Speeding fine

philb02

My wife recently had a letter reminding her that she had to pay a speeding fine. She never received the original letter. It appears they have to inform you of a speeding fine within a certain amount of time and as she never had the original letter, this time had passed.

She has spoken to them and they say that the letter was sent out so it is something that we have to take up with Royal Mail.

What exactly are the rules on this, can they insist she pays?
Thanks

TooManyPoints

What exactly has she received?

The first notification she should have had (assuming she is the Registered Keeper (RK) of the car) is a "Notice of Intended Prosecution" (NIP) and a request for the driver's details (a "S172 notice"). The NIP must be served on the RK within 14 days of the offence. There is no time limit on the S172 notice. The S172 notice must be responded to in 28 days or a separate, more serious offence is committed. They cannot take any steps regarding the speeding matter until that response has been received as they do not know who was driving. So, if she has received nothing until now she cannot have a reminder to pay a speeding fine. So:


Is she the RK (i.e. does she hold the V5C Registration Document)?

When was the alleged offence?

Who is the letter from that she has just received and what does it say?

philb02

She does not have the V5C as it is a motabilty vehicle, so they hold that during the lease.  The lease for this car actually ended on 31/1/2020 so she does now have another vehicle.  The alleged offence was 29/1/2020.  She has sent the letter back saying that she was the keeper at the time and the driver of the alleged offence.  She received her first letter on 27/2/2020 and had received nothing before this.  The letter she received was the reminder saying she had not responded to the first letter.  She rang them on 28/2/2020 to inform them of this and they said that is ok things get lost in the post.  She now has a conditional offer of a fixed penalty dated 2/3/2020 saying she has 28 days from the date of that letter to take up the offer.  The first letter the reminder she received is dated 24/2/2020.  Which she received on 27/2/2020.  She has contacted them again today 19/3/2020 and they have said that the fact she did not receive the first letter should be taken up with Royal Mail.

treeroy

If she was indeed speeding and she is not being penalised for being late, and it's just a reminder, then what is the problem?

philb02

From what I understood, if they don't inform you within 14 days then they can't enforce it. As the first notification we had was more than 14 days, I'm trying to work out if it is something we can ignore.

Car_54

philb02 said:

From what I understood, if they don't inform you within 14 days then they can't enforce it. As the first notification we had was more than 14 days, I'm trying to work out if it is something we can ignore.

No, you can't ignore it. The only NIP to which a time limit applies is the first one, which will have been sent to Motability, who will have supplied your wife's details. The NIP sent to your wife is not subject to a time limit and is perfectly valid.

TooManyPoints

philb02 said:

From what I understood, if they don't inform you within 14 days then they can't enforce it. As the first notification we had was more than 14 days, I'm trying to work out if it is something we can ignore.

Can you please answer the questions I asked. This is not something that can just be ignored. The NIP and S172 notice which should have started all this off are presumed to have been served on the recipient two working days after posting. If you are defending the matter on the basis that the paperwork was not received the onus shifts to you to prove that it was not. If you simply ignore this the matter it will proceed to court and the first charge that will be considered is "Failing to provide driver's details". This carries a hefty fine, six points and an insurance-crippling endorsement code. I cannot help with what you have said so far except to say that your understanding of the position is not so straightforward as you make out and that ignoring the matter is not a sensible option.

philb02

The NIP was received and returned straight away. This is the one we received dated 24/2/20 for an offence on 29/1/20, so outside the 14 days. It was a reminder and the claim is that the original was sent out the day after the offence. This we never received. It was only after receiving this reminder that someone told her she had to be informed within 14 days of the offence.

The S172 was completed and returned.

The offence was 29/1/20.

She is the registered keeper of the vehicle.

The latest letter is from North Wales Police and is a Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty. giving 28 days to pay £100 and be endorsed 3 points.

TonyMMM

The 14 day requirement doesn't apply to her - she isn't the registered keeper.

born_again

philb02 said:

From what I understood, if they don't inform you within 14 days then they can't enforce it. As the first notification we had was more than 14 days, I'm trying to work out if it is something we can ignore.

She does not have the V5C as it is a motabilty vehicle, so they hold that during the lease. 

So the NIP will have been served to motabilty, as they are the registered keepers. Who have then sent it on to you. So unless you can get them to confirm it that they did not receive it in the 14 days. You are going to have to pay up.

Car_54

philb02 said:

She is the registered keeper of the vehicle.

But you said earlier that it is a Motability vehicle, and she doesn't have the V5C. So she is NOT the registered keeper. Motability is.

As already advised, the first NIP will have been sent to Motability.There is no time limit for subsequent NIPs, such as the one your wife has received.