Speeding fine from 3 years ago!!

[Hylandz]

I need some general advice about a fine.

I received a letter in the post yesterday stating I owe £90 for a fine and have 10 days to pay or have my car clamped etc, As I haven't had a fine or anything in a long time I was baffled for what it could be. I rang up and the woman said it was for a speeding fine back in May 2008.

Now I know I have paid this fine but I have no receipt or bank statement to prove it. I have changed all my credit cards / bank account and even mobile phone since then so I have no records of even phoning up. The courts say they have no correspondence from me at all which Isn't true because I rang up to pay the fine!!

Any ideas of what I can do? I'm not paying the fine twice! Especially after so long!

Thanks in advance.

[DannyVTS]

Hylandz said:

Any ideas of what I can do? I'm not paying the fine twice! Especially after so long!

Problem solved...


Who issued the ticket ?

[tebow]

It surprises me that it is from so long ago. If you don't pay a fine in the time given I am pretty sure it is escalated into a court case because it is assumed you are disputing it.

[Hylandz]

An officer with a laser gun was pulling drivers over on a dual carriage way. I took my license to the police station and it arrived back with 3 points on it after I had paid.

Would a license be kept until payment was received?

[LuS1fer]

What you're describing sounds like you got an NIP then a conditional offer of a fine and 3PP which you paid and the police sent your licence to DVLA which you got back with 3PP on it without ever going to court.

This sounds like a court case which you would have to get a summons for, appear in court for and get fined (possibly in absence) though failure to submit your licence should result in it being revoked by DVLA. You need to check with DVLA what their records say.

So you need to find where the fine was imposed and by what court and ask for details of the original offence. You can ask for the case to be reopened by making a statutory declaration if it doesn't relate to you if someone has given your details. What it could be is an offence you have not been aware of where the NIP was sent to the wrong address then the summons...not unknown.

You also need to check this isn't a scam as I'm pretty sure they can't randomly clamp your vehicle, they have to send in duly appointed bailiffs.

Edited by LuS1fer on Friday 19th November 15:06

[carlove]

Wasn't 2008 2 years ago?

[A911DOM]

carlove said:

Wasn't 2008 2 years ago?

I thought they only had 3 months to enforce a fine of this sort, otherwise you're in the clear?

[Munter]

I think this may be one of those moments where it's worth spending 5 minutes face to face with a solicitor (I understand you often get 5 minutes for free while they decide if they want to work for/with you).

[Hylandz]

Thanks for your replys, the fine was on the spot but I never had my license on me so I had to produce them at my local police station. The court is Victoria law courts Birmingham and the letter states I have 10 days to appeal which is what I'll do, if its not quashed I will have to see a solicitor I think

[Ozzie Osmond]

Let's get serious here.

• Garages charge up to £100 an hour for labour.

• Solicitors generally charge more than garages.

• You admitted the speeding and have points.

• At the moment you can't prove you paid the fine.

Yes, by all means send a letter of appeal to see if it works.

But beyond that it sounds to me like one of those SOB situations where, all things considered, the best way out is to pay the fine again. I know it really gets up my shirt when these things happen but sometimes it's best to just suck it up and focus your time and attention on something more worthwhile.

[a_bread]

You phoned up to pay it? Therefore you used a card of some sort.

It's easy to get, from your bank or credit card providers, all statements for past periods, especially if you know rougly what period it was. You should then be able to trace this.

[Petrolhead_Rich]

Hylandz said:

Thanks for your replys, the fine was on the spot but I never had my license on me so I had to produce them at my local police station.

Erm, they don't do on the spot, you have to call them up and pay for it...

If you can't find a record of paying, maybe you never paid it?

[Citman]

Although you may not have a record of the payment, surely the DVLA will have a record of the penalty points and when they were imposed - mine were put on by the local court when I paid in person by cheque and they posted my licence back to me with the points on them. They wouldn't have put the points on without me paying the fine, so is proof of the points proof that you paid it, I wonder?

[Efbe]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Let's get serious here.

• Garages charge up to £100 an hour for labour.

• Solicitors generally charge more than garages.

• You admitted the speeding and have points.

• At the moment you can't prove you paid the fine.

Yes, by all means send a letter of appeal to see if it works.

But beyond that it sounds to me like one of those SOB situations where, all things considered, the best way out is to pay the fine again. I know it really gets up my shirt when these things happen but sometimes it's best to just suck it up and focus your time and attention on something more worthwhile.

really? you're such a wuss!

just phone them up and talk to them about it. explain what happened, and say you are not paying it again.

The police/dvla/someone will have kept records-they have to

edit: also I', very sure there is a limit to the length of time they can wait before giving out a ticket.

and yes, this does sound like a scam to me. Who is it payable to?

Edited by Efbe on Friday 19th November 17:30

[Efbe]

a_bread said:

You phoned up to pay it? Therefore you used a card of some sort.

It's easy to get, from your bank or credit card providers, all statements for past periods, especially if you know rougly what period it was. You should then be able to trace this.

can't read eh?

[Dracoro]

As I read it, the OP DID get a fine and he PAID it 2 years ago. They have no record and are simply chasing up a debt.

OP, even though you don't have your old details, the banks will keep records. I assume you paid by card of some form, phone up your bank/CCard from 2 years ago and ask for statement. This will, I assume, have a note of the payment.

As an aside (in hindsight for you but for eveyone else) keep bank (and all others for that matter) records for past 5 years either in hard copy or accessible soft copy. Covers YOUR ar$e in the long run.

[Deva Link]

Citman said:

They wouldn't have put the points on without me paying the fine, so is proof of the points proof that you paid it, I wonder?

^ This.

OP - are the points actually on the licence? There have been several cases on here of people who have been stopped because DVLA has withdrawn their licences allegedly because they didn't send them in to have points added.

[Hylandz]

Efbe said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

Let's get serious here.

• Garages charge up to £100 an hour for labour.

• Solicitors generally charge more than garages.

• You admitted the speeding and have points.

• At the moment you can't prove you paid the fine.

Yes, by all means send a letter of appeal to see if it works.

But beyond that it sounds to me like one of those SOB situations where, all things considered, the best way out is to pay the fine again. I know it really gets up my shirt when these things happen but sometimes it's best to just suck it up and focus your time and attention on something more worthwhile.

really? you're such a wuss!

just phone them up and talk to them about it. explain what happened, and say you are not paying it again.

The police/dvla/someone will have kept records-they have to

edit: also I', very sure there is a limit to the length of time they can wait before giving out a ticket.

and yes, this does sound like a scam to me. Who is it payable to?

Edited by Efbe on Friday 19th November 17:30

[/quote

There is an automated phone number and a link to an official government site to pay the fine.

Since then I am no longer with the credit card company (swapped to get better rate on a balance) I will have to raise a credit check and see what cards I had at the time and check all of them for that period I guess.

And yes there are definitely 3 points on the license. Initially it came back with the points handwritten on my paper part. Since then I have changed my address from my mom's to my new house and the points on my new license was printed.

[Efbe]

Hylandz said:

Efbe said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

Let's get serious here.

• Garages charge up to £100 an hour for labour.

• Solicitors generally charge more than garages.

• You admitted the speeding and have points.

• At the moment you can't prove you paid the fine.

Yes, by all means send a letter of appeal to see if it works.

But beyond that it sounds to me like one of those SOB situations where, all things considered, the best way out is to pay the fine again. I know it really gets up my shirt when these things happen but sometimes it's best to just suck it up and focus your time and attention on something more worthwhile.

really? you're such a wuss!

just phone them up and talk to them about it. explain what happened, and say you are not paying it again.

The police/dvla/someone will have kept records-they have to

edit: also I', very sure there is a limit to the length of time they can wait before giving out a ticket.

and yes, this does sound like a scam to me. Who is it payable to?

Edited by Efbe on Friday 19th November 17:30

There is an automated phone number and a link to an official government site to pay the fine.

Since then I am no longer with the credit card company (swapped to get better rate on a balance) I will have to raise a credit check and see what cards I had at the time and check all of them for that period I guess.

And yes there are definitely 3 points on the license. Initially it came back with the points handwritten on my paper part. Since then I have changed my address from my mom's to my new house and the points on my new license was printed.

whats the phone number on it?

[Twincam16]

If my knowledge of the legal system is correct, then a summary offence like speeding is either anulled or lies inactive on file if no conviction is brought within 12 months of warrant.