Wrong name on summons
Discussion
I don't think your obligated to do anything. If you assist 'them' it may be to your detriment. If 'they' come to your door then 'they' will be asking for the wrong person anyway, so you can say 'not at this address'. At the end of the day it's up to the prosecution to prosecute their case.
This happened to me along time ago.
Got stopped for overtaking at a zebra crossing, they sent me a summons with the date of the offence as 1947 instead of 1987, so I just rang up and said I couldn't have done it because I wasn't born then.
The girl on the phone said they weren't allowed to send another summons so they said just forget about it and we'll wipe the file clean.
Simon
Got stopped for overtaking at a zebra crossing, they sent me a summons with the date of the offence as 1947 instead of 1987, so I just rang up and said I couldn't have done it because I wasn't born then.
The girl on the phone said they weren't allowed to send another summons so they said just forget about it and we'll wipe the file clean.
Simon
Something similar happened to me a couple of years ago. I got caught overtaking on the M1 whilst towing a trailer. The summons turned up with 1 letter of my surname misspelt They had used P instead of B.
Anyway I never replied The Plod turned up to arrest me after a while but I insisted I'd never heard of the bloke with a P in his name !
I never heard anything since ( maybe I was just Lucky ) but I didn't return any letters.
Anyway I never replied The Plod turned up to arrest me after a while but I insisted I'd never heard of the bloke with a P in his name !
I never heard anything since ( maybe I was just Lucky ) but I didn't return any letters.
Pleading guilty to this is your downfall IM sorry to say
They cant report you for refusing to be interviewed!
There is no such offence
I presume from your reply they reported you for a public order offence - say sec 5?
You would then be given a chance to interview - which you chose to refuse (that is your right in these circumstances)
I feel that you will not get a solicitor brave enough to take this due to the fact that youve already pleaded
Good luck next time you feel like making a complaint - my advice would be make it in a constructive manner next time to the complaints dept if you get nowhere locally
They cant report you for refusing to be interviewed!
There is no such offence
I presume from your reply they reported you for a public order offence - say sec 5?
You would then be given a chance to interview - which you chose to refuse (that is your right in these circumstances)
I feel that you will not get a solicitor brave enough to take this due to the fact that youve already pleaded
Good luck next time you feel like making a complaint - my advice would be make it in a constructive manner next time to the complaints dept if you get nowhere locally
SpoonMan said: They can even hammer on your door while you're working, and drag you to court there and then. Even though it's not your name on the summons.
As far as my knowledge of the law goes (and it is a long time since I studied it) NO they cannot 'arrest' you (in this case dragging you to court was a form of arrest) if it is not your name on the summons (subject to the normal minor spelling mistake as laid out by
). I would be suing for wrongful arrest and would certainly not plead guilty in court. If they turned up at my door with the intention to drag me to court and it was not my name on the summons I would be calling a solicitor and the newspapers immediately. Is there something you are not telling us?
SpoonMan said:
The moral of this story is you should never return any mail addressed to the wrong person. Open it, destroy it, chop it into little strands and ram it up your neighbour's nose or whatever, but never put it back in the post box.
Erm, I thought it was illegal to open mail addressed to someone other than yourself. If you receive mail for someone other than you, you should have just put on the letter "Not known at this address". It then becomes Royal Mails problem to return it - not yours.
We often get mail at our new address for the previous owners, but unfortunately one of them died not long after we moved in, and the other went loopy, and no-one knows where she is. So, regardless of whether there is a return address, we just bung it back in the post box with "Not Known...." scribbled across the envelope.
Paul
I don't understand that you have been summonsed and pleaded guilty by returning the letters suggesting that the person they are addressed to does not live there. For the court to proceed you must have either registered a not guilty or gulity plea to the offence of Section 5 Public Order act 1986. This I assume would be on the occasion that you told the officer on your doorstep to 'Go away' 
and not for the circumstances on the telephone. A Section 5 offence is basically that which covers behaviour which is that of disorderly conduct. The offence can be committed in Public or private but the in private if the place is a dwelling, one of those harassed alarmed or distressed by the conduct must be outside that dwelling.
If the officer was on the doorstep and you swore at him then if you were inside the house the offence would be complete. If you and the officer were both inside your house then the offence would not be complete.
There is a defence to Section 5 Public order Act 1986
a) that he had no reason to believe thatthere was any peron within hearing or sight who was likely to be caused harassment alarm or distress.
b) that he was inside a dwelling and had no reeason to beleive that the words or behaviour usewd would be heard or seen by any other person outside that or another dwelling or
c) that his conduct was reasonable.
I doubt whether any of the defences above would cover the circumstances as even extreme frustration at the circumstances leading to the visit from the Police do not justify abusive conduct (even though they tend to want to make you swear a lot)
With regard to making complaints against Police, it is not necessary to make the complaint about the conduct to the station or indeed the force where the perceived lack of action or circumstances occurred. Complaints can be registered at Police Forces outside the area the conduct took place i.e. make the complaint to a different force.
There are several ways of dealing with complaints. One of which is that of informal resolution which for minor complaints is encouraged as the best way to deal with them. This requires the agreement of the complainant. If you do not agree to an informal resolution and there is substance to the complaint, then it must be investigated fully.
I will say that you were wrong to deal with the frustration you built up in the way that you did. This sort of reaction does not help anyone trying to resolve a difficulty even though the circumstances may try your patience to the limit. It is much more beneficial to stay calm and reason your problems out than resort to abuse and temper.
If you have pleaded guilty to the offence, then there is actually not much you can now do other than accept the outcome. Unless you are going to appeal on the basis that your acceptance of guilt was through direct malpractice of the prosecution, then a court will not allow the appeal unless you change your plea before the court hearing. You can appeal against the sentence if that is considered too heavy.
As far as I am aware it is only possible to appeal against conviction if you pleaded not guilty at the original hearing and were subsequently found guilty (unless the above applies re malpractice).
There may be circumstances that could allow an appeal after a guilty plea if there is further evidence coming to light that shows the offence was not committed or the defence to the offence was applicable.
If you are in any doubt then you must see a lawyer or go to the CAB who will advise you further.
My feelings are that you are fcuked regarding this offence.
and not for the circumstances on the telephone. A Section 5 offence is basically that which covers behaviour which is that of disorderly conduct. The offence can be committed in Public or private but the in private if the place is a dwelling, one of those harassed alarmed or distressed by the conduct must be outside that dwelling. If the officer was on the doorstep and you swore at him then if you were inside the house the offence would be complete. If you and the officer were both inside your house then the offence would not be complete.
There is a defence to Section 5 Public order Act 1986
a) that he had no reason to believe thatthere was any peron within hearing or sight who was likely to be caused harassment alarm or distress.
b) that he was inside a dwelling and had no reeason to beleive that the words or behaviour usewd would be heard or seen by any other person outside that or another dwelling or
c) that his conduct was reasonable.
I doubt whether any of the defences above would cover the circumstances as even extreme frustration at the circumstances leading to the visit from the Police do not justify abusive conduct (even though they tend to want to make you swear a lot)
With regard to making complaints against Police, it is not necessary to make the complaint about the conduct to the station or indeed the force where the perceived lack of action or circumstances occurred. Complaints can be registered at Police Forces outside the area the conduct took place i.e. make the complaint to a different force.
There are several ways of dealing with complaints. One of which is that of informal resolution which for minor complaints is encouraged as the best way to deal with them. This requires the agreement of the complainant. If you do not agree to an informal resolution and there is substance to the complaint, then it must be investigated fully.
I will say that you were wrong to deal with the frustration you built up in the way that you did. This sort of reaction does not help anyone trying to resolve a difficulty even though the circumstances may try your patience to the limit. It is much more beneficial to stay calm and reason your problems out than resort to abuse and temper.
If you have pleaded guilty to the offence, then there is actually not much you can now do other than accept the outcome. Unless you are going to appeal on the basis that your acceptance of guilt was through direct malpractice of the prosecution, then a court will not allow the appeal unless you change your plea before the court hearing. You can appeal against the sentence if that is considered too heavy.
As far as I am aware it is only possible to appeal against conviction if you pleaded not guilty at the original hearing and were subsequently found guilty (unless the above applies re malpractice).
There may be circumstances that could allow an appeal after a guilty plea if there is further evidence coming to light that shows the offence was not committed or the defence to the offence was applicable.
If you are in any doubt then you must see a lawyer or go to the CAB who will advise you further.
My feelings are that you are fcuked regarding this offence.
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