Have you been charged a fine twice? This interests you

I was looking at the bank statements a few months ago and I realized that I had the same amount charged twice a few minutes apart after paying a fine. Obviously, they have charged me twice a fine.

It was for a small amount (€50) and was issued by the DGT. And I remembered that I had gone through a previous error in the payment gateway. In this post I tell you and summarize what you have to do to request a refund of one of the charges, because you will pay the fine yes or yes.

Like everything related to the state bureaucracy, it is faster if you have Digital Certificate, Pin cl@ve and other digital measures to proceed. In my case, I did everything online, otherwise you will have to call 060, make an appointment and go to your nearest traffic headquarters.

If you see it within 24 hours of payment, easy mode

One thing I didn’t do was verify at the time (despite having seen the POS failure) that they had charged me twice, I checked it after a week or more. If we make sure in the first 24 hours that we have been charged twice, we can immediately request a refund. You can request it in the “queries” section in the fine payment application at the following link. Of course, if you are within the first 24 hours.

If you have seen it after 24 hours, hard mode

Let’s go by steps, which is easier:

1. Visit this DGT website for this purpose.
2. Fill in the penalty refund request form. The same form is used for tax returns as well. But you check the “Sanction Refund” box.
3. Have at hand a screenshot of the duplicate charges and the proof of payment of the penalty.
4. Access the general register of the AGE.
5. Complete the basic information.
6. In the search engine, select the DG OF TRAFFIC as the “recipient body”.
7. In the subject, write the following: «Disciplinary file -number of the sanctioning file-«. Example: Disciplinary file 41034234461620.
8. Add the documents in the following windows.
9. Register the application and keep the supporting documents, just in case.

When the registration is sent you will receive the following emails from the administration (I copy and paste the text to give you an idea:

Electronic record
Dear Mr./Ms. ARTHUR MARTIN

Your electronic registration application has been submitted, with registration number REGAGE**e*********.

You can check the status of your application at https://rec.redsara.es/consulta

For more information, see www.administracion.gob.es.

Within days you should receive the following email:

Electronic record
Dear Mr./Ms. ARTHUR MARTIN

Your registration application with registration number REGAGE**e********* submitted on 06/08/2063 05:50:08, has been processed by the General Registry of the General Directorate of Traffic as of 06/08/2063 05:50:08.

This email is a communication for information purposes without legal value. To find out the complete status of your registration, consult rec.redsara.es in the Registration search tab.

To verify that everything is still ongoing, you can visit the following website of the Citizen Folder. It is a web portal that allows you to know the status of your affairs in relation to Public Administrations. There you will see the status of your files, the notifications and communications you receive or the requests submitted through the Electronic Registry (in this case, your fines).

Frequent doubts.

• How long do they take to pay? Be patient, it can take up to six months.
• Where do they return it to you? In the current account that you include in the form, do not forget the IBAN (the 24-character code that replaced the traditional Bank Account Code). Be careful, it has to be an account in the name of the person requesting the refund.
• How do I know if they have estimated the return? If in a period of six months you have +€50 in the account, it is yes, if not, you will have to consult the citizen folder or call 060.
• How can I get a duplicate fine payment receipt? To obtain a duplicate payment receipt, you must access the fine payment application with your certificate, where you can request a duplicate payment receipt in the “Queries” section.

And as for everything related to administration, luck and patience. I am still waiting for my return which, as of the day of writing this article, continues with the status “received at destination”.