No Continuous Insurance - Court

[Aidancky]

Hi Guys.

Bought a car earlier in the year and kept it off-road on my driveway for repairs, for a few months. Got a letter a while later informing me of a £100 fine for not having continual insurance. I responded with the valid reason (Repairing vehicle), as well as sending them evidence of 3 dates where i'd paid for singular days insurance when I needed it (for MOT and repairs)

Heard nothing back, and now have a Court Summons for not paying the fine... I've never had anything like this before, and now am unsure what kind of costs i'm going to incur, simply for having a car taxed but not insured, off the road.

I have the option to Plead Guilty by post or in court, or Not Guilty at court.

I am guilty of not having continual insurance; am I going to incur court costs for pleading guilty by post? How does it work?
I feel this is harsh and unfair, and comes at a time I really can't afford this sort of fine.

I live in a place where I see cars and bikes with no plates on (and clearly no insurance), yet i'm getting Court Summons for fixing my car off the road?

I dont expect any pity, just wondering what kind of costs its going to have now - It mentions £100 fine on the letter, is this my original fine, or is this in addition to the fine I already had (court costs)?

Thanks.

[LeoSayer]

According to this link:

https://www.mib.org.uk/reducing-uninsured-driving/...

Offenders face fines and seizure of their vehicles
If, after receiving an Insurance Advisory Letter (IAL), a registered keeper fails to comply with the advice set out in the letter they will face:

A fixed penalty notice of £100
Their vehicle being clamped, seized and disposed of
A court prosecution and a maximum fine of £1000.

[evilmunkey]

Im no legal eagle but just from a common sense point of view i dont see how it could be an offence. its taxed but as you say its on private property being repaired and when it has been on the road its been insured. I cant see an offence there. sounds crazy to be honest and ive never heard anything about laws pertaining to continual insurance. a lot of solicitors have free drop in sessions so you should be able to get some expert advice prior to ticking any boxes. does sound bloody mad . thing is that link refers to a vehicle being sorned and kept off road. the o.p said his was taxed so cant see the issue.

Edited by evilmunkey on Wednesday 14th September 20:00

[Impasse]

You would have pinged their radar by not declaring SORN when you purchased the car. The previous owner's SORN would have expired when the ownership changed. This is simply a paperwork punishment. PITA and you're not really the intended target, but you got caught up in the same net.

[waterwonder]

evilmunkey said:

Im no legal eagle but just from a common sense point of view i dont see how it could be an offence. its taxed but as you say its on private property being repaired and when it has been on the road its been insured. I cant see an offence there. sounds crazy to be honest and ive never heard anything about laws pertaining to continual insurance. a lot of solicitors have free drop in sessions so you should be able to get some expert advice prior to ticking any boxes. does sound bloody mad .

It may be ridiculous but it's a 'thing'!

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-insurance/uninsured-veh...

[SS2.]

Aidancky said:

..just wondering what kind of costs its going to have now - It mentions £100 fine on the letter, is this my original fine, or is this in addition to the fine I already had (court costs)?

The option to dispose of the matter through a FPN of £100 has passed.

If convicted, any fine imposed will be calculated as a proportion of your relevant weekly income.

An early guilty plea will entitle you to a discount of 1/3 from the fine.

Prosecution will likely apply for costs of maybe £85 or so.

There will be a victim surcharge to pay which I believe is 10% of the fine, subject to a minimum of £30 and a maximum of £170.

[SS2.]

evilmunkey said:

Im no legal eagle but just from a common sense point of view i dont see how it could be an offence. its taxed but as you say its on private property being repaired and when it has been on the road its been insured. I cant see an offence there.

Common sense doesn't come into it, I'm afraid - the Continuous Insurance Enforcement legislation has been in place for over 5 years.

Have you really not been aware of it before now ?

[irocfan]

SS2. said:

evilmunkey said:

Im no legal eagle but just from a common sense point of view i dont see how it could be an offence. its taxed but as you say its on private property being repaired and when it has been on the road its been insured. I cant see an offence there.

Common sense doesn't come into it, I'm afraid - the Continuous Insurance Enforcement legislation has been in place for over 5 years.

Have you really not been aware of it before now ?

TBH I suspect most people aren't aware of this as most people don't take their cars off the road so it's escaped their notice

[SS2.]

In fairness, it was pretty well publicised both before and after commencement - leaflets were included with V11 tax reminders, there were press releases, a TV awareness campaign, plus there's the section on every V5C which states that it is the responsibility of the keeper to declare the vehicle SORN if they decide not to tax or insure it.

[Aidancky]

Wow, i'm surprised I didnt get completely roasted by you guys!

Victim surcharge... what the hell? Who's the victim here!
So i'm likely to now pay £185 at least? This seems like such a scam and waste of money. Way to pick on the little guy!

[SS2.]

Aidancky said:

Victim surcharge... what the hell? Who's the victim here!

Maybe not here, but there are plenty of other victims of crime who the surcharge is supposed to help.

[Sheepshanks]

Aidancky said:

.. yet i'm getting Court Summons for fixing my car off the road?

You're not - you're being summonsed for not SORNing the car while it was off the road. I guess it must catch a lot of people who just don't know about CIE.

[SS2.]

Have they stopped sending out Insurance Advisory Letters before issuing the £100 FPN ?

[anonymous-user]

I've had an old 911 uninsured for a couple of months now because it's just parked in my garage and I'm not likely to use it for a little while longer until I sort a couple of issues with it.

It didn't cross my mind to SORN it as it's free to tax anyway being a classic, plus I might use it again soon, so might as well leave it taxed.

I honestly haven't heard of this stupid rule until now!

[Aidancky]

Sheepshanks said:

You're not - you're being summonsed for not SORNing the car while it was off the road. I guess it must catch a lot of people who just don't know about CIE.

Just seems crackers... I'd understand completely if it was parked on a public street.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

NinjaPower said:

I honestly haven't heard of this stupid rule until now!

That's amazing. It was very well publicised for months before and after it came into effect.

[Ian Geary]

Aidancky said:

Wow, i'm surprised I didnt get completely roasted by you guys!

I resisted the urge.

But I might make you feel a bit worse by pointing out a SORN was/is free?

I'd get an early guilty plea in.

ps - whilst it's galling that the "system" punishes minor transgressions like this quite heavily, I'm still convinced that people who deliberately operate "outside" of the system have the worse deal overall.




Ian

[Aidancky]

Ian Geary said:

I resisted the urge.

But I might make you feel a bit worse by pointing out a SORN was/is free?

I'd get an early guilty plea in.

ps - whilst it's galling that the "system" punishes minor transgressions like this quite heavily, I'm still convinced that people who deliberately operate "outside" of the system have the worse deal overall.




Ian

I'm usually at your side of this. I get what you mean though, I live in Bradford currently and it's probably one of the worst places for people driving with no insurance/MOT/tax etc.

I didn't want to SORN as I was going to be driving imminently, and I did. But by then it was too late.

[konark]

SS2. said:

Aidancky said:

Victim surcharge... what the hell? Who's the victim here!

Maybe not here, but there are plenty of other victims of crime who the surcharge is supposed to help.

I was a victim of crime, a proper crime not just an infringement of some arbitrary rules.

I never received penny one.

[vonhosen]

konark said:

SS2. said:

Aidancky said:

Victim surcharge... what the hell? Who's the victim here!

Maybe not here, but there are plenty of other victims of crime who the surcharge is supposed to help.

I was a victim of crime, a proper crime not just an infringement of some arbitrary rules.

I never received penny one.

Did you have any contact with the VSS (Victim Support Services) at court etc?
You don't receive cash as a victim of crime from the victim surcharge, the money goes to fund support services for victims of crime.