Do I have to do this????

JimmyTheWig

heretolearn wrote: »

It's an offence not to complete the form with the 'means' information and that offence in itself can result in a fine of up to £500.

If that is the case, I think it is really unfair. I totally see why they would want household income in terms of reducing the fine, but if the OP doesn't want to reduce the fine due to household income then they shouldn't have to fill it in.
Presumably we're not saying that someone earning £10,000,000 a year would pay more than someone earning £100,000 a year? Surely there's some sort of upper limit? Why can they not just assume that not filling in the form means that you are above the upper limit?

loobylou2 wrote: »

I am not married to or linked to OH in any way.

You are not linked in terms of you don't have any joint credit. Filling in this form won't change this.
But you are linked in as much as you are partners.
The reasonable assumption, which may or may not be correct in this instance, is that partners help each other out.
Basically it would not be fair if the poor person with a poor partner had to pay as much as the poor person with a rich partner.

loobylou2 wrote: »

muggings here will probably end up paying it anyway in order to keep him out of jail.

That's up to you. Earlier you suggested about him having to sell the car to pay for it.

embob74

I too find it odd that you are trying to distance yourself as partners. If you are not together then....why are you together?!

Errata

£700 seems way over the top for the alleged offence. However, he should ask the court for time to pay (do make sure he does this), otherwise if he ignores the fine you could find the bailiffs knocking at your door.

Somerset

OP you are, in effect going to end up paying this.

I know you said you are struggling, but hypothetically if you weren't :

Household income - A Fortune, Household expenses - Less than a fortune => Available for fine - Plenty

So the fine payment or installments are assessed on net household surplus which is essentially your income. Now, ok that's payable by your partner but since he won't be able to pay, what then ?

Nan63

loobylou2 wrote: »

My partner and father of my 3 children

loobylou2 wrote: »

I am not married to or linked to OH in any way

Surely with 3 children you are linked?

As far as the courts are concerned you live together with 3 children, of course they are going to make the assumption that household expenses are shared.

pixelation

This is the Magistrates' Court Sentencing guideline on fines:

[When the] Household has more than one source of income
22. Where the household of which the offender is a part has more than one source of income, the fine should normally be based on the income of the offender alone.
23. However, where the offender’s part of the income is very small (or the offender is wholly dependent on the income of another), the court may have regard to the extent of the household’s income and assets which will be available to meet any fine imposed on the offender.

Tiddlywinks

Person_one wrote: »

Maybe they just want to work out how much they can take from him each month without crippling the whole household? That could be why they want to know the setup.

This ^

OP you are making a mountain out of a molehill.

Your partner has a fine to pay and the court has asked for household income - pretty standard - in order to determine a payment plan.

No-one has said you are responsible for the actual offence - calm down a bit. Why the OTT responses?

If you feel that strongly, take it up with the court.

As to the fine, the fixed penalty amounts only apply if the offence is admitted and it is paid before court. if the driver decides to take the allegation to court to dispute it or put in mitigation then the fine is determined by the court at the conclusion of the case.

Somerset

pixelation wrote: »

This is the Magistrates' Court Sentencing guideline on fines:

[When the] Household has more than one source of income
22. Where the household of which the offender is a part has more than one source of income, the fine should normally be based on the income of the offender alone.
23. However, where the offender’s part of the income is very small (or the offender is wholly dependent on the income of another), the court may have regard to the extent of the household’s income and assets which will be available to meet any fine imposed on the offender.

That can't be right ??

So if your son/daughter has a fine - their income is small (say JSA) - the household's income/assets is treated as available to meet the fine ? I suppose it depends what constitute's a 'household' though I'd classify mum/dad plus adult kids living together as a household, though they are separate individual's not responsible for each other's debts.

loobylou2

embob74 wrote: »

I too find it odd that you are trying to distance yourself as partners. If you are not together then....why are you together?!

Because of the children mainly and also because of his age. If I were to tell him to leave he would have nowhere to go and if anything were to happen to him because his health is not good, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. I said in my original post that our relationship is not in a good place but he's still the father of my children and I still care about him, I'm just not happy about potentially being landed with his fine and having to give details of my income but obviously theres no avoiding it, I've spent the last 16 years sorting out the messes he repeatedly manages to get himself into and tbh I'm getting really fed up with it. I'm not a heartless !!!!! but I'm more than a bit sick of always having to get him out of trouble to be honest.

skylight

They will want your details of income so that they can see that you are paying your own way in the household and he cannot then claim he has to pay all bills thus leaving him with the excuse that he cannot afford a fine at any more than a paltry rate.

You will not be landed with the fine. that's his problem (as long as he pays it and therefore bailiffs are kept from your door - at that point it may become problematic for you).