Local Police have fined a lady for going to the Post Office with an EBay parcel

RFW

OldWilliam said:

I'm posting this purely so that you don't feel so worried about all of these "stories" about "being fined".  Most importantly, no police officer can fine you - this is a common but completely incorrect belief that  isn't helped by our "wonderful" (not!) state broadcaster, the BBC.

If you are going to post something of this nature, at least put some substance behind it "OldWilliam". At the moment you're just another herbert on the internet. We don't even have your full name.

If I receive a fixed penalty notice for parking, for example, I would say that I'd received a parking fine. That's how the public understand it. 

The government itself describes Fixed Penalty Notices as fines, usually the monetary element of it, but not always, they also use the word fine as a description of the penalty points issued under a FPN. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/fixed-penalty-levels-for-motoring-offences.

Even the police refer to a FPN as a fine. "A non-endorsable ticket means that you will receive a £50 fine (some are higher) but don't get any points on your licence". https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q203.htm

Undervalued

RFW said:

OldWilliam said:

I'm posting this purely so that you don't feel so worried about all of these "stories" about "being fined".  Most importantly, no police officer can fine you - this is a common but completely incorrect belief that  isn't helped by our "wonderful" (not!) state broadcaster, the BBC.

If you are going to post something of this nature, at least put some substance behind it "OldWilliam". At the moment you're just another herbert on the internet. We don't even have your full name.

If I receive a fixed penalty notice for parking, for example, I would say that I'd received a parking fine. That's how the public understand it. 

The government itself describes Fixed Penalty Notices as fines, usually the monetary element of it, but not always, they also use the word fine as a description of the penalty points issued under a FPN. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/fixed-penalty-levels-for-motoring-offences.

Even the police refer to a FPN as a fine. "A non-endorsable ticket means that you will receive a £50 fine (some are higher) but don't get any points on your licence". https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q203.htm

It always amuses me when people say something like that. What you mean is that you hold a particular opinion and therefore assume "the public" must agree with you!

Actually what you have received is an opportunity to discharge the alleged offence by paying a fixed penalty. You do of course have the right to let the matter go to court. If you do there will be one of three outcomes.

You may be found not guilty because the charge cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

or

You may be convicted, in which case you may well be liable for a greater penalty than the fixed penalty you rejected. You may also be ordered to pay some costs.

or

In some unusual circumstances you may be convicted but there are sufficient mitigating circumstances that the court imposes a lesser penalty or even no penalty at all.

RFW

Undervalued said:

RFW said:

If you are going to post something of this nature, at least put some substance behind it "OldWilliam". At the moment you're just another herbert on the internet. We don't even have your full name.

If I receive a fixed penalty notice for parking, for example, I would say that I'd received a parking fine. That's how the public understand it. 

The government itself describes Fixed Penalty Notices as fines, usually the monetary element of it, but not always, they also use the word fine as a description of the penalty points issued under a FPN. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/fixed-penalty-levels-for-motoring-offences.

Even the police refer to a FPN as a fine. "A non-endorsable ticket means that you will receive a £50 fine (some are higher) but don't get any points on your licence". https://www.askthe.police.uk/content/Q203.htm

It always amuses me when people say something like that. What you mean is that you hold a particular opinion and therefore assume "the public" must agree with you!

Actually what you have received is an opportunity to discharge the alleged offence by paying a fixed penalty. You do of course have the right to let the matter go to court. If you do there will be one of three outcomes.

You may be found not guilty because the charge cannot be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

or

You may be convicted, in which case you may well be liable for a greater penalty than the fixed penalty you rejected. You may also be ordered to pay some costs.

or

In some unusual circumstances you may be convicted but there are sufficient mitigating circumstances that the court imposes a lesser penalty or even no penalty at all.

You misunderstand me. My only point there was that a fixed penalty notice is called a fine by most people. Thanks for the explanation of how the system works. Mighty good of you to spare the time and a bit of levity to lighten the day.

mgdavid

RFW said:

You misunderstand me. My only point there was that a fixed penalty notice is called a fine by most people. Thanks for the explanation of how the system works. Mighty good of you to spare the time and a bit of levity to lighten the day.

Not just most people, but also the government and the police, as the given links illustrate.

RFW

mgdavid said:

RFW said:

You misunderstand me. My only point there was that a fixed penalty notice is called a fine by most people. Thanks for the explanation of how the system works. Mighty good of you to spare the time and a bit of levity to lighten the day.

Not just most people, but also the government and the police, as the given links illustrate.

I was trying to exclude the ones who'd posted here! I've never previously heard of anyone being upset by a fixed penalty notice being called a fine. I'm pleased that they have so few things to worry about that that becomes a priority.