Dates for paying a fixed penalty fine

Car_54

Scrapit said:

It's good plod have got time to be pulling cars like this now.

First, the OP's OH's offence was before the lockdown.

Second, they probably have more time now, as crime is down.

TooManyPoints

Yes, taking it to Court take out out of the fixed penalty scheme and into the realms of higher fines dependent on how !!!!!! off the magistrates are on the day. Also, if you took it to Court, what would your defence be? Surely the number plate was misplaced and there’s no argument about that. 

 It's not dependent on “how the magistrates are on the day.” It’s dependent on the defendant’s income and the sentencing guidelines. 

Thanks for the reply but the question wasn't about how long we have to pay but how long the fine letter took to be sent out. The letter was dated 31 days after the offence. 

 I think you misunderstand. There is no limit on how long the letter offering a Fixed Penalty takes to send out. It is simply an offer to deal with the matter without court proceedings. The six month deadline is the date by which court proceedings must begin. The two are unrelated apart from the fact that if you receive a Fixed Penalty offer less than 28 days before the six months is up you can ignore it. They must give you 28 days to accept the offer and they cannot start court proceedings during that period. So if you ignore it no proceedings can begin.

If dealt with in court it will be dealt with by a "Single Justice" unless she asks for a full court hearing. (She cannot attend a SJ hearing). Assuming a guilty plea  she would pay a fine of a third of a week's net income. A minimum income of £120pw is assumed if she has no income at all, or £440pw if she tells them nothing about her income. However she will also pay £85 towards prosecution costs and a Victim Surcharge of 10% of the fine, subject to a minimum of £32. So the absolute minimum she will pay is £157. The advantage of having the matter dealt with in court, however, is that she can negotiate a payment plan. The court will accept any sensible offer (i.e. not a penny a week) but the minimum they will agree to is £5 per week if she has limited means. So, basically, a fiver a week for about seven months or £100 in 28 days.

wozzza72

AdrianC said:

wozzza72 said:

My other half was recently pulled over on the way back from Wales (Gwynedd) for having an incorrectly spaced number plate. We received a Conditional Offer Of Fixed Penalty  about 10 days ago. She was pulled over on the 15th March and the date of the fine letter is dated 15th April. I just want to check that these kind of fines aren't meant to be sent with 28 days as it is £100 we could well do without paying at the minute due to myself being furloughed and my self employed partner earning nothing.

You're thinking of 14 days for the initial s172 request for driver information to come through from a photo. That bit was done roadside. Thereafter, they have six months to proceed, and it's well within that.

I'm just looking for some info please not any dad type lecture on the number plate

Lemme guess, that one's already been "discussed" domestically, right...?

Good. Utterly self-inflicted, you muppet...

Incidentally, the 'offer' is the fine and not court proceedings. What could I expect if I went to court as a fine?

One hell of a lot larger penalty, plus costs.
Take the FPN. At least there's no points.

And... Take the hint and swap the plates back to legal ones. Go on, how bad were they?

Not so bad, N123KY R lol. Any idea if a second pull would result in the same fine or worse? She's had the plate now for months and not been pulled in out small town but the one weekend we go away in her car we get pulled. Typical.

AdrianC

wozzza72 said:

AdrianC said:

And... Take the hint and swap the plates back to legal ones. Go on, how bad were they?

Not so bad, N123KY R lol.

Well, if it's any consolation, going back legal will stop people laughing at her when they see it.

Any idea if a second pull would result in the same fine or worse?

The maximum fine is £1,000. Ultimately, it can result in the plate being withdrawn - and, no, they don't pay you anything for it.

Hermione_Granger

wozzza72 said:

Not so bad, N123KY R

Only a BMW driver would bother changing the plate layout to read like the above.

molerat

I hope they also took the details of the plate manufacturer

shaun_from_Africa

molerat said:

I hope they also took the details of the plate manufacturer

It's extremely easy and legal to get plates such as the ones described manufactured. (loads of sellers on ebay).
They only become illegal when put on a vehicle that is then used on the road.

Scrapit

Car_54 said:

Scrapit said:

It's good plod have got time to be pulling cars like this now.

First, the OP's OH's offence was before the lockdown.

Second, they probably have more time now, as crime is down.

Who said anything about lockdown? What is the point you are making?

Scrapit

wozzza72 said:

AdrianC said:

wozzza72 said:

My other half was recently pulled over on the way back from Wales (Gwynedd) for having an incorrectly spaced number plate. We received a Conditional Offer Of Fixed Penalty  about 10 days ago. She was pulled over on the 15th March and the date of the fine letter is dated 15th April. I just want to check that these kind of fines aren't meant to be sent with 28 days as it is £100 we could well do without paying at the minute due to myself being furloughed and my self employed partner earning nothing.

You're thinking of 14 days for the initial s172 request for driver information to come through from a photo. That bit was done roadside. Thereafter, they have six months to proceed, and it's well within that.

I'm just looking for some info please not any dad type lecture on the number plate

Lemme guess, that one's already been "discussed" domestically, right...?

Good. Utterly self-inflicted, you muppet...

Incidentally, the 'offer' is the fine and not court proceedings. What could I expect if I went to court as a fine?

One hell of a lot larger penalty, plus costs.
Take the FPN. At least there's no points.

And... Take the hint and swap the plates back to legal ones. Go on, how bad were they?

Not so bad, N123KY R lol. Any idea if a second pull would result in the same fine or worse? She's had the plate now for months and not been pulled in out small town but the one weekend we go away in her car we get pulled. Typical.

What is it supposed to say?

AdrianC

Scrapit said:

wozzza72 said:

AdrianC said:

wozzza72 said:

My other half was recently pulled over on the way back from Wales (Gwynedd) for having an incorrectly spaced number plate. We received a Conditional Offer Of Fixed Penalty  about 10 days ago. She was pulled over on the 15th March and the date of the fine letter is dated 15th April. I just want to check that these kind of fines aren't meant to be sent with 28 days as it is £100 we could well do without paying at the minute due to myself being furloughed and my self employed partner earning nothing.

You're thinking of 14 days for the initial s172 request for driver information to come through from a photo. That bit was done roadside. Thereafter, they have six months to proceed, and it's well within that.

I'm just looking for some info please not any dad type lecture on the number plate

Lemme guess, that one's already been "discussed" domestically, right...?

Good. Utterly self-inflicted, you muppet...

Incidentally, the 'offer' is the fine and not court proceedings. What could I expect if I went to court as a fine?

One hell of a lot larger penalty, plus costs.
Take the FPN. At least there's no points.

And... Take the hint and swap the plates back to legal ones. Go on, how bad were they?

Not so bad, N123KY R lol. Any idea if a second pull would result in the same fine or worse? She's had the plate now for months and not been pulled in out small town but the one weekend we go away in her car we get pulled. Typical.

What is it supposed to say?

At a wild guess, the OP's OH is called Nicky R, and needs reminding of this fact whenever she returns to her car.