Motorist fined nearly £40,000 for forgetting to tax his car
Discussion
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/motorist-fin...
Standard said:
A City worker has been fined nearly £40,000 for forgetting to pay the tax on his car for just over a month.
Sam Fisher, 30, faced prosecution by the DVLA this month over £50 of tax which had gone unpaid on his Range Rover.
A magistrate sat in private to decide on the case, in the Single Justice Procedure, and concluded Mr Fisher must pay an eye-watering £39,769 fine for the slip-up.
Court papers reveal Mr Fisher’s car had been spotted parked on the road near to his home in Barnes, south-west London, in August when the annual tax bill had not been paid.
Mr Fisher wrote in to explain his mistake, while pleading guilty to a charge of keeping a vehicle without a valid vehicle licence.
There must be a lot missing from this report.Sam Fisher, 30, faced prosecution by the DVLA this month over £50 of tax which had gone unpaid on his Range Rover.
A magistrate sat in private to decide on the case, in the Single Justice Procedure, and concluded Mr Fisher must pay an eye-watering £39,769 fine for the slip-up.
Court papers reveal Mr Fisher’s car had been spotted parked on the road near to his home in Barnes, south-west London, in August when the annual tax bill had not been paid.
Mr Fisher wrote in to explain his mistake, while pleading guilty to a charge of keeping a vehicle without a valid vehicle licence.
devnull said:
is the fine means tested?
Not according to the .gov website.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vehicle...
.gov.uk said:
An out of court settlement (OCS) letter issued.
OCS set at £30 plus one and a half times the outstanding vehicle tax. If the OCS is not paid, as a criminal offence the case may be pursued through the magistrates’ court. The penalty is either £1,000 or five times the amount of tax chargeable, whichever is greater.
OCS set at £30 plus one and a half times the outstanding vehicle tax. If the OCS is not paid, as a criminal offence the case may be pursued through the magistrates’ court. The penalty is either £1,000 or five times the amount of tax chargeable, whichever is greater.
Seems to be a level 5 fine which are unlimited in magistrates court.
Examples include:
manufacture, import and sale of realistic imitation firearms - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine
selling, supplying, offering to supply and hiring products to persons under 18, such as adult fireworks, crossbows/knives/axes/blades - maximum penalty of 6 month in prison or a Level Five fine
sale of alcohol to children - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine
unauthorised sale of (football) tickets - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine
harassment (without violence) - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine)
making false statement or representation to obtain social security benefit - maximum penalty of 3 months in prison or a Level Five fine
failure to comply with an improvement notice to ensure properties are safe and habitable – maximum penalty of a Level Five fine
None of that seems to align with forgetting road tax for a month.
Examples include:
manufacture, import and sale of realistic imitation firearms - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine
selling, supplying, offering to supply and hiring products to persons under 18, such as adult fireworks, crossbows/knives/axes/blades - maximum penalty of 6 month in prison or a Level Five fine
sale of alcohol to children - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine
unauthorised sale of (football) tickets - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine
harassment (without violence) - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine)
making false statement or representation to obtain social security benefit - maximum penalty of 3 months in prison or a Level Five fine
failure to comply with an improvement notice to ensure properties are safe and habitable – maximum penalty of a Level Five fine
None of that seems to align with forgetting road tax for a month.
Well I can't see that standing:
The DVLA said on Wednesday that its officials had spotted the unusually high fine and flagged it as being outside the maximum allowable penalty.
The agency has made an application to the court for the case to be re-opened, so that the sentence can be considered afresh.
Utter madness.
Dave _ said:
devnull said:
is the fine means tested?
Not according to the .gov website.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vehicle...
.gov.uk said:
An out of court settlement (OCS) letter issued.
OCS set at £30 plus one and a half times the outstanding vehicle tax. If the OCS is not paid, as a criminal offence the case may be pursued through the magistrates’ court. The penalty is either £1,000 or five times the amount of tax chargeable, whichever is greater.
OCS set at £30 plus one and a half times the outstanding vehicle tax. If the OCS is not paid, as a criminal offence the case may be pursued through the magistrates’ court. The penalty is either £1,000 or five times the amount of tax chargeable, whichever is greater.
trickywoo said:
Seems to be a level 5 fine which are unlimited in magistrates court.
Examples include:
manufacture, import and sale of realistic imitation firearms - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine
selling, supplying, offering to supply and hiring products to persons under 18, such as adult fireworks, crossbows/knives/axes/blades - maximum penalty of 6 month in prison or a Level Five fine
sale of alcohol to children - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine
unauthorised sale of (football) tickets - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine
harassment (without violence) - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine)
making false statement or representation to obtain social security benefit - maximum penalty of 3 months in prison or a Level Five fine
failure to comply with an improvement notice to ensure properties are safe and habitable – maximum penalty of a Level Five fine
None of that seems to align with forgetting road tax for a month.
Motoring offences for which a level 5 fine applies include driving without insurance, which is not a million miles away from driving without tax in terms of severity. Examples include:
manufacture, import and sale of realistic imitation firearms - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine
selling, supplying, offering to supply and hiring products to persons under 18, such as adult fireworks, crossbows/knives/axes/blades - maximum penalty of 6 month in prison or a Level Five fine
sale of alcohol to children - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine
unauthorised sale of (football) tickets - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine
harassment (without violence) - maximum penalty of 6 months in prison or a Level Five fine)
making false statement or representation to obtain social security benefit - maximum penalty of 3 months in prison or a Level Five fine
failure to comply with an improvement notice to ensure properties are safe and habitable – maximum penalty of a Level Five fine
None of that seems to align with forgetting road tax for a month.
The maximum fine for driving without tax however is level 3 (£1000) or five times the amount of tax due, whichever is greater. So unless the car is somehow in an absurdly high tax band all of its own there has clearly been a mistake on the part of the court.
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