SANParks.org Forums

Hi,
last year in January we were in SA with a hired car. At the end of August we received a letter, dated May 5, from Wolmaransstad district saying that we were caught by a laser cam for speed excess.
We should have paid a fine before the beginning of August to avoid to appear in court , but the date was already passed.
I tried to call the local police but I didn’t get any answer.
Now the question is: should we pay now the fine, even if it is so late? Or can we just ignore it? We are coming back in December, so we don’t want to have problems with police…
thanks!
Silvia

Write a letter back, with the details. (It's October now, why so late?)
Ask them which amount to pay where (remind them to include Iban and Swift codes!) and transfer the money. That transfer is going to cost you 30~35 euro.... We had the same last time we were there.

If you don't you'll get trouble at the airport.

What you could also try do (not sure if Wolmaranstad fines will be there) is go onto payfine.co.za, , you will need to register, then type in the ref number from the fine and see if it will find the fine. If it does you can pay via credit card even though it is after the time. Think they carge 5% of the fine admin fees, but you will also get a mail stating proof of payment.

Hold on to your money!!! I will send you a pm with the correct advice.

I have looked now to this website, but it seems that Wolmaranstad is not included in the list

In terms of our law everybody has got the right to a hearing in court. Now, you have received a notice that you have exceeded the speed limit. Who said that you are guilty? You haven't had the opportunity to put your version before court. You did not have an opportunity to challenge the correctness of the apparatus which checked your speed. You may have a defence of sudden emergency like when somebody fell seriously ill and you had to get that person to a hospital

What if somebody stole the mail bag containing the letter. How were you supposed to become aware of the fine. Any summons must be served on you personally by a police or traffic official. In the summons you must be given a date to appear in court or a date before which a fine is to be paid. Until that happens, you have got nothing to fear, not even at an airport. After all, you haven't been found guilty in a court of law.

Having said that, most people pay the fine just to get rid of the situation.

In principle I agree with you Rooies. I received at the end of August the letter sent in May and the date before which I could have paid the fine was passed. Since it was sent by ordinary mail it could also have got lost.
But since we are coming back, I would like to know if it will be a problem, or if it is a local issue, so only Wolmaranstad police knows it, and it will be enough not to go to Wolmaranstad...

Silvia.n - did you receive the fine at your Italian address ? Hmmm , IMHO , when they have to send the sheriff out to deliver the summons for you to appear in court , I am quite sure he will send it back to the court with comments that it is undeliverable due to your overseas address . And I am quite sure that no further action will be taken . I would not worry too much about it