I wasn't given opportunity to pay Fixed Penalty

[4148boome]

Hello to all,

I was caught using my mobile phone whilst driving (bluetooth had not operated and answered a call)

 

went through all the relevant questions and got a Fixed Penalty Notice, and a 'produce' ticket.

 

I mislaid my Paper Licence, and went to local police Station, with other papers, and told them i had mislaid paper licence.

 

Desk Sargent said don't do anything you will get a court date,

 

The court date finally arrived, and i did not contest the Offence,

just my explanation, to why i was using at that time.

 

I didnt hear from the Court until a demand notice came demanding 197.00

( the fine was 3 points and 86.00 pounds.

 

I made an appeal, saying that i wasn't given the opportunity to pay the Fixed Penalty

as was advised against it because paper licence was mislaid.

 

Now the case has gone to High Court Appeal, and i am worried that i might incur more court charges,

if they do not accept my explanation of events.

 

can anyone suggest a course of action , or a letter to write in to the court?

 

any help or comments would be appreciated,

regards

[Conniff]

It might be a bit hard to suggest anything until you hear from the court and get their decision.

[sailor sam]

What you need to realise is that there are two offences here. Using a mobile phone and failing to produce. The fine demanded sounds about right to me so I would of paid it. I suggest you speak to a solicitor before taking this further as I think it will cost you shed loads of money to take to the high court.

 

At the end of the day you are guilty on both counts but perhaps a decent solicitor my find a loop hole in the way the desk sergeant 'advised' you.

 

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek face to face professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[sgtbush]

you cant have a fixed penelty if you fail to produce your licence, it must go to court, the fines are larger when this happens

[Raykay]

Hello to all,

I was caught using my mobile phone whilst driving (bluetooth had not operated and answered a call)

 

went through all the relevant questions and got a Fixed Penalty Notice, and a 'produce' ticket.

 

I mislaid my Paper Licence, and went to local police Station, with other papers, and told them i had mislaid paper licence.

 

Desk Sargent said don't do anything you will get a court date,

 

 

You were not given a Fixed Penalty, you were given the opportunity to accept a Fixed Penalty. If a driving licence is not produced at the time of the offence, it is required to be produced within 7 days at a police station, and a Fixed Penalty may then be offered (it can be confusing because it can be the same piece of paper - but it needs the production of the driving licence to be converted to a Fixed Penalty.

 

As you didn't produce your licence, the desk sergeant couldn't offer you a fixed penalty, and why the matter went to court.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Raykay

[Aretnap]

The sentencing guidelines do say (page 189) http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/docs/MCSG_Update9_October_2012.pdf

 

where a penalty notice was not offered or taken up for reasons unconnected with the offence itself, such as administrative difficulties, the starting point should be a fine equivalent to the amount of the penalty and no order of costs should be imposed. The offender should not be disadvantaged by the unavailability of the penalty notice in these circumstances.

 

Wether this applies in your circumstances is debatable. Losing your counterpart was something which was within your control, but personally I'd still argue that it was a reason unconnected with the offence and that the court should have imposed the same fine as the fixed penalty. A court might take a different view though. And at the end of the day the difference is £137. Is it seriously worth risking the costs of a High Court appeal (thousands) for the sake of £137? In fact do you mean High Court or Crown Court? Costs in the Crown Court would not be as bad if you lost, but still more than the fine. If it was me I'd pay the extra £137 and put it down to experience.