Speeding fine help please

Hhzg71

Ok a bit of a long story, please bear with me.

I was done for speeding (43 in a 30 zone) by automatic camera device. Ok fair enough, I hold my hands up, I know there’s no excuse but I was out of town and didn’t notice the change from a dual carriageway.

The alleged offence o cured on the 20/8/2018 and I received the fixed penalty letter on the 2/10/2018. I was just going to pay the fine on my credit card. I’m a single mum on a carers wage so couldn’t take the time off work to due a speed course. The thing is, my friend told me that because the letter was sent AFTER the 14 days, I didn’t need to pay it. Like a fool I ignored it, too many other things going on at the time, work, a family bereavement and imminent house move. Yes I know it was stupid to ignore it.

I since moved house, changed my log book and promptly got a court order saying I had to pay over £300!!

What do I do now? I earn £800 a month which covers my rent, bills and just about food and petrol to get to work to pay for above. My tax credits have been stopped because they think I earn too much (another story) so basically I’m stuffed!! I just don’t have that kind of money!

Could I have some sensible advice please? I really don’t need telling how stupid I’ve been, I know!

a.turner

Best ring the court and discuss a payment plan before they come and arrest you for nonpayment.

TooManyPoints

Best ring the court and discuss a payment plan before they come and arr at you for nonpayment.

Before you do that, first things first:

I received the fixed penalty letter on the 2/10/2018.

You don't receive a "Fixed Penalty Letter". The first you should have received is a Notice of Intended Prosecution accompanied by a "Request for driver's details". Did you receive and respond to these?

...and promptly got a court order saying I had to pay over £300!!

What does the letter say the £300 is for?

And finally, were you the Registered Keeper of the vehicle at the time of this allegation? Did you have the V5C (Registration document) in your possession and were all the details on it correct?

Hhzg71

The first notification I got was a conditional offer of fixed penalty with my speeding offence details and the offer of a speed awareness course, nothing before that.

This second notification is a notice of fine and collection order.

It says fine £220, victim sur £30, costs £85 - totalling £335

Hhzg71

Sorry missed the last bit. Yes I’m the registered keeper, all the details are correct. When I moved house, I sent off the form to change the address on my v5

TooManyPoints

The first notification I got was a conditional offer of fixed penalty with my speeding offence details

How did they know you were the driver, then? Is the amount you've been asked to pay £335?

Hhzg71

I don’t know how they know, tbh I hadn’t even thought of that! Yes the amount is £335, I just don’t have it. I’m barely staying afloat paying rent and bills and petrol to get to work. The car is a lease car I’m stuck with, so nothing I can do there, but I need the car as I do home care

shaun_from_Africa

Hhzg71 wrote: »

The first notification I got was a conditional offer of fixed penalty with my speeding offence details and the offer of a speed awareness course, nothing before that.

As TooManyPoints mentioned, they will only send the letter with the choice of a fixed penalty or course to the person who had been named as driving when the offence occurred and they don't simply send this to the registered keeper.
Is there any possibility that someone else in your household could have opened the original notice of intended prosecution letter and filled in your details and returned the form?

Car_54

Hhzg71 wrote: »

I don’t know how they know, tbh I hadn’t even thought of that! Yes the amount is £335, I just don’t have it. I’m barely staying afloat paying rent and bills and petrol to get to work. The car is a lease car I’m stuck with, so nothing I can do there, but I need the car as I do home care

Are you sure you're the RK? With a leased car, the finance company is normally the RK, and so would have received the NIP and nominated you as the keeper/driver.
Do you have the V5C in your possesion?

Hhzg71

The only other person in the house is my 16 year old daughter and she wouldn’t have sent anything off. She knows better than to open my post.

Yes I have the v5 in my possession

TooManyPoints

The fine and costs certainly fit with you having been convicted in your absence of speeding. If you had been convicted of the more serious charge of "Failing to Provide Driver's details, the amount they are chasing you for would be over £800.

This leaves the mystery of how they successfully prosecuted you when they did not have a signed statement from you saying you were the driver at the time of the allegation. It also leaves a mystery of how, having ignored the original offers, the paperwork for the subsequent court action was not served on you. This may be explained by your change of address (the proceedings would, in all probability, not have taken place until February or March). If you check your driving record online you should see the date of your conviction and the points that have been added to your licence (probably four).

As you were not aware of the proceedings against you, you should perform a "Statutory Declaration" to that effect. You can do this either at your local Magistrates' Court (for free) or before a solicitor (who my charge you £5 to £10). This has the effect of nullifying the conviction. The police will then have to decide whether to start the proceedings again. If they do you will be able to see the evidence they have used to prove you were driving and we can go from there. But one step at a time.