Should I pay or should I go(to court)?

TonyMMM wrote: »

It isn't an excuse, but could be a potential mitigation.

You are guilty of the offence, there is no way around that - but you can ask for a court hearing, plead guilty and suggest that there are "special reasons not to endorse" based on your genuinely held belief that you were insured. If they accept that, you might get away with a sentence lower than the fixed penalty (potentially down to no points).

But - it is risky - courts can be very sceptical about these arguments and could increase the penalty and impose costs in addition if they choose.

Unless the insurance company are willing to backdate his renewal (due to the administrative error) which given he missed their notice sounds unlikely then your only other option is to accept the fixed penalty.

Unlikely to succeed and may see dad with six points too.

geejayem wrote: »

I explained that I was convinced the van was insured...
The police officer did some more checks and it was confirmed that the van was uninsured.
...after ringing his insurance company he discovered that his insurance had lapsed at the end of January this year.


When I got home, my father explained to me that the reason he wasn't insured was that he had recently changed his current account from a bank to a building and he was under the impression that his Direct Debit for the Insurance would automatically be transferred over.
My father had been insured with the Camping and Caravan club and his policy had been renewed automatically every year since 2008 but was discontinued when he'd switched accounts.
As far as my dad was concerned, he'd had no notifications from his insurance company to inform him that his insurance had expired but after speaking to them, they informed him that he'd by notified via email.
My dad checked through his emails and found that a renewal notification had indeed been sent but as it had gone straight to Junk, he'd missed it.

So, basically, you were bang-to-rights driving an uninsured vehicle, because your father is lax in his personal admin and made assumptions.

I have since received a CONDITIONAL OFFER OF A FIXED PENALTY.
For my 'sins', I'm looking at a fine of £300 and 6 penalty points.

Take it. This is as good as you are going to get.

As a working single father, I cannot afford this fine

Then perhaps your father would be so kind as to contribute?

nor the points on my licence, nor can I afford the inevitable increased insurance payments for my own vehicle.
I thing this a harsh penalty for someone who believed everything was in order and wasn't driving a vehicle in the knowledge that it wasn't insured.

It is the least harsh penalty you will get.


Six points is the bare minimum that a court is able to impose.
https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/item/no-insurance-revised-2017/
You will note that the mitigating circumstances include...

• Responsibility for providing insurance rests with another (where not amounting to a defence)
• Genuine misunderstanding
• Recent failure to renew or failure to transfer vehicle details where insurance was in existence

You tick all these boxes, but these are mitigating factors to reduce the penalty on conviction, not to avoid conviction.


The absolute minimum fine is Band B, which is 75-125% of your weekly income, with a starting point of 100%. £300/week is not much more than full-time minimum wage.


If you refuse the fixed penalty and take it to court, then you will be liable for costs on top of whatever penalty the court imposes.

My father has drafted a letter accepting full responsibility should I contest the allegation in court.

Your father was not driving. You were.


There is a statutory defence of believing the vehicle was insured - but it explicitly only applies to situations where the vehicle is provided and insured by your employer. This was not the case here.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/part/VI/crossheading/compulsory-insurance-or-security-against-thirdparty-risks



Your father could, however, be penalised with six points on his own licence, and a fine of his own, for causing or permitting driving without insurance.

My father's insurers have also made a note against his policy that will confirm that his policy had been renewed automatically every year for the last ten years.

Which is all very lovely, but they tried to renew and could not, because they could not take the money via DD since he had changed accounts.

Should I fight this in court and risk further court costs or take it on the chin?

Chin. And, more importantly, be thankful you did not find out the even harder way, by being involved in a collision...

TonyMMM wrote: »

It has no effect on the father, he could be charged with "permitting"now, but he won't be ....

The SRNE application is a slim chance and will cost more if lost - but it is the only option the OP has other than to just pay the FPN rate.

He may all be once the nt guilty plea is entered.

geejayem wrote: »

Yes, I had previously been a named driver on his insurance.

What about my first question?

Head_The_Ball wrote: »

Were you insured under your own insurance to drive other vehicles?

If yes, then perhaps you were legally OK even if the vehicle you were driving wasn't insured. The law or rules are probably complex..........

Do you have your own vehicle with your own insurance?

Does that permit you to drive other vehicles with permission? (That is rarer these days than in the past when it was quite common)

If yes, then check your own policy. You might have a get out although........

caprikid1 wrote: »

....I think you missed the point , did you have a policy entitling you to drive other vehicles not were you a named driver.


That said most have a clause stating the other vehicle must be insured also.

........caprikid1 is probably correct.



It is a long shot but well worth checking.