Thanks for that, point one just confirms what I thought, I will get back to work on it with those suggestions in mind. Cheers

Thank you for your help so far and apologies for not getting to this earlier, I have a quick draft letter from my employer as a starting point, there are a few things on it that I would probably change but I am a great believer in getting more than one opinion. I would probably add to this that I have a work colleague who doesn't drive ( he has a foreign licence but hasn't driven here) who I work with most of the time, so effectively if I am banned it would have a great impact on him too. I understand what you say about restricting the argument so in this instance will leave my Fathers disability out of it just in case ! I look forward to your comments. Thank you. Dear Sirs, RE: Bakerboy 4 Traffic Offences Bakerboy has been known to me for over 22 years and I can assure you he is a person of the highest order and principals. He has been working away from home at a new large distribution centre in Somewhere on our behalf since May 21/05/20 and continues to do so. At the time of the offences he had to travel to and from his home to Somewhere every day and work a long hours on site. Frankly he became exhausted. I believe that Bakerboy has not intentionally broken the speed limit, although this doesn’t make the offences acceptable, we would hope knowing that it has not been done intentionally but whilst under great fatigue, pressure and stress, that you might be able to show him some leniency on this occasion. He has put in great effort and worked long hours running the contract for us at the Distribution Centre. His work ethic has ensured our company on going work in these difficult times. Moving forward we are fortunate now having work for other Sites with the same company (In various places) in addition we have work for another client who are aiding the governments in getting the unemployed get back to work and have been given works at several offices around the country Without doubt Bakerboy is vital for us to carry out these contacts works moving forward and can not do so if he is not able to drive. Yours faithfully,

Thank you, it is very much appreciated, not what I wanted to hear but that's life. I will save the money on that advise and deal with it myself, I don't relish speaking in court but it's not something I am going to have a great problem with either. I will get to work on the EH angle and see how it looks. ( I have a couple of parties that are fairly good at that kind of thing.) The solicitor fee will help with whatever fine I get ! Thank you very much.

Thank you for your reply, it's helpful and I already have a letter from my employer along those lines, the thought of those points over my head is quite disconcerting but that is out of my hands. I had a colleague some years ago who received a ban for speeding but got a short ban ( can't remember the duration ) at the end he had no points and ironically I got a ticket while on my way to pick him up ! This might make me sound like a habitual offender but the reality is that doing the kind of mileage that is involved with my job carries a higher risk than for most people, this however has me being VERY careful. If I had the option of a short ban to clear everything I would probably think carefully about taking it rather than the other option of points being there for years, with that in mind I wonder if it would be beneficial to gain the services of a solicitor to see if that would be a possibility. 6 months that's a whole different ball game.

Hi, I am hoping someone can direct me to the best outcome for my problem. I received 4 speeding tickets in a short space of time last year, just over 3 weeks actually, same place very similar speeds going through roadworks on the A1 the limit was signed at 50 and I was caught doing 61, 60, 62 and 61, no point denying it, Couple of reasons for it, non of which will make a difference I don't suppose but I had a lot on my mind with some domestic health issues and quite honestly I thought they were average speed cameras so wasn't too concerned of that as I would have have had no problem if they were. I wasn't overtaking anything and just moving with the traffic. Again that's no defence. The vehicle I drive is a standard van which is leased to me so therefore I did not receive any notification until about a month after the first offence and so by the time found out my mistake I was already "stuffed". I replied and admitted it, which brings me to present time. I have 4 notices of Summons on Referral to Court in very early February. My driving license is my way to earn money, I am self employed in construction and it would be impossible for me to earn any money without being able to transport my tools and goods to whichever site I work on and these can be literally anywhere in the UK. I wouldn't be able to pay the rent or any associated costs etc. I understand the idea that a penalty needs to inflict some sort of deterrent but a long ban would destroy my life I'm a bit concerned ! I also have my 84 year old disabled father living with who would be impacted by a ban and the company that I do most work for is a small company and if I was unable to work there would be a significant impact on that company too. I think I have covered everything there except to say that I cover over 40,000 miles a year and have no other blemishes on my license with the exception of a speed awareness course about 2 and a half years ago. Thanks in anticipation.

That's a very good point, I was err shall we say a bit trusting. because of the relationship I "thought" I had with them I trusted their word, they told me that it wasn't going to be a problem because the new place would cost less than the old one. Looks now that I will just have to suck it up, I know that there is some extra cash in hand income sometimes but that isn't going to help as it would just be denied. I think I am answering my own questions here. The saying about "No good dead goes unpunished" is remarkably accurate.

Well it's come to the time to the time to do something about this and I have been giving this a lot of thought particularly what BazzaS has said. So, I have no experience in these matters and while it really ticks me off, what is the likelihood of a satisfactory result ? I don't doubt that there is a very good chance of a successful court finding but if the chance of payment is very slim then there is little point in wasting more money. They are on benefits and have nothing of any real value so sending bailiffs in would be pointless. the only other possibility as far as I see would be to have a payment direct from the benefits. Would this even be a possibility ? I did get a few texts from them last weekend when they accused me of messing with their benefits and were very abusive so to just let it go doesn't sit well with me but I have to be practical. Thanks Everyone.

Thanks all for your help so far, letter before action sent by normal mail and recorded. I have the delivery signature and posting proof so I think that angle is covered. Now I will wait a bit, I really don't expect a reply but I always hope for the best. Thanks

Thanks. 14 days is more than long enough for an answer.

Just one quick point before I send this, Andy you said 14 days but the pre-action protocol mentions 30, is there a change somewhere ?

Thank you.

Thanks again, I will do that .

Or this one which isn't a template and I think much simpler. I will put the relevant dates in. Simple LBA redacted.pdf

Ok guys, I found the letter template on the "Which" website so I hope its the right sort of thing and would appreciate any advise / corrections on this draft. Thanks. IMG.pdf

Thank you all, I use Ebay a lot so am familiar with the proof of posting, I like the idea of doubling up for the sake of a bit of postage so thanks for that idea. I will get on to this this afternoon.

Thank you, I will get onto that this afternoon and post up before I send. What sort of proof do I need that the letter has been sent ? I dont imagine they would sign for anything recorded delivery and with it being a flat the post box is remote from the flat.

That is a very good point,when we first talked about this they were told, we don't care how long it takes to pay it back, if you can't manage to pay what you think, just talk to us because we know things don't always go to plan. I have helped this couple with LOTS of things , from shopping trips when they were broke , cash when thy needed help, thats just the tip of the iceberg. I'm really ticked off about it, I am aware that it is a possibility that I won't get anything but I can't just leave it without trying. I provided these people with a complete new start in life that was just not available to them. What would you do ?

Thanks Stu, I realise that this is full of holes. as is, I guess, often the case this is an unexpected situation and because of this the agreement was never meant to be a contract but rather a note of intent. Ironically the borrowers were quite firm on having something in writing to do it the right way !! Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Thank you.

Thanks for that, Do I know their address ? Yes, I moved all their furniture in for them, not to mention supplying a lot of it in the first place !! The agreement is attached with the names changed, the second note which in retrospect I should have dated was in a letter I personally put in their postbox along with most of the guide from the Gov.uk website about making a court claim for money, just to hopefully nudge them to contacting me. I posted this on 23/10/19 at about 11 pm and then sent a text to their phones ( they have 2 each) and got delivery reports to say they had been received. I also have 2 numbers so I have sent the same message from both numbers to them to make sure that the message got through and have these saved as well. Something which may be an issue is that they are on benefits so I don't wish to overburden them but just blanking me after all I have done for them is just unacceptable. IMG.pdf

Hi all, I know this is an unusual one for this site but here goes. I have known a couple for a few years, helped them out no end and seemed to be quite friendly with them, they found themselves in a bad housing situation where they couldn't find a bond to move from the accommodation they were in (slum landlord) to a new place. long story short, I loaned them the money. around 800 quid. we both agreed that this was a loan, not a gift and I have a signed agreement to that end. Also because of their circumstances this was a no interest loan and I gave them the option of varied payments because as we all know sometimes things just don't go well. The first payment was half what we agreed, now that was not a problem and I expected it anyway, I had nothing to gain by putting any undue pressure on. The second payment was missed completely, that also wouldn't have been an issue if the couple had talked to me but the situation is that they won't answer calls, texts or visits. I have no idea why unless they just want to get away without paying at all. This leaves me with no choice other than to try court action, I can't afford to loose that money really so am looking for any advice that I can get. If they talked to me I wouldn't even consider this. Thanks

Thank you, all advice is appreciated.

I will pass this on thanks guys and get on with it.

They closed it when she was in the black, refusef to let her have the 30 quid she had on saying that she might be overdrawn in a few days !! Its the inconvienience of not having any alternative and done with no notice. Really stinks.

Thanks.