Have you ever got a fine?

Image source: Certo Xornal (Wikipedia) 
  
a fine: money that has to be paid as a punishment for not obeying a rule or law
 
to fine sb for sth: to charge sb as a punishment for not obeying a rule or law
 
to get a fine: I got a fine for speeding. = I was fined for speeding.
 
to put give sb a fine: They gave him a €100 fine for dropping litter. = He was given a fine.
 
a strong heavy fine =  a severe punishment
 
an on-the-spot fine = one that is given to you at the time of breaking the law.
  
What things can you be fined for?
 
What can you get an on-the-spot fine for?
 
Do you think fines are too lenient? Should they be increased?
 
Or maybe you think some of them are harsh?
 
Have you ever got a fine for something?
 
Have you ever refused to pay a fine?

Have you ever argued with a traffic warden? Did you win the arguement?


Once I got a fine from Metro Madrid. It was many years ago when I used to get a monthly ticket.

First you need to get a card with your photo on it, and keep the card and ticket together in a plastic pocket. The problem is that it's too big for a normal-sized wallet and the plastic breaks easily. My ticket was in danger of falling out, so one day I put just the ticket in my wallet.

Trust my luck - that same day there were ticket inspectors and despite my protests, they gave me a fine. They refused to believe my story.

As well as fining me, they took the ticket from me. I was absolutely furious.

I needed the ticket to give to my work to get paid for travel costs.

I bought a ten-trip ticket the next day to last me until the end of the month (only a few days later).

I put the monthly card in my bag to take to the school (in the end they never paid me, because they wanted the ticket Grrrrrrrr!)

Imagine my surprise when I saw the group of ticket inspectors on the same carriage as me. I went straight up to them and asked them if they remembered me (how could they forget?? lol).

I took great delight in producing the monthly card from my bag and showing them that not everyone is dishonest.

They were full of apologies but said that they were just doing their jobs.


On another occasion, even more years ago, I had another encounter with a ticket inspector.

I had been staying at my uncle's in London. There were no barriers at the railway station where he lived, so you didn't need your ticket to exit.

I had been there for a week and had always bought a ticket. On the last morning, I decided not to buy one. Nobody had ever checked my ticket on the train.

Yep, you guessed it. When I got off the train, I was confronted with a row of policemen and ticket inspectors at the end of the platform. I felt sick.

I pleaded with the inspector; I told him I had bought a ticket. I even pretended to look for it in my bag and all my pockets.

I don't think he believed me but he quietly told me that it was OK and I could go.

I didn't get a fine!


So when I was dishonest, I didn't get a fine. (London). Yet when I was honest, I got one. (Madrid)


Here are some other stories about fines:

Fined for dropping banana

Punished for not recycling correctly

Driver banned for blowing nose

Library book returned 70 years on


Comments

Montse said…
Hi, Graham!
I don’t remember to have got a fine for anything but last year something occurred that made me feel helpless. We were coming back from a trip. My friend was driving and my husband and I were seat at the back of the car. The Guardia Civil were coming after us but, in the meantime they were passing us, they got stared at the car. They stopped a few metres forward and they order us to stop, as well. Then, they said that my husband hadn’t fastened his belt but that wasn’t true. We all were arguing with them, trying to avoid the fine and, finally, we should convince them because we never received it.

How was your first class at de MOJ? What level are you teaching this course?
This year, they have joined your last class and mine so, Carolina and I are with Lucía, Mª Luz, Belén…
Graham said…
Hi Montse!

How's it going?

I'm teaching Pre Int this year. It seems a nice group (you are a friendly bunch at MOJ!) and they appear to have a similar level.

So you are doing Int Plus this year, aren't you? My group from last year were split into three - I sent most up to Int Plus, a couple to Upper Int and the remainder preferred to repeat the course.

I am there on Mon / Wed - so far, it hasn't been difficult to get up and get to class on time.


I don’t remember having got a fine for anything but last year something occurred that made me feel helpless.

.... My friend was driving and my husband and I were seated in the back of the car.

The Guardia Civil were coming behind us but, as they were overtaking us, they stared at the car.

They stopped a few metres in front of our car and they order us to stop as well. Then, they said that my husband hadn’t fastened his belt but that wasn’t true.

We were all arguing with them, trying to avoid the fine and, in the end, we must have convinced them because we never received one.


I imagine they had little to do and wanted to brighten up their day by picking on some innocent people.

I've also had a few experiences being stopped by the police. But I'll leave these stories for another time...


What accent have they given you this year?

Say hello to everyone there. And ask José if he has ever tried lamb from Segovia. :-)
Montse said…
Hi, Graham. I am glad you have a good class this year. Our teacher is from Reading, near London, but I understand him much better than Chris, the last one. Simon is nice and he really teaches in an enjoyable way so, I hope we improve a lot this course.
Graham said…
Hi Montse,

Did you enjoy your day off? I bet you are off today too lol

I think the teacher is important but as you have shown, the best progress is obtained by those who use their own initiative.

There are so many new teachers at the school; they come and go all the time. I suppose Simon is one of the new intake. I'm so anti-social with other teachers, I never even bother to learn their names lol

Do you have class on Tues/Thurs morning? Do you fancy having a coffee at 9? Ask all my ex-students to come along too.
Montse said…
Hi, Graham.
You’re right…I took the “Puente” and I enjoyed it a lot. More and more I like being out of the work. It must be due to the age. LOL.
Next Thursday I’ll ask your ex-students and then I’ll tell you about having a coffee, but, your English classes at MOJ are Monday and Wednesday, aren’t they?
Graham said…
Montse,

I suppose I could make an extra special effort and get up one day earlier than usual. How about Thursday next week? We could meet in the bar on the corner of Pez /San Bernardo.

More and more I like having a day off. It must be due to age. LOL.

"out of work" = unemployed

"out of the office" means you are not in the office, perhaps out seeing a client.

Montse said…
Hi, Graham!
In the morning, I talked to Lucía and José. We will be there next Thursday at nine o'clock.
Have a good "long" weekend!!
Graham said…
Great! See you all on Thursday in the bar on the corner.
María Rossignoli Montero said…
Hi Graham!

You were incredible unclucky with your fine in Madrid.
I still didn't get a fine in my 26 years, despite i had many clashes with the police.
I remember once i was quite close to get i fine. I was with my friends planing to drink alcohol in a park, and in the moment that we opened our sangrias, two police men appeared next to us. They took our ID's and told us that we were going to receive a letter with an appointment for a talk about the risks of drinking alcohol. But that letter never appeared.
As well as, there were a few more situations were i could get a fine, but i was really lucky in all these situations.
I think in these cases it's mostly about luck, and meet the nice policeman, and not the one who had a bad day.
Graham said…
Evening María,

I think I have got my fines mixed-up. In Madrid, they definitely took the ticket off me and without the ticket my employer refused to reimburse me. I can't remember now if I paid a fine to the ticket inspectors on top of that. I do remember going to the offices of Metro Madrid to show them that I had the other part of the ticket, but I got no joy from them. When I first moved to Italy, I saw that very few people paid for their transport tickets. You could easily walk into the underground without stamping your ticket. One morning while still half-asleep, I walked right into a group of ticket inspectors. I handed over an old ticket which I had stamped zillions of times (technology didn't exist). They took the wallet out of my back pocket and helped themselves to money. I never got a receipt for it and I suspect those workers pocketed the money.

I have never got a fine for drinking on the street and I am surprised that I didn't get one for feeding pigeons over the years.


You were incredibly unlucky with your fine in Madrid.

I still haven't got a fine in my 26 years despite having had many clashes with the police.
I remember I once came close to getting fine. I was with my friends planning to drink alcohol in a park and just as we opened our sangrias, two police men appeared next to us. They took our IDs and told us that we were going to / would receive a letter with an appointment for a talk about the risks of drinking alcohol. But that letter never appeared.
As well as that, there were a few more / other situations where I could have been fined, but I was really lucky on each occasion.

I think in these cases it's mostly a question of luck, and meet a nice policeman, and not the one who had been having a bad day.