spent the entire day trying to decipher the website (thank god for Google translate).

The post is truly amazing and really helped me allot...

appreciate the time and effort to help others...

Herry Johnson said...
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