Parking Fine in Torre del Mar

[gerrynag]

I was silly enough to get a ticket yesterday afternoon in Torre del Mar on the Paseo Maritimo ....
I found the ticket on my car after I got back to it from a lovely meal, if expensive, as turned out.
Not clear from the traffic ticket where I should pay it. There is an IBAN reference, so guess you can pay it by bank transfer, but would really prefer to pay it in person.
Any suggestions ?

[spanish_lad]

was it a "town hall" ticket? If so you can cancel it (within 24 hours) if you put 6€ in the ticket machine.

If it was a police one.. you´ll need to go to the town hall bills office - they will give you the pay slip and then you can pay that in the bank, online or in the post office.

[gerrynag]

It was a police one, the office is I believe in Velez Malaga, (where you pay car tax), so will pop along tomorrow. Think you get 50% discount if you pay within 20 days....so only have to pay 100euro ...

[peteroldracer]

Where on earth were you to get a 200 euro fine? Or was the meal a very Spanish one, taking hours and hours?

[gerrynag]

Meal was good, but not that good .
I must admit I thought it was a lot too. We got out of the restaurant about 17.25, the parking restriction started at 17.00 and we were booked at 17.20 according to the ticket.
Never had a ticket in Spain before, so I am guessing 200 euros is a bit over the top ? Ticket is hand-written, but certainly looks like 200

[peteroldracer]

You must have been blocking a policeman’s access to his mistress’ apartment.....or the ticket is some sort of scam!

[costakid]

Don’t fail the attitude test at the police station, it will double.

[gerrynag]

You must have been blocking a policeman’s access to his mistress’ apartment.....or the ticket is some sort of scam!

No scam....but you might be right about the policeman's mistress.

[1bassleft]

I've twice messed up (my best was the 2nd time; "No parking between 10-2", that's ok then, on return I noticed the "and between 18-22:00" D'oh!)

Both times, my hire car was grua'd and -several years apart- I paid (same day) around €90 fine and €110 grua fees so €200 does seem high when your vehicle wasn't yoinked. Is there any indication that there might be a grua part to your fine, but you removed it before it came and potentially might not have to pay that bit?

Another thing is, try to get some receipt for your fine payment and keep it 'til death (TL;DR explanation why). First time, I got my receipt (August) but they posted a "you need to pay this fine" letter in December. I went to the police station and explained I'd paid. Receipt to prove it? Not now, not in December. Shrug, well then... Hang on, I can see my signature in your folder there... That's not important, that's the grua receipt. I walked out, saying I'd paid the fine, how come I got the car back otherwise, etc. Nobody chokeholded me and no follow up (because of my UK address?) but it was frustrating and unsettling. The second time I paid and got my receipt, but I noticed later it only referred to paying the grua, not the fine, so I again felt (incorrectly) that the same thing might happen again.

Sorry for the big paragraph, but as you're not the serial offender I am, thought I'd flag it. I paid cash, though, so a Spanish debit/credit card (which I don't have) would have been extra reassurance.

[costakid]

The police called the grua to take my car. I returned to find an orange sticker on the pavement. €250 fine, €70 for the grua and €10 storage for a day. No negotiation at all.

[Wicksey]

200€ does seem a bit pricey for a parking ticket. We were looking at tickets on cars yesterday on Torrox Costa in the blue zone where people hadn't put their 'clock' in the window (you get 2 hours free parking). It looked like it said 100 but then in a lower box it said 50, so maybe 50€ if you paid quickly? Have yet to get a ticket here but locally we know the rules of where we can park, but for visitors it isn't very clear what the blue lines refer to as there's not many signs up. (Got a 60$ fine once in the USA 28 years ago for parking facing the wrong way in a 2 way street .... doh .... only place we've ever got a speeding fine too!)

[costakid]

The cheapest parking ticket I ever got was in Fuengirola about 12 years ago. Used the cancellation ticket option on the machine for €3. Cheaper than paying for parking. The dearest was the last one as they towed the car but that wasn’t for a parking violation.

[gerrynag]

It was probably so high, because it was in the zone that is only for loading and un-loading at certain times, that or Velez Malaga council trying to balance their books .... . Anyway went to Patronato de Recaudación office in Velez, presented my Parking ticket and got a form to take to the bank, where I paid the 100euro, (50% discount as paid within 20 days).

[1bassleft]

Same as you, Costakid, the €3 in the machine (Arroyo de la Miel) after forgetting we'd moved into verano hours. Blue zone indiscretions are treated pretty reasonably - possibly because fortnighters can easily make that mistake and a punitive fee + appearance in some strange station might actually encourage more skipping than a "phew, I just have to pop some coins in here" relief. I also, looking at your other experience, have got my fine:grua ratio the wrong way round but I'm sure glad my fine wasn't €250 for starters - ouch.

[NeilS]

"for visitors it isn't very clear what the blue lines refer to as there's not many signs up."

Speaking as an occasional visitor (especially the last couple of years with covid), I am not clear at all what they are about. We came across them for the first time in Torrox Costa recently, but I now read they're springing up all over Torre Del Mar and Velez-Malaga. Can someone please tell me what they are about? Or point me at something that explains them? I didn't see any signs in Torrox Costa - and no obvious meters/pay stations....

[gerryh]

The blue lines/ parking spaces in Torrox costa are different than in other towns.
During the summer months, you need a parking disc to show the time you arrived as there is a limit to how long you can park.
They were introduced as the local shops complained they lost customers as they couldn't park near the shops.
Parking is free.
There are signs up explaining this but they are few and far between.
Cheers
Gerry

[Lyric]

200€ does seem a bit pricey for a parking ticket. We were looking at tickets on cars yesterday on Torrox Costa in the blue zone where people hadn't put their 'clock' in the window (you get 2 hours free parking).

The "Blue Zone" is just July and August is it not ? should be all year IMHO

[Wicksey]

Yes Torrox Costa is only July and August and there are signs, usually at the top of each road but still not many. You need to buy a blue disk for a one-off fee of 1€ from one of the local shops/town hall (it was anyway a couple of years back) and display it in your car window showing the time you arrived. The restrictions apply for most of the day (no break for siesta). The blue parking in Torrox pueblo is active all year round and you need a green disk for there, but you do get all the afternoon siesta hours if you arrive late in the morning, giving you all afternoon to stay there.

It is a good system, although in recent years I have seen cars without disks but no parking ticket on the Costa.

You do have to search out the signs as they are different in different towns and areas.

[elusive]

Blue lines normally means you have to pay or like in torrox you need a card as you can only stay there for x amount of hrs

[elusive]

I noticed in torre today that lots of previous white lined parking areas frontline were now blue. Will these be pay or like torrox?