More and more Romanians are complaining about the behavior of authorities in Hungary and Bulgaria and say they suffer abuse on the roads in both countries. A Romanian said he was fined even though he bought his vignette. Also, he received the penalty only after half a year.
Romanian driver fined despite vignette in Hungary Photo Archive True
Six months after passing through Hungary, a Romanian reported an unpleasant surprise to “Adevarul”. The fine was imposed, allegedly because he did not have Vignesi, even though he claimed to have bought it. Also, he received a notice from a company in Romania that informed him that he was responsible for something, which he says he did not commit a crime.
What happened
“After 6 months of traveling through Hungary I had an unpleasant surprise. More precisely, on December 3, 2022 at 3:31 a.m. I received a notification at the home of SRL, UAI Inkasso from Oradea that I was caught on camera without a valid vignette at a customs point in Hungary. I have been shown the address of the room in the communication. I did some research and found that the room is not even 300 meters from the border point between Austria and Hungary.“, Alexandru Gabriel Hornia began his story.
The man admits he was at the border crossing at the time, but says he bought his vignette.
“At that time, actually, I went there, only one counter was working at the border crossing. And there were about 30 cars waiting there. I decided to continue my journey to the first gas station, which was 80 kilometers away. There, I stopped and rested for about an hour. , then filled up the car, took the Vignette and coffee. About 3 hours passed from the time I crossed the border to the time I bought the Vignette. From there I left and came home.”He says.
Penalty after six months
Nothing happened for half a year, but he woke up with a payment notice.
“As I said above, more than 6 months later, I received that notice from UAI Incasso (debt collection agency), by which they added 360 lei in recovery fees and other costs, along with 170 lei in fines. I have not received anything from the company that manages the Hungarian roads.”, notes Alexandru.
Knowing that he had paid, the Romanian searched for the receipt, which he later sent to the address of the company where he had received the notice. But was told that nothing could be done and that it was my fault for buying late.
“I sent the receipt to the shop and they said I bought the vignette late. According to Hungarian government law, it takes 60 minutes to enter customs to purchase a vignette.
How should a traveler know this? Especially since I’ve been to Hungary at least 20 times before with no such incident. I’ve spoken to many friends and colleagues who are working sailors like myself and who make this trip frequently, and they’ve all had similar surprises recently. I consider it an abuse of the Hungarian state, just like the Bulgarians“, he also wrote.
The man did not understand why the representatives of the Hungarian company that manages the roads in this country did not contact him directly, why they gave the claims to a company from Romania, so that the fine could be paid immediately without a penalty. And after half a year and not with increments.
“I invited them to court and see what happens.”He finished.
Alexandru Gabriel Hornia says he wants his case to be publicized so that at least other drivers don’t end up in the same unpleasant situation.
Similar problems in Bulgaria
However, his case is not an isolated one, and Hungary is not the only country where Romanian drivers are fined.
More and more Romanians complain about the behavior of the Bulgarian authorities and say they are subjected to abuses by the police from the neighboring country, but also by the inspectors who check the drivers if they have paid a vignette to the officers who check the drivers.
A tourist from Romania told his story on the Facebook page Travel in Bulgaria – Călător în Bulgaria. The woman says she was unfairly fined in Bulgaria. His case was earlier reported by “Adevarul”.
“Good evening! Has anyone else experienced the following abuse by the Bulgarian police? Briefly, I was returning from Bulgaria on May 1. Near Ruse, I was pulled over on the right by a group of police (I don’t know if they were in traffic control or circulating, their clothes or car clearly No IDs. They asked for the documents of the car. I asked for proof that I paid the vignette, I complied, but here is the “surprise”, they found out that the vignette had an RO car number written on it, and they told me that I had not paid the vignette correctly and fined me 70 euros.”She started recording.
She eventually paid the fine, but she considers it an abuse, especially since she says she has all the documents and the paid vignette.
“I don’t want to pay, but they told me that I can’t go further under these conditions and that they keep my car documents. I paid, I don’t feel like arguing with them, especially since they only speak Bulgarian, I feel it’s maximum abuse. I want something. I would like to know if I made a mistake or was simply punched by some “elements” who were too eager. By the way, they did not issue any minutes, only fined me in the receipt issued at the toll booth. I think they absorbed me to the maximum. In a short time, other vehicles with RO number were pulled over to the right”The tourist also wrote.
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