CharlieB
New Member
Hi there,
6 Years ago when working for a British tour operator in Menorca I had a blow out and wrote off the company's car that had been rented for staff. I was .82mg% (this was the next morning not that that is relevant apart from the fact that I would never knowing drive whilst over the limit) and was arrested. They took me to a cash point and then changed their minds and made me fill in some forms then they said i was free to go back to UK but that they would contact me in order to go to court. They never contacted me and last week I returned to Spain for a mini holiday and was arrested on arrival at Malaga airport. They put me in 3 different cells for a total of 8 hours before I saw a judge who told me I would have to go to Menorca to go to court and that they wanted to give me an 18 month driving ban and a fine of around 1500€. They also said I had to pay nearly 14,000€ for the damage to the car (there were no other vehicle involved). They said I had to pay in one day or I wouldn't be able to leave the country but they didn't take my passport off me. I consulted a few Spanish lawyers who said they couldn't stop me leaving the country and luckily this turned out to be true. So what I need to know is the following:
- What should I do now? Consult a lawyer in Menorca and give him power of attorney so I don't have to go in person?
I am pretty sure that I can't owe them that much money, it was an Opel Corsa? And surely for this much money the car rental company (a very well known one) would have come after me already? Would the tour operator have had liability insurance for these kinds of incidents as they must happen all the time (I was probably one of the only reps who didn't drink drive)?
- Can they still do this after so much time when they could have easily contacted me at any point?
- If I were to be banned from driving would I still be able to drive in other countries (I have a business in France which requires me to drive although I am British and have a British passport)?
Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have no clue what to do or who to speak to.
Kind regards
6 Years ago when working for a British tour operator in Menorca I had a blow out and wrote off the company's car that had been rented for staff. I was .82mg% (this was the next morning not that that is relevant apart from the fact that I would never knowing drive whilst over the limit) and was arrested. They took me to a cash point and then changed their minds and made me fill in some forms then they said i was free to go back to UK but that they would contact me in order to go to court. They never contacted me and last week I returned to Spain for a mini holiday and was arrested on arrival at Malaga airport. They put me in 3 different cells for a total of 8 hours before I saw a judge who told me I would have to go to Menorca to go to court and that they wanted to give me an 18 month driving ban and a fine of around 1500€. They also said I had to pay nearly 14,000€ for the damage to the car (there were no other vehicle involved). They said I had to pay in one day or I wouldn't be able to leave the country but they didn't take my passport off me. I consulted a few Spanish lawyers who said they couldn't stop me leaving the country and luckily this turned out to be true. So what I need to know is the following:
- What should I do now? Consult a lawyer in Menorca and give him power of attorney so I don't have to go in person?
I am pretty sure that I can't owe them that much money, it was an Opel Corsa? And surely for this much money the car rental company (a very well known one) would have come after me already? Would the tour operator have had liability insurance for these kinds of incidents as they must happen all the time (I was probably one of the only reps who didn't drink drive)?
- Can they still do this after so much time when they could have easily contacted me at any point?
- If I were to be banned from driving would I still be able to drive in other countries (I have a business in France which requires me to drive although I am British and have a British passport)?
Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have no clue what to do or who to speak to.
Kind regards