In August 2026, Spain's consumer ministry fined Avis 1 million euros for charging customers between 33.88 and 45 euros to handle a traffic fine received during their rental.
- The ministry found the clause abusive, because identifying the driver is a legal duty of the vehicle's owner.
- Avis can still challenge the sanction in court.
- If you were charged a similar fee, you can ask the company for the contractual basis and dispute it in writing.
A speed camera on the Costa del Sol flashes once. Weeks after you fly home, two charges appear: the fine itself, and a separate fee from the rental company for passing your name to the traffic authority. In August 2026, Spain's consumer ministry ruled that charging customers for that step is abusive, and fined Avis 1 million euros for doing it. Here is what the decision says, and how it can help if you were charged such a fee.
What the ministry decided
The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030, led by Pablo Bustinduy, imposed the sanction at the maximum level for this type of infringement and classed it as very serious. According to elDiario.es, which reported the decision on 19 August 2026, Avis charged between 33.88 and 45 euros whenever a traffic fine was issued during a rental. The charge was labelled as a fee for handling an administrative sanction and was added on top of the fine.
The ministry's reasoning is simple. Spain's traffic law requires the registered owner of a vehicle to identify the person who was driving. For a rental car, the owner is the rental company, so passing on your details is its own legal task. Putting the cost of that task on the customer, the ministry found, breaks the balance of the contract to the consumer's disadvantage and breaches several articles of Spain's general consumer protection law.
Why the fine was so high
The ministry treated it as an aggravating factor that Avis kept using a practice that had already been declared unlawful. In September 2020, a court of first instance in Vitoria-Gasteiz annulled several of Avis's general conditions, including the fine handling fee, and ordered their removal. The case that led to the new sanction started with a complaint from EKA/ACUV, a Basque consumer association.
The decision exhausts the administrative route. Avis can still challenge it before the courts, so it is not the last word.
Spain is not the first
Italy went down the same road earlier. In May 2024, ECC-Net Italia reported that the Italian competition authority had fined six rental companies more than 18 million euros in total over flat fees for handling fines and unpaid parking or tolls, which were charged automatically to customers' credit cards. The authority found the clause created a significant imbalance and was unfair under the Italian consumer code. Our article on admin fees for traffic fines on a rental car explains how these fees work across Europe.
What you can do if you were charged
The fine and the fee are two separate things. The fine comes from the traffic authority and has its own deadlines and appeal route, which we cover in how a fine abroad reaches you in a rental car. The fee is between you and the rental company, and that is the part this decision is about.
If a rental company in Spain charged you a handling fee for a fine, write to it and ask which clause in your contract it relied on and what the amount covers. You can refer to the ministry's decision and to the 2020 ruling, and ask for a refund. Our letter templates give you a structure, and the terms check helps you find the clause in your contract.
Keep the paperwork together before you write: the rental agreement, the card statement showing the fee, and the letter or notice about the fine itself. The notice usually shows the date, place and authority, which lets you match the fee to a specific fine. If the company charged several fees for fines from the same day, say so, because it passed on your details only once. A short, factual letter that names the amount, the date and the clause you are asking about is harder to ignore than a long complaint.
If the company does not answer or refuses, and it is based in another EU country than yours, the European Consumer Centre in your country can help for free. For rentals in Spain more broadly, see what you can do about a damage claim after renting in Spain.
Frequently asked questions
How much was the fee Avis charged in Spain?
Between 33.88 and 45 euros per traffic fine, labelled as a fee for handling an administrative sanction. It came on top of the fine itself, according to elDiario.es.
Is the Spanish decision final?
It ends the administrative procedure, so there is no further appeal within the ministry. Avis can still take the sanction to court, elDiario.es reports.
Does the decision mean I get my fee back automatically?
No. The sanction is a fine paid to the state. It does not refund individual customers. You can use the decision as an argument when you ask the company to refund a fee you were charged.
Have other countries acted against these fees?
Yes. In 2024, Italy's competition authority fined six rental companies more than 18 million euros in total over flat fees for handling fines and unpaid tolls, according to ECC-Net Italia.
Sources
- eldiario.eselDiario.es: Consumo sanciona a la compañía de coches de alquiler Avis con un millón de euros por una tasa para gestionar multas (19 August 2026, Spanish)
- theolivepress.esThe Olive Press: Car hire company Avis fined €1 million for charging customers an admin fee for paying traffic fines (20 August 2026)
- ecc-netitalia.itECC-Net Italia: Sanzioni Antitrust da 18 milioni di euro a sei società di autonoleggio per clausole vessatorie (16 May 2024, Italian)