Wrong reg on court summons

[RacingPete]

My friend (yes I know ) got a summons for speeding, pulled over doing 95, fair cop.

The court summons has come through this week and all the statements have the wrong registration number plate on them, 55 plate instead of 51 plate. Now as the guy can't plead guilty to speeding in a car he doesn't own he is stuck on what his options are:

1 - Should he write to the court explaining the error? And will the court just issue a summons with an updated registration on the statement?
2 - Should he just plead guilty as he was speeding?
3 - Plead not guilty as the statement is wrong?
4 - Or something else?

What are the difference in fines and penalties if you plead not guilty compared to guilty for a 95 in a 70?

[oldsoak]

Go to court and when you are asked, "Were you the driver of blah de bla reg number AB55 CDE" ...You...sorry he, can stand up and honestly say "NO that is NOT my vehicle"..
If that's the course of action decided upon, let us know what happens?

I've a feeling that they'll class it a 'clerical error' and you...sorry he'll still have reason to use the Vaseline..
My mistake...according to Pepipoo...

pepipoo said:

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 will invalidate the NIP.

* If the registration number is incorrect then the Defendant need only complete the Section 172 Notice attached to the NIP, stating that they are not in fact the registered keeper of the vehicle whose registration number is shown on the Notice.

http://www.pepipoo.com/NIP.htm

Edited by oldsoak on Friday 2nd October 11:10

Edit to add..Although seeing as you were pulled over and are being summonsed my original assessment of you needing the Vaseline may still hold true!
Soz!

Edited by oldsoak on Friday 2nd October 11:12

[RacingPete]

So let me get this straight:

• As he was pulled over and spoken to and given a verbal NIP which he agreed with, according to the statement, they have 6 months to summons. (It will be 6 months on 14/10/09)
• They summoned on the 19th September with court case set for 19th October
• The Offence has the wrong registration on it and says

Summons said:

On 14/04/2009 at **** drove a motor vehicle, namely **55***, on a motorway, namely M1 ******* at a speed exceeding 70 miles per hour Contrary to regulation 3 etc... of the RTOA 1988.

• He could argue that he wasn't driving the vehicle on the summons (I have looked up the reg given on the summons and that relates to a Mercedes SL 350, not the Vauxhall Corsa he was driving.)
• But as he was pulled over by the police this may not work as there will be other evidence to put him in the car at the time, regardless of the police statement and summons having the wrong VRM.

So if the line of not guilty is done down what is the worse case scenario vs what would happen if just pleading guilty?

[oldsoak]

RacingPete said:

So let me get this straight:

• As he was pulled over and spoken to and given a verbal NIP which he agreed with, according to the statement, they have 6 months to summons. (It will be 6 months on 14/10/09)
• They summoned on the 19th September with court case set for 19th October

So what's your point with this?
The summons was issued within the specified time-frame..AFAIR, that doesn't mean that the court case needs also to follow that same time frame y'know (or perhaps you didn't?)

RacingPete said:

* The Offence has the wrong registration on it and says

Summons said:

On 14/04/2009 at **** drove a motor vehicle, namely **55***, on a motorway, namely M1 ******* at a speed exceeding 70 miles per hour Contrary to regulation 3 etc... of the RTOA 1988.

Have you also been supplied with copies of the officers' statements? Does the reg number appear on them? Is this also wrong?
IMHO you have to pray that the officers pocket book records also show the wrong registration number for the case to be thrown out...The officer will not have typed out the courts summons/statement and at the end of the day (IIRC) if the typist gets it wrong, then evidence from the pocketbook will be taken as the true record and the rest deemed as clerical errors.

RacingPete said:

I looked up the reg given on the summons and that relates to a Mercedes SL 350, not the Vauxhall Corsa he was driving.)

• But as he was pulled over by the police this may not work as there will be other evidence to put him in the car at the time, regardless of the police statement and summons having the wrong VRM.

So if the line of not guilty is done down what is the worse case scenario vs what would happen if just pleading guilty?

He'd probably get a discount for not wasting so much of the courts time but don't bank on it...if it was deemed serious enough to report directly for summons rather than go down the conditional offer ticket route, he may have used up all the credit he's entitled to already.

But IANAL or a serving BiB so take all the above as opinion only..it could be complete hogwash and my memory playing tricks with me.
Edit to fix quotes

Edited by oldsoak on Friday 2nd October 12:11

[RacingPete]

Just would add, thanks for the feedback on this

oldsoak said:

RacingPete said:

So let me get this straight:

• As he was pulled over and spoken to and given a verbal NIP which he agreed with, according to the statement, they have 6 months to summons. (It will be 6 months on 14/10/09)
• They summoned on the 19th September with court case set for 19th October

So what's your point with this?

The point was, if they need to reissue the court summons with the correct information will they be outside the 6 months, or because they have issued already an amendment is fine (if that is the case for correcting the vehicles)

oldsoak said:

RacingPete said:

* The Offence has the wrong registration on it and says

Summons said:

On 14/04/2009 at **** drove a motor vehicle, namely **55***, on a motorway, namely M1 ******* at a speed exceeding 70 miles per hour Contrary to regulation 3 etc... of the RTOA 1988.

Have you also been supplied with copies of the officers' statements? Does the reg number appear on them? Is this also wrong?

The officer statements are included in the summons and the registration is also wrong on their statements too.

To be honest (and slightly scared for my cruising speed on motorways) I am surprised he got a court summons for doing 95mph on a dry sunny day on clear roads (as per statement of officers) as I thought it would be an SP30, fixed 3, fine and off you go sonny.

[oldsoak]

RacingPete said:

Just would add, thanks for the feedback on this

oldsoak said:

RacingPete said:

So let me get this straight:

• As he was pulled over and spoken to and given a verbal NIP which he agreed with, according to the statement, they have 6 months to summons. (It will be 6 months on 14/10/09)
• They summoned on the 19th September with court case set for 19th October

So what's your point with this?

The point was, if they need to reissue the court summons with the correct information will they be outside the 6 months, or because they have issued already an amendment is fine (if that is the case for correcting the vehicles)

Again if memory serves that timeframe is for laying the information before the court for the summons to be issued...they've already complied with that requirement and I can't remember ever having to re-lay info for an updated summons to be issued...I don't think the clock carries on ticking after the original info has been laid.

oldsoak said:

RacingPete said:

* The Offence has the wrong registration on it and says

Summons said:

On 14/04/2009 at **** drove a motor vehicle, namely **55***, on a motorway, namely M1 ******* at a speed exceeding 70 miles per hour Contrary to regulation 3 etc... of the RTOA 1988.

Have you also been supplied with copies of the officers' statements? Does the reg number appear on them? Is this also wrong?

The officer statements are included in the summons and the registration is also wrong on their statements too.

To be honest (and slightly scared for my cruising speed on motorways) I am surprised he got a court summons for doing 95mph on a dry sunny day on clear roads (as per statement of officers) as I thought it would be an SP30, fixed 3, fine and off you go sonny.

Well you are getting the story second hand, no-one wants to look complete berks in front of their mates do they? You may be short of a few pertinent details so to uphold the illusion of his being a 'kewl dude'...instead of a 'prize pillock'...

[GreenV8S]

If the summons and officer's notes all refer to a different registration number, then I would be concerned that the evidence may actually relate to a different incident. Since the actual speed and circumstances are likely to influence the penalty, this might be important. (If all the other details match and it's just a typo in the original notes which has been replicated in the summons, that's not an issue.)

[AndyAudi]

I've just had nearly exactly the same experience

Summons for 96 in a 70 with the Wrong Reg (1 letter wrong)

Posted on Pepipoo to see if there was a get out but apparently not, unlike if it had been a Posted NIP, this would be accepted by the court and ammended as an admin error.

I did highlight the errors (address was wrong as well as reg) when returning my guilty plea.

Outcome was 5pts & £300 for me.

Good luck

ETA
As I was stopped & cautioned etc for speeding, + the officers confirmed my identiy at the roadside, I think the issue of the admin errors becomes insignificant.

Edited by AndyAudi on Friday 2nd October 13:09

[RacingPete]

AndyAudi said:

I've just had nearly exactly the same experience

Summons for 96 in a 70 with the Wrong Reg (1 letter wrong)

Did the accompanied witness statements on the summons have the wrong reg on too?

[AndyAudi]

RacingPete said:

AndyAudi said:

I've just had nearly exactly the same experience

Summons for 96 in a 70 with the Wrong Reg (1 letter wrong)

Did the accompanied witness statements on the summons have the wrong reg on too?

Yes it did

[Dwight VanDriver]

I think you will find that the offence listed in the enactment merely refers to the fact that a motor vehicle (not defined by make, colour or VRM)was driven and a speed exceeding that permitted.

You will find that Magistrates can make amendements to the summons where the error is minor and the outcome does not prejudice the charge in any way. In this case merely an error on the VRM. As such they will allow the case the go ahead.

As for the re-issue of a summons there will no time limit on this as they have to lay an information within 6 months of the offence which allows a summons to be issued. That has already been done. In this case they will amend matters there and then.

It goes without saying some devilment may be caused to the Prosecutor/witness in pointing out the error. If they cannot get the VRM right what else have they made an error on.....record of speed? But beware an apparent smart arse at Court can get their knuckles rapped.

dvd

[AndyAudi]

My Pepipoo Question said:

Stopped speeding a month or so ago, Citation received today. Both Charge sheet and Summary of Evidence have incorrect Vehicle Registration Number (1 incorrect letter). FAQ's for NIP's appear to say Registration number is not coverred under the "Slip Rule" but what about in this case.

Per the evidence my identity was confirmed (which it was) and I was cautioned & charged at the time.

Is there any scope to avoid this here? I was just going to take it on the chin as I thought it an open and shut!

pepipoo answer 1 said:

I assume then that your speed could not be dealt with by a fixed penalty. The Reg error will be corrected in court under the slip rule i'm afraid.

pepipoo answer 2 said:

If you were stopped t the time of the offence, then this error would not mislead you as to the offence you are defending, so I can't see it forming any part of a defence UNLESS it was part of a systematic system of errors that could call the officers capability into reasonable doubt.

[RacingPete]

Looks like he will have to plead guilty and except his punishment for driving above the speed limit. Thanks for all the feedback guys