SP30 Fine & Points - Help!

[xdcx]

Hi Motor section

I have a weird situation regarding an SP30 specifically around the fine and points issued and the way it has been done. Here is the situation in brief detail, if anyone could advise at all it would be greatly appreciated:

- Driver doing 53 in a 30.
- Cops stopped, no road side fine etc, straight to procurator fiscal.
- Letter arrives stating all the evidence, driver pleads guilty via letter.
- Another letter arrives from the local court stating the fine issued is £250.
- Drivers lovely other half (ME!) goes on the courts website and pays the fine.

The weird part is that on the letter there is absolutely no mention at all of points being issued. SP30/penalty points is not mentioned on the letter. All that is mentioned is the fine to be paid and how to pay it.

Upon checking license with DVLA on their website 5 days after paying fine, 5 points have been added to the license for the offense as stated above..... We checked the license 2 days after paying fine, there was no points but now, tonight 5 points added.

I am not disputing the fine and points, 52 in 30 zone we all know is against the law but the letter as sent from the court had no mention of points so how is the driver meant to know what their actual punishment even was if the court hasn't informed them. This was only pure luck as was checking the license on DVLA for something completely unrelated and noticed these 5 points now added.... For all we knew, the driver wouldn't have checked their license manually after this because not informed of the points, therefore not declaring them to insurance and driving around uninsured completely obvlivious to all of this.

Any input/advice on this one? Is it normal for them to punish and not tell you what the punishment is?

Thanks

 

[xdcx]

Thanks guys.

Entai, I fully agree, I was baffled when the letter came through and there was no mention of points. It actually got hopes up and I was down the path of thinking they were simply money grabbing these days so went with a high fine and no points. Certainly the first time I have heard of such a speeding offense with only a fine and no points, hence I knew there was more ot this than the court letter showed surely.

Phemo, yes, along some lines of thought I had also now that there is not a paper counterpart. The license was sent to the court along with letter pleading guilty and was returned all OK.

I am still a bit annoyed really that there has been no notification of the points. Due to the way I think it has been checked online on behalf of my other half but she would have honestly got that letter, thought she had no points and now have continued to drive around for the future having no idea she had these points and is pretty much therefore driving about on void insurance as sher would not have known of them to declare them! This is what is bothering me about it, I am not trying to look for a loophole or worm her way out of it as she is guilty of the offense, but this could potentially lead to some serious problems purely because she has not been told of what her actual punishment is for the crime and it has taken digging about (which we shouldn't need to do) to establish all of this oursevles.

Stupid.

 

[xdcx]

Punishment sounds quite lenient based on the offence. Be thankful.

This is what I wanted to avoid.... If you read above I have said on multi ocassions the punishment fits and there is no question of it being harsh or un-warranted. Totally agree with the punishment given, it was paid instantly and accepted. My concern is the way the points have been added to my girlfriends license without even telling her, potentially leaving her driving around un-insured due to not declaring them so lucky I have been checking her license for her.

 

[xdcx]

I swear they make it up as they go along, my mate got caught by a police van doing 45 in a 30. All he got was a letter in the post advising him of what he'd done and to slow down in future. I couldn't believe it and nor could he.

They literally do make it up based on goodness knows what.
Like you I know of people doing worse/similar offenses and being given nothing whereas on this ocassion my girlfriend has had 5 points and £250 fine for 52 in a 30.

Completely seperate incident recently we had a traffic cop come to my house for a statement on a totally seperate issue which we seen and reported. We told him about this and he said it is completely beyond him how they issue punishment and he had no idea what they would give her for 52 in a 30. He said the most likely case was £100 and over 3 points. His exact words were that it definitely wouldn't be a ban and most definitely wouldn't be more than £100, so shows you how out of tune it may be to the norm of what they are doing people for.

 

[xdcx]

We have none of thos old codgers here thankfully.
What we have is police nailing people at 10pm outside a school when the road is dead but are nowhere to be seen when mums in range rovers are flying about at 60mph during school morning hours! It's all blatant easy target/money making nonsense it is not promoting safety or discouraging speeding. Hopefully others are not seeing this in their areas across the country but it's a massive stink here amongst the local community.

 

[xdcx]

OK, update time on this as I just called the court and was passed to the "criminal department". The bloke I got was pretty rude and couldn't have made it any more clearer that he wanted me off the phone ASAP.

He said it is not right and that issue of points should have been documented on the letter. He admitted that issue of points should and always is declared on the punishment letter from the procurator fiscal/court.... He said we have no grounds to challenge it and that it was "unfortunate right enough but will report it internally so that they are more vigilant in future".

I told him it was the fault of the court that my girlfriend is driving around uninsured for some time as she had no awareness she had been given points on her license and that the implications on us were pretty bad if she had a crash in that time between me luckily checking her license on DVLA website. He just said "yeah..." to that.

Good times! One tiny issue on the paperwork we sent back to them would have been catastrophic yet they can pull **** like this and Joe Public can essentially do one and deal with it, which is absolutely what I expect and know these days. Oh well.