NIP out of time?
Discussion
Just had a NIP through from Norfolk & Suffolk police for alleged speeding on 3rd May. NIP is dated 10th May, but
The envelope is franked 20th of May,with 2nd class postage, so I assume something went wrong in their dispatch process.
I'm the registered keeper, have been for 11 years and have been at the same address all this time, so shouldn't be any reason for it to take so long.
Seems a pretty clear case of the NIP being served out of time, so presumably I still need to provide the driver's details, but they can't take any further action?
Note - I know the best course of action would be to speak to them, but their office is only open 9am to 3pm, so I can't call until the morning.
The envelope is franked 20th of May,with 2nd class postage, so I assume something went wrong in their dispatch process.
I'm the registered keeper, have been for 11 years and have been at the same address all this time, so shouldn't be any reason for it to take so long.
Seems a pretty clear case of the NIP being served out of time, so presumably I still need to provide the driver's details, but they can't take any further action?
Note - I know the best course of action would be to speak to them, but their office is only open 9am to 3pm, so I can't call until the morning.
From this forum some time ago:
“ Dear Sirs,
I refer to the attached Notice of Intended Prosecution dated [DATE] that I received on [DATE2]. I am the Registered Keeper of the vehicle specified in the Notice. I have been the Registered Keeper since [DATE3]. I have completed the Request for Driver Details form as requested.
As you know, section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 requires a Notice of Intended Prosecution to be served on the Registered Keeper within 14 days of the commission of the offence. Exceptions to the rule are set out in section 2 of the 1988 Act; none of which apply to my case. I first became aware of the alleged offence when I received your letter on [DATE2].
The Notice of Intended Prosecution was not sent in time and could not be regarded as having been properly served in accordance with the 1988 Act. Failure to comply with the aforementioned provisions is a bar to prosecution; see Gidden v Chief Constable of Humberside [2009] EWHC 2924 (Admin).
Please confirm that no further action will be taken.
Yours, etc.”
But yes, you need to meet your obligations ref naming driver.
“ Dear Sirs,
I refer to the attached Notice of Intended Prosecution dated [DATE] that I received on [DATE2]. I am the Registered Keeper of the vehicle specified in the Notice. I have been the Registered Keeper since [DATE3]. I have completed the Request for Driver Details form as requested.
As you know, section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 requires a Notice of Intended Prosecution to be served on the Registered Keeper within 14 days of the commission of the offence. Exceptions to the rule are set out in section 2 of the 1988 Act; none of which apply to my case. I first became aware of the alleged offence when I received your letter on [DATE2].
The Notice of Intended Prosecution was not sent in time and could not be regarded as having been properly served in accordance with the 1988 Act. Failure to comply with the aforementioned provisions is a bar to prosecution; see Gidden v Chief Constable of Humberside [2009] EWHC 2924 (Admin).
Please confirm that no further action will be taken.
Yours, etc.”
But yes, you need to meet your obligations ref naming driver.
Tony1963 said:
From this forum some time ago:
“ Dear Sirs,
I refer to the attached Notice of Intended Prosecution dated [DATE] that I received on [DATE2]. I am the Registered Keeper of the vehicle specified in the Notice. I have been the Registered Keeper since [DATE3]. I have completed the Request for Driver Details form as requested.
As you know, section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 requires a Notice of Intended Prosecution to be served on the Registered Keeper within 14 days of the commission of the offence. Exceptions to the rule are set out in section 2 of the 1988 Act; none of which apply to my case. I first became aware of the alleged offence when I received your letter on [DATE2].
The Notice of Intended Prosecution was not sent in time and could not be regarded as having been properly served in accordance with the 1988 Act. Failure to comply with the aforementioned provisions is a bar to prosecution; see Gidden v Chief Constable of Humberside [2009] EWHC 2924 (Admin).
Please confirm that no further action will be taken.
Yours, etc.”
But yes, you need to meet your obligations ref naming driver.
I think that this is a very sensible approach, I would probably also add a line in about the franking stamp date of the envelope and a photocopy of the envelope if you can, retain the original envelope just in case“ Dear Sirs,
I refer to the attached Notice of Intended Prosecution dated [DATE] that I received on [DATE2]. I am the Registered Keeper of the vehicle specified in the Notice. I have been the Registered Keeper since [DATE3]. I have completed the Request for Driver Details form as requested.
As you know, section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 requires a Notice of Intended Prosecution to be served on the Registered Keeper within 14 days of the commission of the offence. Exceptions to the rule are set out in section 2 of the 1988 Act; none of which apply to my case. I first became aware of the alleged offence when I received your letter on [DATE2].
The Notice of Intended Prosecution was not sent in time and could not be regarded as having been properly served in accordance with the 1988 Act. Failure to comply with the aforementioned provisions is a bar to prosecution; see Gidden v Chief Constable of Humberside [2009] EWHC 2924 (Admin).
Please confirm that no further action will be taken.
Yours, etc.”
But yes, you need to meet your obligations ref naming driver.
rscott said:
Just had a NIP through from Norfolk & Suffolk police for alleged speeding on 3rd May. NIP is dated 10th May, but
The envelope is franked 20th of May,with 2nd class postage, so I assume something went wrong in their dispatch process.
I'm the registered keeper, have been for 11 years and have been at the same address all this time, so shouldn't be any reason for it to take so long.
Seems a pretty clear case of the NIP being served out of time, so presumably I still need to provide the driver's details, but they can't take any further action?
Note - I know the best course of action would be to speak to them, but their office is only open 9am to 3pm, so I can't call until the morning.
I assume the V5c date precedes the offence and you have not just purchased the car? If so the NIP date is irelevant in this situation. The offence date was the 3rd and it wasn't even posted until the 20th so well outside the required 14 days to be served, it should also be sent 1st class, so they cannot argue the late service. Send back the NIP/S172 filled in with the drivers details and a covering letter with a pic of the envelope and you should be home and dry.The envelope is franked 20th of May,with 2nd class postage, so I assume something went wrong in their dispatch process.
I'm the registered keeper, have been for 11 years and have been at the same address all this time, so shouldn't be any reason for it to take so long.
Seems a pretty clear case of the NIP being served out of time, so presumably I still need to provide the driver's details, but they can't take any further action?
Note - I know the best course of action would be to speak to them, but their office is only open 9am to 3pm, so I can't call until the morning.
There is nothing to gain by phoning them, you are likely just to get a bod trying to convince you that it's all ok and correctly served
martinbiz said:
rscott said:
Just had a NIP through from Norfolk & Suffolk police for alleged speeding on 3rd May. NIP is dated 10th May, but
The envelope is franked 20th of May,with 2nd class postage, so I assume something went wrong in their dispatch process.
I'm the registered keeper, have been for 11 years and have been at the same address all this time, so shouldn't be any reason for it to take so long.
Seems a pretty clear case of the NIP being served out of time, so presumably I still need to provide the driver's details, but they can't take any further action?
Note - I know the best course of action would be to speak to them, but their office is only open 9am to 3pm, so I can't call until the morning.
I assume the V5c date precedes the offence and you have not just purchased the car? If so the NIP date is irelevant in this situation. The offence date was the 3rd and it wasn't even posted until the 20th so well outside the required 14 days to be served, it should also be sent 1st class, so they cannot argue the late service. Send back the NIP/S172 filled in with the drivers details and a covering letter with a pic of the envelope and you should be home and dry.The envelope is franked 20th of May,with 2nd class postage, so I assume something went wrong in their dispatch process.
I'm the registered keeper, have been for 11 years and have been at the same address all this time, so shouldn't be any reason for it to take so long.
Seems a pretty clear case of the NIP being served out of time, so presumably I still need to provide the driver's details, but they can't take any further action?
Note - I know the best course of action would be to speak to them, but their office is only open 9am to 3pm, so I can't call until the morning.
There is nothing to gain by phoning them, you are likely just to get a bod trying to convince you that it's all ok and correctly served
martinbiz said:
rscott said:
Just had a NIP through from Norfolk & Suffolk police for alleged speeding on 3rd May. NIP is dated 10th May, but
The envelope is franked 20th of May,with 2nd class postage, so I assume something went wrong in their dispatch process.
I'm the registered keeper, have been for 11 years and have been at the same address all this time, so shouldn't be any reason for it to take so long.
Seems a pretty clear case of the NIP being served out of time, so presumably I still need to provide the driver's details, but they can't take any further action?
Note - I know the best course of action would be to speak to them, but their office is only open 9am to 3pm, so I can't call until the morning.
I assume the V5c date precedes the offence and you have not just purchased the car? If so the NIP date is irelevant in this situation. The offence date was the 3rd and it wasn't even posted until the 20th so well outside the required 14 days to be served, it should also be sent 1st class, so they cannot argue the late service. Send back the NIP/S172 filled in with the drivers details and a covering letter with a pic of the envelope and you should be home and dry.The envelope is franked 20th of May,with 2nd class postage, so I assume something went wrong in their dispatch process.
I'm the registered keeper, have been for 11 years and have been at the same address all this time, so shouldn't be any reason for it to take so long.
Seems a pretty clear case of the NIP being served out of time, so presumably I still need to provide the driver's details, but they can't take any further action?
Note - I know the best course of action would be to speak to them, but their office is only open 9am to 3pm, so I can't call until the morning.
There is nothing to gain by phoning them, you are likely just to get a bod trying to convince you that it's all ok and correctly served
Dracoro said:
Is the rule 14 elapsed days or 14 working days?
From some googling, looks like 14 elapsed days, not working days so should be OK.Does the letter have a date (not he offence date) as well? Although as I recall “served” is when they send it? The franking date should be evidence of that actual date (if offence was 13th and franking date is 20th then 16 days (as offence date isn;t included)
Jamescrs said:
I think that this is a very sensible approach, I would probably also add a line in about the franking stamp date of the envelope and a photocopy of the envelope if you can, retain the original envelope just in case
Also worth querying service of the Notice by 2nd class post. Reminders are sometimes sent by 2nd class post. However, section 1 of the RTOA 1988 refers to registered, recorded or first class post only.Dracoro said:
Dracoro said:
Is the rule 14 elapsed days or 14 working days?
From some googling, looks like 14 elapsed days, not working days so should be OK.Does the letter have a date (not he offence date) as well? Although as I recall “served” is when they send it? The franking date should be evidence of that actual date (if offence was 13th and franking date is 20th then 16 days (as offence date isn;t included)
I believe it's supposed to be served (ie received) within 14 calendar days of the offence, so it's well out of time.
After talking to the other half this morning, it seems the envelope with 2nd class postage was for something else. She's found the right envelope which unfortunately doesn't have a date on it..
Tried calling them 20 minutes after the lines are supposed to open, but get a message saying they're too busy and asking me to call back during opening hours.. It also gives a very different email address to the one on the letter.
Tried calling them 20 minutes after the lines are supposed to open, but get a message saying they're too busy and asking me to call back during opening hours.. It also gives a very different email address to the one on the letter.
rscott said:
After talking to the other half this morning, it seems the envelope with 2nd class postage was for something else. She's found the right envelope which unfortunately doesn't have a date on it..
Tried calling them 20 minutes after the lines are supposed to open, but get a message saying they're too busy and asking me to call back during opening hours.. It also gives a very different email address to the one on the letter.
Can you now be sure that it didn’t arrive within 14 days Tried calling them 20 minutes after the lines are supposed to open, but get a message saying they're too busy and asking me to call back during opening hours.. It also gives a very different email address to the one on the letter.
MDMA . said:
rscott said:
After talking to the other half this morning, it seems the envelope with 2nd class postage was for something else. She's found the right envelope which unfortunately doesn't have a date on it..
Tried calling them 20 minutes after the lines are supposed to open, but get a message saying they're too busy and asking me to call back during opening hours.. It also gives a very different email address to the one on the letter.
Can you now be sure that it didn’t arrive within 14 days Tried calling them 20 minutes after the lines are supposed to open, but get a message saying they're too busy and asking me to call back during opening hours.. It also gives a very different email address to the one on the letter.
We've been checking incoming post very carefully for the last week or so as the other half has just changed her car and needed the updated v5 to transfer her plate over. Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff