How long to wait for a court summons
Discussion
Got pulled 14th Jan for illegal number plates, and officer issued a piece paper for a court summons to be issued.
second offence with the same officer, first time just a spot fine of £30, and warning next time court summons. It was him who did pointed out to me only a £30 fine against the cost of new plates circa the same cost as well ... fell for that one. Any way he was sitting out side my house, waiting for me..... handed over plates as evidence....
The waiting is becoming a nightmare, working in Manchester travelling home (London) everyother night to if said paper work has arrived, because I was informed that appearnce could be within a few days of summons..... I am knackered with all this driving waiting for the summons.
How long do I have to wait for said paperwork from the court before I can rest, if it has not arrived is there a period of time they can not convict me ????????
second offence with the same officer, first time just a spot fine of £30, and warning next time court summons. It was him who did pointed out to me only a £30 fine against the cost of new plates circa the same cost as well ... fell for that one. Any way he was sitting out side my house, waiting for me..... handed over plates as evidence....
The waiting is becoming a nightmare, working in Manchester travelling home (London) everyother night to if said paper work has arrived, because I was informed that appearnce could be within a few days of summons..... I am knackered with all this driving waiting for the summons.
How long do I have to wait for said paperwork from the court before I can rest, if it has not arrived is there a period of time they can not convict me ????????
Hoover I read this that:
On 14th Jan 2006 you were stopped and given a Fixed Penalty Notice for irregular VRM Plate. Since then, you have not made lawful, and were again pulled by the same officer, who noting the fact that you have done nothing to comply, instead of issuing another FPN has reported you for summons. You say you were given a piece of paper. What was on this as in reporting for summons verbal information only (unless new Force procedure)is given.
Suggest £30 paid pdq otherwise it will bounce and Court proceedings kick in.
On the second offence, if he has reported for summons then he submits a file to CPS who if they authorise prosecution have to a lay an information with the Justices Clerks so that a summons can be issued. They have 6 months to lay the information otherwise limitation on proceedings kick in and they cannot proceed. Once the information is laid then they can take as long as they like to issue and serve the summons so if they are not particularly efficient could be (not saying it will be) beyond 6 months.
dvd
On 14th Jan 2006 you were stopped and given a Fixed Penalty Notice for irregular VRM Plate. Since then, you have not made lawful, and were again pulled by the same officer, who noting the fact that you have done nothing to comply, instead of issuing another FPN has reported you for summons. You say you were given a piece of paper. What was on this as in reporting for summons verbal information only (unless new Force procedure)is given.
Suggest £30 paid pdq otherwise it will bounce and Court proceedings kick in.
On the second offence, if he has reported for summons then he submits a file to CPS who if they authorise prosecution have to a lay an information with the Justices Clerks so that a summons can be issued. They have 6 months to lay the information otherwise limitation on proceedings kick in and they cannot proceed. Once the information is laid then they can take as long as they like to issue and serve the summons so if they are not particularly efficient could be (not saying it will be) beyond 6 months.
dvd
Hoover. said:
6 months...
You mean to avoid missing a court summons I can't go on holiday and have to travel every otherday London to Manchester ???????? thats rediculous
Forgive me for being glib but as someone who has followed through a traffic case where I was wrongly accused and had the same inconvenience forced on me despite being not guilty and proven so, considering that you are going to court for something as silly as this, and the fact that the same officer had given you a warning which went unheeded...
Sorry for being unsympathatic, but what do you expect?
Its not as bad as all that though, you will get a few weeks notice of when to attend. Your other option would be to pay a solicitor to go on your behalf, or not turn up and face the consequences. Though I would just pay up, and get some new plates quick!
>> Edited by justinp1 on Tuesday 24th January 16:02
justinp1 said:
6 months...
You mean to avoid missing a court summons I can't go on holiday and have to travel every otherday London to Manchester ???????? thats rediculous
Forgive me for being glib but as someone who has followed through a traffic case where I was wrongly accused and had the same inconvenience forced on me despite being not guilty and proven so, considering that you are going to court for something as silly as this, and the fact that the same officer had given you a warning which went unheeded...
Sorry for being unsympathatic, but what do you expect?
Its not as bad as all that though, you will get a few weeks notice of when to attend. Your other option would be to pay a solicitor to go on your behalf, or not turn up and face the consequences. Though I would just pay up, and get some new plates quick!
>> Edited by justinp1 on Tuesday 24th January 16:02
Was not looking for sympathy.... my own fault, just did not get round to it on the sunny weather weekend car. Accept responsability of the crime...... plates fitted in front of Bib as they took others as evidence..... Just wanted to knwo if I could go away on holiday, and stop all this unnessessary travelling to and from Manchester.
Hoover. said:
6 months...
You mean to avoid missing a court summons I can't go on holiday and have to travel every otherday London to Manchester ???????? thats rediculous
Forgive me for being glib but as someone who has followed through a traffic case where I was wrongly accused and had the same inconvenience forced on me despite being not guilty and proven so, considering that you are going to court for something as silly as this, and the fact that the same officer had given you a warning which went unheeded...
Sorry for being unsympathatic, but what do you expect?
Its not as bad as all that though, you will get a few weeks notice of when to attend. Your other option would be to pay a solicitor to go on your behalf, or not turn up and face the consequences. Though I would just pay up, and get some new plates quick!
>> Edited by justinp1 on Tuesday 24th January 16:02
Was not looking for sympathy.... my own fault, just did not get round to it on the sunny weather weekend car. Accept responsability of the crime...... plates fitted in front of Bib as they took others as evidence..... Just wanted to knwo if I could go away on holiday, and stop all this unnessessary travelling to and from Manchester.
Fair enough. If you are going back every weekend, I would have thought it was highly unlikely that they would issue a summons as the start of one week and expect you to be in court at the end of the week. When I received summons they were for dates about 6 weeks away. DvD or someone with better insider knowledge may be able to give a definitive answer to the minimum time though.
"Was not looking for sympathy.... my own fault, just did not get round to it on the sunny weather weekend car. Accept responsability of the crime...... plates fitted in front of Bib as they took others as evidence....."
Are you saying you had bought the new plates but had just not fitted them? What was the time between your warning and the second offence? Was your car on the road and had you been driving it? And what sort of number plates caused such offence anyway?
Are you saying you had bought the new plates but had just not fitted them? What was the time between your warning and the second offence? Was your car on the road and had you been driving it? And what sort of number plates caused such offence anyway?
Beggarall said:
"
Are you saying you had bought the new plates but had just not fitted them?
Yep I had the legal plates in my living room.
Beggarall said:
What was the time between your warning and the second offence?
about 2 -3 months
Beggarall said:
Was your car on the road and had you been driving it?
The car had been seen driven on the public road earlier that day.... 2nd or 3rd time on the road since original incident. Annoying thing was I had just bought some fixing tape and was about to change the plates as I was going on the London Tunnel Run and knew there was going to be a police presence... just bad luck wrong place at the wrong time.... plus i guess i was tempting fate.
Beggarall said:
And what sort of number plates caused such offence anyway?
Illegal type face, and incorrectly spaced.
Ohhh well heres to checking my mail carefully for the next 6 months... hoping it does not get lost in the black sack of junk mail I get each month
Last year I was pulled over for speeding in April (slighlty over the fixed penalty margin) an had to wait until September for the court summons to arrive. So I would think you are going to be waiting 5 - 6 months. To be honest the waiting felt like a worse punishment than the 6 points and £400 penalties.
I've haven't heard anything yet - and it's over 7 months
I've raised this issue on a previous thread - and yep 6 months to file with court then something like 2 years to act on it !
Only way to find out what's going on is to contact the court in the area of offence and see if any proceedings have been placed against your name
I got stopped on the M25 nr Caterham - so assume mine is Croydon ?
woof said:
Only way to find out what's going on is to contact the court in the area of offence and see if any proceedings have been placed against your name
Typically, and it is only typically, the information is laid with the Magistrates' Court towards the end of the 6 month period so expect a bit of a wait. The summons is served (again typically) a few weeks after the information has been laid.
Why so worried about a number plate offence which carries no points anyway? It'll just be a fine and you can plead guilty by letter. The fine could be higher than £30, possibly £200 (up to £1000 is possible, I believe, but unlikely) and if it's a cherished number it can be revoked by DVLA and a 'Q-Plate' applied to the car.
Anyway, don't worry about holidays, etc, the summons has to be properly served on you by recorded delivery. If you aren't there it can't be served.
Anyway, don't worry about holidays, etc, the summons has to be properly served on you by recorded delivery. If you aren't there it can't be served.
Cooperman said:
the summons has to be properly served on you by recorded delivery. If you aren't there it can't be served.
Not sure about the recorded delivery bit for a summons.
I thought the Interpretation Act allows normal post to be used when a document is required to be 'served'..
SS2. said:
the summons has to be properly served on you by recorded delivery. If you aren't there it can't be served.
Not sure about the recorded delivery bit for a summons.
I thought the Interpretation Act allows normal post to be used when a document is required to be 'served'..
It was always my understanding that a summons must be received and signed for, or handed to the person by a police officer or a court official who must satisfy themselves that they have handed it to the correct person, although I do know that an NiP can be sent 1st class to the last recorded keeper or to any person named by the keeper.
However, that's a bit different from a formal court summons and common sense (not too much of that in our motoring world) might suggest that if you require someone to attend court and will arrest him/her if he/she fails to attend, then there must be a certainty that the person actually did receive the summons. If there is no formal confirmation of this how can it be reasonable to expect a person to know they should be in court on a specific day.
I'm sure DvD or SBM or one of our other BiB's can tell us for sure what the law is on this.
It would hardly seem fair that if the post office fail to deliver a summons, or lose it, as they lose several million letters every year, then the person accused will be arrested without having any forewarning that this could happen.
Cooperman said:
the summons has to be properly served on you by recorded delivery. If you aren't there it can't be served.
Not sure about the recorded delivery bit for a summons.
I thought the Interpretation Act allows normal post to be used when a document is required to be 'served'..
It was always my understanding that a summons must be received and signed for, or handed to the person by a police officer or a court official who must satisfy themselves that they have handed it to the correct person, although I do know that an NiP can be sent 1st class to the last recorded keeper or to any person named by the keeper.
However, that's a bit different from a formal court summons and common sense (not too much of that in our motoring world) might suggest that if you require someone to attend court and will arrest him/her if he/she fails to attend, then there must be a certainty that the person actually did receive the summons. If there is no formal confirmation of this how can it be reasonable to expect a person to know they should be in court on a specific day.
I'm sure DvD or SBM or one of our other BiB's can tell us for sure what the law is on this.
It would hardly seem fair that if the post office fail to deliver a summons, or lose it, as they lose several million letters every year, then the person accused will be arrested without having any forewarning that this could happen.
Isn't that what happened to the Aberdeen lady with the outstanding speeding case who was transported to Humberside because there was a warrent out for her arrest. She had moved between signing and returning the NIP and the summons being sent to her by mail. It was even worse because the letters had been returned to the CPS marked 'unknown at this address'? It was obviously beyond the CPS and Police to check at DVLC for the registered address of the vehicle where lo and behold they would have found her new address. Sherlock Holmes skills of detection not required, a bit of common sense would have sufficed
SS2. said:
the summons has to be properly served on you by recorded delivery. If you aren't there it can't be served.
Not sure about the recorded delivery bit for a summons.
I thought the Interpretation Act allows normal post to be used when a document is required to be 'served'..
I concur, none of the summons and re-summons came by recorded or special delivery. All came by First Class. The Summons is signed by someone at the court under a paragraph swearing that it is being posted. Looked official to me!
Service of summons:
Rule 99(1) Magistrates' Courts Rules 1981
May be served by:
(a) Personal Delivery,or
(b) Leaving it with another person at his/her last known address or usual place of abode,or
(c) Posting it to the usual place of abode .
Court can proceed in absence of defendant if the service can be 'treated as proved' i.e.where it can be established it came to the person's knowledge.
If served by (b) or (c) in summary offence if left or sent by Reg/Rec Del Post it is then not necessary to prove it came to their knowledge (Rule 99(2))
dvd
Rule 99(1) Magistrates' Courts Rules 1981
May be served by:
(a) Personal Delivery,or
(b) Leaving it with another person at his/her last known address or usual place of abode,or
(c) Posting it to the usual place of abode .
Court can proceed in absence of defendant if the service can be 'treated as proved' i.e.where it can be established it came to the person's knowledge.
If served by (b) or (c) in summary offence if left or sent by Reg/Rec Del Post it is then not necessary to prove it came to their knowledge (Rule 99(2))
dvd
Thanks DvD, a mine of useful information as usual.
It's no wonder that so many summonses don't get answered in court as the defendants obviously don't always receive them.
Is a warrant then always issued or is that a lottery? If a warrant for arrest is issued to someone who is, for example, out of the country when the NiP's and summons arrive what would happen if they were subsequently arrested and could prove they were not in the UK at the time of issue of the summons and had no knowledge of its being issued? How long does a summons remain active and enforceable? Is it indefinite so that if the person I described arived back in the UK after, say, 5 years living and working abroad, would he/she be arrested at the airport and taken straight to the nick?
It's no wonder that so many summonses don't get answered in court as the defendants obviously don't always receive them.
Is a warrant then always issued or is that a lottery? If a warrant for arrest is issued to someone who is, for example, out of the country when the NiP's and summons arrive what would happen if they were subsequently arrested and could prove they were not in the UK at the time of issue of the summons and had no knowledge of its being issued? How long does a summons remain active and enforceable? Is it indefinite so that if the person I described arived back in the UK after, say, 5 years living and working abroad, would he/she be arrested at the airport and taken straight to the nick?
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