Fixed Penalty - Driving without insurance

90Ninety

prowla wrote: »

Erm, does you own insurance cover you for driving someone else's car?

It does as long as the owners car is insured

90Ninety

pappa_golf wrote: »

how can you contest? you drove WITHOUT insurance , no mitigation unless it was a company vehicle - was it? , you will get instalments but be hammered with court costs

Yeah this is what my gut is telling me , its just £300 is going to hurt right now

HO87

As PG has said there is no way to negotiate a payment plan. You either pay by the end of the 28 days or the matter defaults to court where a minimum of £85 prosecution costs plus the victim surcharge (10% of fine value based on a minimum amount payable of £30 up to a maximum of £120) will be added.

On the basis that the court imposes the same fine value of £300 then you are looking at a final amount of £415 to be paid. Whether you believe that having to pay more than 38% extra is good value for the privilege of paying by instalment is a matter for you. Its certainly cheaper than the average pay day loan.

rich13348

It might be worth checking the small print of your insurance documents very carefully. You may well find that your insurance allows you to drive other vehicles only if they themselves are insured.
So very rare policies will all you to be insured for any vehicle regardless.

This may be a way out of it but check small print and if necessary contact insurance company with hypothetical question.

pappa_golf

rich13348 wrote: »

It might be worth checking the small print of your insurance documents very carefully. You may well find that your insurance allows you to drive other vehicles only if they themselves are insured.
So very rare policies will all you to be insured for any vehicle regardless.

This may be a way out of it but check small print and if necessary contact insurance company with hypothetical question.

mums insurance had run out , the car was NOT insured , unless the OP had added it to his insurance whilst asleep

GingerBob_3

90Ninety wrote: »

Hmm I am pretty skeptical , I can see the courts being slightly biased with a magistrate - no offence

No. She had to go to a court outside her area, just so that she was not known as a magistrate. Now it did cost her a bit for solicitors' fees, but you'll need to weigh up the cost of the six points. Perhaps get an initial consultation to see what they say.

Mr.Generous

prowla wrote: »

Erm, does you own insurance cover you for driving someone else's car?

yes, provided someone else has a policy on that vehicle. Otherwise it would be an easy way to drive a Ferrari, buy it in someone elses name, insure yourself on a 1.0 corsa and drive the Ferrari!

90Ninety

Mr.Generous wrote: »

yes, provided someone else has a policy on that vehicle. Otherwise it would be an easy way to drive a Ferrari, buy it in someone elses name, insure yourself on a 1.0 corsa and drive the Ferrari!

That would be a good idea if you want to join the stupid club here :T

HO87

Using a solicitor to prepare the case and appear at court is going to cost at least £300 - just for the court appearance. Case prep. will probably double that figure.

Although I understand your position these charges are not called "penalties" for nothing. They are intended to hurt.

The officer will have issued the notice based on the information he had to hand at the time but it may be you can show that your use was covered. However, based on your account it seems likely (unless you know differently) that you were stopped because the vehicle was "pinged" on ANPR meaning that there was no insurance on the vehicle in the first place. Again based on your account if there was no insurance on the vehicle then your insurance provides no cover. Always worth checking though.

waamo

HO87 has hit the nail on the head. On the face of things you have no defence which you seem to acknowledge.

Given that it's a case of damage limitation. The question is which would hurt less £300 now or a much larger amount spread over time. That's really a question only you can answer. A lawyer probably isn't worth the expense.

Good luck whatever you decide.