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AIBU?

To ignore speeding fine

278 replies

wowimamazing · 08/10/2017 23:25

Found out I had a speeding fine sent to an old address. Didn’t respond obviously and it’s been 10 weeks and not heard anything else. Should I just keep quiet.

OP posts:

Report

Bubblebubblepop · 09/10/2017 07:23

It goes to court, it's a criminal matter, not a parking ticket. I suspect though, that future correspondence will come to your new address since you've updated it

wowimamazing · 09/10/2017 07:32

Ok ok ok! I get it. Not sure there is any need for the name calling. I’m not a law breaking ‘arsehole’ or any of the other things people seem angry enough to call me.
If I was speeding no doubt I’ll end up paying the fine. I simply asked if between addresses it was likely to be dropped if I hadn’t heard anything in over 2.5 months. The paperwork doesn’t exactly make it easy to dispute anyway. It just asks for who was driving.

OP posts:

Sukistinks · 09/10/2017 07:34

The guy at your door stausexy probably does the same job as me, and you're right, we don't just go away. People seem to look at me tho and think they can run rings around me (aw, poor old dear, grey hair female etc) but I use that to my advantage!!

A couple of the insurance companies I take work from even pay me more to do a 5 am or 10pm call to catch people before leaving for work or just before bed.

blueskyinmarch · 09/10/2017 07:37

You aren't supposed to dispute it. You were speeding and they will have the evidence they need. They just need to check who was driving the car at the time. I have had a speeding fine. I thought I was in 40 limit but in fact it was a 30. It was entirely my fault for not being aware of this and I had to pay the fine and take the points. I am now very very careful about checking speed limits.

PotteringAlong · 09/10/2017 07:39

It's asks for who was driving so they know who to send the fine to.

I got a speeding ticket 2 weeks ago - they wrote to DH to ask if he was driving (he's the registered keeper). He filled it in that he wasn't and I think it says who do you suspect of driving. He filled it in that it was me and they wrote to me a week later. I've sent it back again and am just waiting now for the fine / speed awareness course letter.

Usernamegone · 09/10/2017 07:39

I have employees who didn't change their address who were caught speeding. Eventually the DVLA revoked their licence. We check licences electronically every year so we found out and they panicked as then they had to explain to their employer why it had been revoked!!!

Sukistinks · 09/10/2017 07:41

wowiamamazing I did offer a Pm if you needed any help or more information, offer still stands.

I genuinely worry for anyone in this situation who isn't aware of these serious consequences, hence the reply and offer of help.

wowimamazing · 09/10/2017 07:43

Sukistinks thank you for the detailed and helpful advice.* I appreciate it.*

OP posts:

ShellyBoobs · 09/10/2017 07:45

The paperwork doesn’t exactly make it easy to dispute anyway. It just asks for who was driving.

Because it's not at the ticket issuing stage yet.

What they're currently asking for is the registered keeper to disclose who the driver was.

Your failure to respond to that is the S172 offence which is 6 points and a big fine, as said several times earlier in the thread.

If you had completed that part they would have by now sent the details of the speeding offence to you.

HerSymphonyAndSong · 09/10/2017 07:46

Do you actually have the paperwork now? How did you find out about it?

wowimamazing · 09/10/2017 07:51

It was sent to my exes house. I’ve not lived there for several months. He hadn’t opened it or bothered to give it to me. Along with several other items of time critical post.

OP posts:

wowimamazing · 09/10/2017 07:52

I found out about it when a mutual friend visited his house and saw mail sitting there with my name on it which she described as looking important.

OP posts:

Roomba · 09/10/2017 07:55

Please don't ignore it. A previous occupant of my address clearly didn't receive a penalty notice years ago and I am still having to answer the door to Enforcement Officers occasionally. They turn up stating they have an arrest warrant and I then have to prove I am not Mrs X so they go away again. She was obviously fined and then the courts keep chasing for the non payment of that fine (far more serious).

Unless you want your name in the local court report, and a court debt showing on your credit file and criminal record in a few months time, I would ring them and give your correct details. They don't seem to stop the process if letters get sent back, it just keeps escalating into massive fines then potentially prison for non payment!

TammySwansonTwo · 09/10/2017 07:56

In my experience I've seen people think they're very clever for wriggling out of debts and fines, getting rid of debt collection companies etc... until they need a mortgage, credit check for a tenancy or borrowing....

My husband got an obscenely large phone bill after a holiday which he disputed (some issue with buying extra data but updates on usage being delayed or something). He refused to pay and it went to a collections agency and due to an error on their part he got them to set it aside. He thought it was brilliant... til we applied for a mortgage and he had a default and a settled but unpaid debt on his file. In the end he had to convince the debt agency to reopen it so he could pay it off - and it took AGES.

Just pay what you owe, take the points and move on. These things always come back and bite you later.

LoniceraJaponica · 09/10/2017 07:59

Why don't you set up to have all your post redirected. It doesn't cost much.

Timeforabiscuit · 09/10/2017 07:59

If you get it proactively get it sorted out you might be able to do a speed awareness course rather than points and a fine. You really dont want a court date on your record when doing car insurance renewal.

londonrach · 09/10/2017 08:01

Just seen update. You cant challenge it op. They have a photo evidence of your car speeding. This is fact so pay the fine.

AdalindSchade · 09/10/2017 08:03

You know it’s your responsibility to update addresses not your ex’s? And there is a postal redirection service you can use to have post forwarded on? Before you start thinking that ‘my ex never forwarded my post’ is a reasonable defence.
Why would you think that the police would just ‘drop’ a fine for breaking the law if you didn’t respond in less than 3 months? You realise the police have access to far more personal information than most agencies right?
Sheesh. Wonder how someone can be an adult and yet so clueless about how the word operates.

CamperVamp · 09/10/2017 08:04

OP, they send you a letter, as keeper of the car, for you to confirm who the driver was.

You send that back and then they send the letter with the notice about the speeding, to the driver.

That is why PPs have said you could get done for not disclosing who the driver is (even if it was you), as this is the first stage.

I would contact them now, explain that change of address was an innocent, much regretted omission, and confirm that you were driving, if you were.

You can then set about disputing the evidence (they have to tell you what this is) if you genuinely think they are wrong.

It will be better to be pro-active.

RainbowPastel · 09/10/2017 08:05

You should have changed your address as soon as you moved. Contact them ASAP to get this sorted out.

Iruka · 09/10/2017 08:05

wowimamzing The first stage of a speeding ticket is a letter asking the registered owner to confirm who was driving. Failure to respond or lying on this form is an offence and the police prosecute every time. Once you have confirmed the driver, they send out the actual notice. This tells you exactly where, when and what the offence was and your options, usually driver awareness course, fine and points or go to court. If you want to challenge it you will probably have to take it to court.

Iruka · 09/10/2017 08:06

I would fill out the form and send back with a covering letter explaining why you haven’t responded earlier

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Wolfiefan · 09/10/2017 08:07

Pay up.
Don't speed anymore.
Simple.

kungfupannda · 09/10/2017 08:12

You would be very, very stupid to ignore this now that you know about it.

It won't go away. It will escalate. Of the 15 years I worked as a criminal lawyer, many of the hours of those years were spent sitting in the traffic court, waiting to get my cases called on, behind a queue of 'in absence' motoring offences.

If you don't name the driver, a charge of failing to provide details will automatically be added. Potential fine and points go up. If you still don't respond, the matter will be added to a court list. If you don't turn up or plead guilty or not guilty by post, the matter will be heard in your absence, and you will be fined and given points. The costs will then start to spiral. At some point you are likely to be tracked down and you will then find yourself in the position of having to take it back to court and argue that you should be given the opportunity to re-open the case. This will involve serving a statutory declaration which the court will then consider. If they don't agree to re-open it (and they almost certainly won't if it's just a case of not updating your address) you will be asked to make arrangements to pay the fine and costs. They might agree to reopen it, find you not guilty of the speeding and still convict you of failing to provide details - the more serious offence.

All of this is a bread-and-butter, almost automatic process. These cases aren't just dropped because the police/CPS can't be bothered. They deal with non-responders every day. It actually makes their life much easier if people don't engage with the process. The paperwork probably won't be amended to your new address because they already have an address on the system and no reason to go looking for another one. But if you are convicted in absence, you will probably find that they track you down pretty quickly due to your updated address - the bailiffs do have a reason to look for alternative methods of contact.

So no, don't wait to see if the paperwork turns up, because all you are doing is willingly building up costs and points.

demirose87 · 09/10/2017 08:25

Yes you should just pay it. The previous tenant before I lived in my current address got a parking fine sent here and I rang them up and said she doesn't live here anymore as they were threatening bailiffs, and now they are tracking them down. And because it wasn't paid within a certain time, the amount of the fine has gone up.

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