Summons.....

[RobB]

Hope this isn't in the wrong area, but I have a summons based question that you guys are bound to know the answer to.

Had a fixed-penalty notice sent through from December last year, and didn't get round to mailing the cheque..... Now I have a summons for 15th September. Was only doing 85 on the motorway, unfortunately in Wales.

The summons has the wrong name on it, in that my full name is Robert, and on the summons I'm just listed as Rober everywhere. Is this actually a loophole I can use, or just an urban myth?

Other than that, any ideas on how I can get off? Familiarising myself with the car etc.? If not, how much harsher is the court hearing going to be, bearing in mind that I have no intention of turning up in Wales, and if it gets that far will just plead guilty in absence.

Cheers

[strag]

I am no expert but i think it is a long shot that you will get off on that one mate. Does it have the correct surname, date of birth? I suspect it does or you would have mentioned it. As for familiarising yourself with the car, no way! Have you never used a speedo before As for turning up I have no idea. Does it say you can plead guilty by post at this stage?
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carbon bling

[RobB]

Yeah, address and so forth are all correct. One thing I haven't done yet is asked to see the photo. To be honest, I wasn't really trying to get off. Just an annoyance, and thought it'd be funny if their typo meant I'd get away with it....

The last summons letter gave me the option to plead guilty in absence, with or without mitigating circumstances.

Only other thought I had was wondering if the M4 just past Cardiff (J29-31) was notoriously accident ridden, or if these cameras were purely profit-driven? Anyone have local accident statistics?

[stinkwheel]

If you are being summonsed to court, get professional legal advice.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Chriss]

I agree strongly with stinkwheel, get legal advice asap. Never know, might be able to get away with it as they've got the wrong name?
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TheShaggyDA: I've got 3 or 4 pairs that predate my wife, so at least 11.5 years old.

[RobB]

Cheers guys. Didn't think it'd be worth hassling a solicitor over, but I'll see what they say. Come to think of it, I'm sure I've had free legal advice thrown in with insurance, AA, and my bank account for that matter.... Might as well start using it eh. See how it all goes.....

[MikeyC]

www.pepipoo.com

[Finglonga]

[paulthewitt]

another place to try is the citizens advice bureau

Paul

[Fortuna]

That's way outside the 6 month conviction rule.

[jimster]

I'm pretty sure you can't get off because of a typo, although I've never done road traffic offences so I couldn't say for sure.

From pepioo:
Inaccurate NIPs - The "Slip Rule"
There is a "slip rule" that allows the court to modify small errors (such as name/address of the keeper) due to typographical mistakes. Serious errors cannot be modified, and invalidate the NIP.

If I were you, just write back saying you didn't get the previous letter, together with a cheque for what you would have had to pay if you had paid promptly and if you're lucky they'll just accept that and let you get away with it. Or you could say you sent in a cheque + letter earlier and they must not have got it. But they won't believe that unless you act promptly to rectify the situation!

If you go to court, the penalty will be higher and you'll probably have to pay costs as well. You won't get free legal representation so either hire a solicitor or go and see someone at the Citizen's Advice Bureau, although they're pretty useless. Just remember that lots of solicitors will do a free preliminary consultation to tell you whether you have a case or not...
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Current: Yamaha Diversion XJ900
Previous: Yamaha Diversion 600cc, Piaggio Zip 50cc, Honda CG125-W, Siamoto Caddy 50cc moped

[Kickstart]

[Stu_666]

Obviously don't take my word for it, but I don't think you'll 'get off' if there's a small typo in the name. In the magistrates where I'm temping at the moment there was one the other day where the surname was spelt wrong meaning that it sounded like a different surname (hope that made sense ) and they had to correct it before sending it out or the bloke could have said that it was'nt him.

If I was in your position I'd probably reluctantly pay it and get it out the way, albeit it its a pain in the f*cking arse. Normally with stuff like summons' where I am, their pretty persistent in getting their money and most of these excuses people come up with are worth as much as an old sweaty pair of pants.

[The Old Geeza]

Hey, a Court Summons is NOT a Warrant for your arrest or an insistance that you MUST attend a Court hearing. It's simply a way of the authorities letting you know that you've got up their noses by not replying sooner.

You don't need to take legal advice and it doesn't need to cost you a fortune.

The simple answer is honesty... Plead guilty by letter, pay the fine which will be ordered by the Court, accept the 3 points on your licence and then just get on with life. It's no big deal. The Courts across our land see hundreds of these cases everyday.

Just don't let the B******s grind you down.

Unless you've already got loads of points on your licence there's nothing to worry about.

Or have you already?

Keep your chin up, you really have nothing to worry about. You ain't going to jail and they ain't gonna take your licence off you unless you've been really naughty in the past (too many points already).
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Horse Power was safer when the Horses had it!

[RobB]

Cheers all. A mighty fine selection of responses.

I already have tried the "lost in the post" idea, sending a very polite and apologetic letter with a suitable cheque. They responded in record time. I sent the cheque/letter first post Friday, and on Saturday morning it arrived back on my doorstep. I have no idea how they even managed that. With it was a letter from them saying "this will dealt by the court, we have returned your cheque". That's literally all it said.

I honestly did mean to accept the fixed penalty, just didn't through my own inability to answer a letter within 6 weeks.... I had 3 points on my licence from back in 2000 (45mph in a 30 zone, SP30) that had just been wiped off, so was a little gutted that 3 are going back on again, but that's just the way it is. To be fair, twice in 8 years is perfectly acceptable for the amount of times I have strayed slightly over the "limit"

So I'm going to send another letter explaining all this, and that I won't be turning up for the summons. Trying not to waste any more of their time etc. Let me know how much I owe you.....

The only other fear that I had was that I read on pepipoo (cheers for that website, but from the name, I was originally scared it wouldn't be, how shall I say, work-safe....), that there's a charge of "Failing to identify a driver" which carried 3 points, and a potentially big old fine. Is that seen as worse by insurance companies or something?

Either way, 3 points are on their way in September, so I might as well enjoy the sunshine while I can...

[The Old Geeza]

I don't believe the speed of the returned cheque! Surely that's impossible, even by the standards of ANY Royal Mail delivery system?

The Court will consist of a Judge and the prosecutor (probably the Copper who clocked you at the time). They will sit in a little room on their own, known as 'Chambers'. This is basically a small room where - if you had attended Court - the charge is read out by the prosecution and you are allowed to give your reply or excuses (though excuses don't usually work, since the Judge will see straight through them - ha!). At this point, a Court Clerk will then read out your guilty plea and the matter will be completed.

You're guilty. You were speeding. The fine is in the Post. Pay the fine. Send off your licence to gain 3 points and it will be returned ASAP.

Job Done. No worries.

Whatever you do, JUST DON'T DO NOTHING, or you will be in trouble.

Courts are like that. They much prefer a straight-forward case, so they can all finish early and go home for tea. What they don't like is people who piss them about month after month, with stupid excuses. It just prolongs the proceedings, but the outcome is usually inevitable from the beginning.

Chin up. Plead guilty and let them decide for themselves. You've got nothing to lose - apart from a few quid. Ouch!!!
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Horse Power was safer when the Horses had it!

[RobB]

Yeah, thanks Siggi, but not sure I'd go in for all that. Seems a bit too much like hard work for a bloke that didn't get round to posting a letter....

[RobB]

Ah cool. Fully accepting 3 points, anything more would annoy. Don't want to waste the coppers time turning up to court, he should be out catching other speeders, y'know.....

Thought I might plead my case as an otherwise excellent driver, yknow, 8 years NCB, 3 previous points now gone, upstanding member of the community.... Then I thought that that in itself might be regarded as "wasting police time"