AIBU to wonder whether I should report an accidental offence?

[AccidentalCriminal]

So I recently found out that I unknowingly and unwittingly broke the law last year.

No victim involved and I honestly and truly didn't know I'd done it.

Would you report yourself or just accept you got away with it?

A criminal conviction would destroy my career. But I also feel terrible that I've done something illegal.

WWYD?

I think insurers don't always pick this up if you don't tell them. Ideally insurers ought to pull convictions regularly from a central database but presumably did not in this case. Perhaps it isn't possible, don't know. I do know you can enter your driver number when taking out insurance but it isn't mandatory.

Driving uninsured is obviously only victimless if you don't kill or injure anyone. It's a shame the MIB doesn't accept donations as that would probably be the most appropriate place to donate (it compensates people injured by uninsured drivers). Part of every insurance policy funds the MIB so law abiding drivers pay for those injured by the uninsured.

Not correct. The police are deemed to have served the registered keeper within 14 days if they send it the registered address within that time.

You can’t get off a speeding fine just by failing to update your address!

It will be returned Gone Away. The police cannot enforce a NIP past 6 months.

You probably shouldn't have been banned. Your convictions in your absence would be overturned upon proof being provided that you were not aware of the summons.

That would leave you with 6 points in total (your 3 pre existing ones plus 3 for the offence that led to this). The 6 points for not giving information would be wiped once the court was satisfied that you had not received any of the post.

As other posters say there will be a fine to pay too. A call to the fines unit at the magistrates court will give you the information you need to pay this. You don't need to explain any of the history!

Alternatively you could go and get some specialist motoring legal advice and see whether it's worth getting the ban overturned. My initial view is that it is not worth doing this given you seem to be suffering no adverse long term impact.

If that is true just pay the outstanding fine and treat that as your penance (although you have if your story is accurate not done anything very wrong). Technically not telling DVLA of a change of address is an offence but rarely enforced.

Clearly this didn’t happen, as OP says she was banned, which wouldn’t have happened if they had missed the 6 month deadline for laying. The fine would have been imposed at the same time as the ban.

They can’t ban someone who hasn’t received the NIP, completed it and returned it. They’d have nothing to work with. They need a paper trail. I think the OP is just assuming a ban.

My only concern would be that your were driving (unknowingly) without valid insurance. It's turned out OK, you didn't have an accident, didn't hurt anyone or yourself, didn't damage anyone's property, but if you had, the consequences could have been serious. My view is make amends by making sure you keep everything up to date so it doesn't happen again. No point in reporting yourself.

Why didn't you update the address when you got the 6 points, or have you moved twice?

No, she has given the date of the ban as June 25.

A lot of this doesn’t make sense so I’m starting to suspect it’s not actually true, to be honest.

If it's a genuine mistake and the time's gone, I don't know what you hope to achieve by reporting yourself. The process has happened, the cock up with addresses has happened and here we are.

Step one: make sure your address is up to date on your driving licence, insurance and everything else.
Step two: that's the end. Carry on.

The OP said "I only found out when I came to renew my driving license which had expired- the form came back as I'd filled it in for an expired license not to have my licence reinstated." which strongly suggests that there was indeed a ban. Only I thought you had to send in your licence if you were banned, and they sent you a new one after the ban was finished; I can see how confusion could arise if that isn't so.

The reason for the 6 points that took the number over into ban territory was that the ticket went to the old address, and wasn't paid because OP didn't see it – nor, presumably, any other correspondence from the police or other legal agencies after that. But I am surprised the DVLA didn't leap on her when she applied from a different address to renew her licence. On the other hand, they probably aren't that efficient really.

Why on earth would you report this?

That would be the perfect place to donate! I'll look and see if I can find something similar.

That could have been really dangerous and you could have been personally responsible for huge damages if you had an accident. You didn't so you were very lucky, you were driving without a licence or insurance which is pretty bad but at least you acknowledge that.

Exactly! Hence my (deserved) ban!
It was 100% my fault for not updating my address.

I'm not assuming at all, its on my online license check!

The 6 points were after I'd moved. They were for not providing driver information for tbe speeding fine- also issued after I moved.

Of course it's true! Why on earth would I make up something so mundane!?

The ban was June 25 to December 25. The conviction was in May 25. I found out about in in April this year when I went to renew my expired licence. I moved in November 24 and hadn't updated my details witnthe DVLA or my car V5.

Considering I had to pay via postal order in 2026 I'm not sure their systems are exactly up to date...

Good grief.

Can you still get those? I didn't know.

Yep. And you have to pay cash!!!

No why would you do that to yourself? I’ve been through the court system for a driving mistake I didn’t consciously make and it is traumatic. I had to have therapy to move past it all. They will take your licence for a long time whether you meant to or not.

You only send your licence in if your ban is over 6 months.

Ah! Thanks.

This thread is teaching me lots of things I didn't know. Thank you.