Page 3 | Speeding ticket!

earlydoors42 · 2019-05-01T05:35:09+00:00

My friend had a speeding ticket in her name and at her address, but it was a time and place that she was not at (she was at work elsewhere) AND in a car she has never owned! She denied it was her but now has to go to court. She doesn't know how to prove she never had this car (hard to prove a negative) - but thinks if she just goes to court she can sort it out. AIBU to ask if she needs a solicitor?

doistayordoigo · 01/05/2019 18:00

@Lifecraft But if the records that DVLA hold show her name and address as keeper (which is where the police get the information from) this will count as proof as far as the courts are concerned. So she will need some kind of evidence to counteract that evidence.

@earlydoors42 Is she being sent to court for the speeding offence or for failing to provide information?

RSAcre · 01/05/2019 18:26

Generally these days they have a photo of the car as evidence. iIf they don’t and she can’t unequivocally prove that she was elsewhere, then she would be better just accepting the points/ speed awareness course and chalking it up to experience I think. A solicitor will be so expensive and she is so unlikely to win.

Ridiculous. Generally, these days, a car has not just a log book but an electronic record. That will clearly show that friend never owned the car. WhyTF would she plead guilty to something she hasn't done?
She won't need a solicitor & she is 100% likely to win.

Original poster

earlydoors42 · 01/05/2019 20:48

@doistayordoigo that is a good question. I assume just the speeding but will check. She told me she kept telling them it wasn't her but it has somehow come to court.

The records for this random unknown car have my friend's name listed as owner at my friend's address. So that is the part that is hard to disprove! Even though she has never seen this car or number plate and wasn't driving there.

OP posts:

BarbaraofSevillle · 01/05/2019 21:16

Could the friend be up in court for not providing details of the driver of this mysterious car that she doesn't own and has never driven or even seen?

How frustrating. Has she asked for a photograph of the offence?

CircleofWillis · 01/05/2019 21:16

Would it be worth trying to report this as fraud to the police? Someone has stolen her identity and is driving around in a car istensibly owned by 'law abiding?' OP's friend. I can see the advantages such a car would have to all sorts of nefarious people.

CircleofWillis · 01/05/2019 21:17

*Ostensibly

GunpowderGelatine · 01/05/2019 21:17

As a PP said it is up to the other side to prove it's her in the car and that she owned or used it

winepls · 01/05/2019 22:13

@earlydoors42 Is she sure they have her listed as keeper or is she assuming? You get a letter for the offence initially asking if you were driving or to provide the drivers details. Could someone have provided her name & address?

Otherwise someone, anyone is pulling a fast one! I'll be really interested to see how this pans out.

I've just bought a new car & no ID was asked for, I could have given any name & address and it wouldn't have been questioned. Although wouldn't a new log book have been sent there??

Beachbodynowayready · 01/05/2019 22:16

On arrival she will meet a rep from dvla. She will be asked to write a statement and sign it.
She won't even enter the court room.
Similar happened to dh.
Nothing at all to worry about.

doistayordoigo · 01/05/2019 22:47

She won't meet a rep from DVLA...DVLA aren't taking her to court or involved in any way. If she attends court she will be asked to give her details and then questioned by the prosecutor and magistrates. The police may or may not give evidence depending on whether the prosecutor deems it necessary. The best thing she could do in advance is to contact DVLA and ask what paperwork they were provided with when the record was put into her name, although I'm not sure what their rules are on releasing this.

The reason I asked whether she was being prosecuted for speeding or for failing to give information is because failing to provide information is the more serious offence and carries a bigger penalty. If she has told them repeatedly that it isn't her car, but has done this verbally and never completed the S172 notice, technically she hasn't complied. In this scenario she would probably be found guilty.

Beachbodynowayready · 01/05/2019 22:50

My dh was summoned for tickets on a car he no longer owned. He was told all licence /speeding /queried owner instances were dealt with by dvla previous to court time allocated. There was a security man who diverted all cases to a queue for the rep.

TurnUPtheheat12 · 01/05/2019 22:53

I received a speeding letter with a photo with a place situated 100s of miles away. I checked & I was at work. I sent the letter back stating I was at work at x postcode & it therefore could not be me. I didn't receive any further letters

Original poster

earlydoors42 · 02/05/2019 06:59

I will definitely delve into this further and see what letters she has had and if she has replied verbally or in writing. Will check who she has spoken to as well - as I said, she was a bit vague and not as worried as I think she should be! I think telling the police is a good idea if someone has used her name and address.

OP posts:

Namechangeforthiscancershit · 02/05/2019 07:07

Photograph for sure. Sadly I bet it turns out to be someone she knows

Oliversmumsarmy · 02/05/2019 09:18

If the dvla have the car registered in her name.

I would have her check that the dvla haven’t mixed up her with someone else. Then if they say she owns the car then go to the police and tell them everything and say if they insist she owns the car then obviously it follows it must have been stolen.

It was the only thing that worked for me.

It did get ridiculous at one point as dvla admitted they had entered the details wrongly. I had sold a similar make of car around the time that this other car was shipped from the UK.
The DVLA insisted as the computer said I owned the car then the fine (none payment of a toll road in a foreign country) was mine.

DGRossetti · 02/05/2019 10:40

The reason I asked whether she was being prosecuted for speeding or for failing to give information is because failing to provide information is the more serious offence and carries a bigger penalty. If she has told them repeatedly that it isn't her car, but has done this verbally and never completed the S172 notice, technically she hasn't complied.

That crossed my mind. Sadly some people have developed a charming naive belief that the justice system has "common sense" built into it. It doesn't, and no matter how bleeding obvious the facts are, unless you follow the procedure, you can run afoul of the rules.

Lifecraft · 02/05/2019 11:57

@Lifecraft But if the records that DVLA hold show her name and address as keeper (which is where the police get the information from) this will count as proof as far as the courts are concerned. So she will need some kind of evidence to counteract that evidence.

No she won't. No one can prove they don't own a car. She could have it tucked away in a secret garage, unknown to anyone else.

She just needs to say it's an error and she has never heard of that vehicle. Let them produce the last transfer documentation transferring the vehicle to her ownership.... with her signature on it!

The bit on the V5 you have to sign when applying to become the new registered keeper.

Langrish · 02/05/2019 11:58

This rings bells, similar story on you and yours recently about an insurance scam. Talk to CAB/solicitor if you know it wasn’t you.

fairydustandpixies · 02/05/2019 12:16

My DS got a speeding ticket with a photo of 'his' car, same number plate, but 200 miles away from where he was at the time. Luckily, he has a black box fitted so the telematics proved that it wasn't him but someone with the same make and model of his car had cloned his plates.

kalopali · 02/05/2019 12:22

The DVLA insisted as the computer said I owned the car then the fine (none payment of a toll road in a foreign country) was mine.

The DVLA doesn’t keep records of ownership only registered keepers. As for the foreign toll road I’d have just ignored it anyway.

WinterWillow · 02/05/2019 12:38

This also happened to my mother a few years ago. She had a speeding fine for a time of day when she was in work, it was also in an area that she would never have reason to drive through, albeit fairly close to home.

When she called to query it turned out they had 1 digit wrong in the number plate. It was a completely different car to hers, and of course not her driving.

Oliversmumsarmy · 02/05/2019 12:59

kalopali
obviously meant registered keeper.

The foreign road toll came from a legitimate company in the UK who chase fines from europe

Original poster

earlydoors42 · 02/05/2019 15:04

I followed up with my friend today and will keep following up until it is sorted! She has realised she was being naive thinking she can just turn up to court and point out it isn't her car.

She didn't receive anything asking who was driving. The first thing she got was a letter saying she has a court summons and does she plead guilty or not guilty. She wrote back saying not guilty and explained why. They wrote back and said she still had to go to court.

She had no opportunity to ask for photographs etc.

A lot of commenters are missing the fact that it was not her car or her number plate! So it isn't cloned or they have read it wrong off the photo. Someone has registered a car she has never seen, to her name and address.

She is getting the paperwork out and letting me help her now. Some great info and suggestions in the thread - thank you!

OP posts:

eurochick · 02/05/2019 15:21

That sounds like someone else has named her as the driver. In which case it doesn't matter who is the owner or the registered keeper of the car.

The first step is usually an NIP with a photo to the registered keeper, asking them to provide driver details. It sounds like someone else received this and has named her as the driver. If she wrote back saying not guilty as it wasn't her car, that's irrelevant.

She really needs to obtain a copy of the photo and find out what is going on here. Proof that she was at work sounds key.

DGRossetti · 02/05/2019 15:25

A lot of commenters are missing the fact that it was not her car or her number plate! So it isn't cloned or they have read it wrong off the photo. Someone has registered a car she has never seen, to her name and address.

Unless she has an insecure postbox (shared flat) this can't have happened while she's been living there, as she would have received the new one when issued, setting off alarm bells.

If there was a car previously registered there, she could have been unaware. But then the personal details wouldn't match (and it shouldn't have got this far ...)

She didn't receive anything asking who was driving. The first thing she got was a letter saying she has a court summons and does she plead guilty or not guilty.

But the system doesn't work that way. It's NIP first, then summons.