Caught Speeding in Hire Car - Still no ticket.

EH75 · 11 May 2023 at 22:33

At the start of February I got caught speeding by a mobile van in a hire car. I found out about this at the end of March when the hire company sent me a bill for an admin fee. Obviously I paid this but I have heard nothing since. Any ideas how long it should take for the ticket to reach me? I'm surprised it hasn't turned up yet and I don't want to end up with a warrant for my arrest or something if the hire company have given them the wrong address.

Yeah I know I could contact the hire company etc etc but just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.

On Holiday · 12 May 2023 at 00:35

Not hire car related but to give you an idea of recent timeline.

I was caught speeding by an officer last April, didn't hear anything until July where I was asked to submit a plea. Received the court summons in late Sept and finally the court result (with my non-attendance) in mid October.

bigmike20vt · 12 May 2023 at 07:14

I guess I am wrong but I always thought they only had 2 weeks to present you with a ticket and outside of that you were safe. clearly On holiday above proves that is wrong but...... I would have put money on that one.

tom_e · 12 May 2023 at 07:18

bigmike20vt said:
I guess I am wrong but I always thought they only had 2 weeks to present you with a ticket and outside of that you were safe. clearly On holiday above proves that is wrong but...... I would have put money on that one.

The hire company will have received the NIP within the 14 days, after that it takes as long as it takes for the actual driver to get paperwork/points/fine/ban/whatever is coming to them.

Took 6 months for me to hear anything after being pulled for speeding, which is a really long time when there's a good chance you'll get a ban

Semple · 12 May 2023 at 07:18

Yeah I thought there was a limitation too. Unless the NIP did go out but went to a wrong address or something and the plea is a later thing.

bigmike20vt · 12 May 2023 at 07:35

tom_e said:
The hire company will have received the NIP within the 14 days, after that it takes as long as it takes for the actual driver to get paperwork/points/fine/ban/whatever is coming to them.

Took 6 months for me to hear anything after being pulled for speeding, which is a really long time when there's a good chance you'll get a ban

AHH yeah that rings a bell too. tbh the hire company should have some responsibility to pass that info on as well

jpaul · 12 May 2023 at 10:14

bigmike20vt said:
AHH yeah that rings a bell too. tbh the hire company should have some responsibility to pass that info on as well

yes still sounds plausible that hire car company has legal responsibility to quickly identify the driver so that authorities can communicate directly with them.

internet suggests http://www.motorlawyers.co.uk/offences/failing_to_identify_driver.php
Yes. Your (their?) obligation is to confirm the identity within 28 days. If you cannot provide information within this period of time, tell the Police that you need more time and explain why.

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 12 May 2023 at 12:42

I used to see similar at work with a lease company who took ages at times and an incompetent transport department who would regularly lose things / not action things.

I believe it boils down to :
1) They must issue the registered keeper within 14 days and as long as that test is passed then the charges will stick, no matter how long it takes to find its way to "the perp"
2) Any party involved as far as being requested for info apart from "the perp" cannot be forced to adhere to any timeline, but are requested to be reasonably prompt
3) The "perp" themselves cannot be prejudiced by the others in the chain, so for example cannot be given a harsher penalty for failure to declare "the perp" within 14 days.
However point 3 may often require some negotiation and potentially a statement in court since delays can end up with what would have been a simple 3 points and a fine, or speed awareness course being automatically withdrawn.
The court (or negotiation) can reinstate the option as if the driver was made aware immediately.

sk3lph · 12 May 2023 at 13:00

The best thing to do is contact the Hire Car company and get them to send you the NIP so you can admit liability - this will not go away. In my experience the only thing the Hire Car company seem to be good at is charging the admin fee - I managed to get it refunded as they made such a mess of getting things sorted out.