Hi,

just had a call from the wife to say the Car Leasing Company have sent a letter asking for £59 for the following:

a) £30 fine for driving in bus lane at Station approach, Reading 11th September

b) £29 admin charge incurred by them in paying the fine on my behalf

Several points here:

1) I'd like the chance to defend myself as I cant remember being there then (although I work in that area)

2) Even if I did it, I dont know Reading well at all, and sure as heck wasnt aware I was in a bus lane as I'm the first to curse people who use them for short cuts illegally

3) £29 admin charge??!!! Penalty??

What say you everybody?

Pretty normal for a charge of that type on matters like these. Everyday car rental companies do similar as I found out when I forgot to pay a congestion charge when returning a car one morning. I think that you will find that the charge rate for occasions like this are actually set out in writing in the paperwork so you agree to them when you sign. Certainly in the rental car case it was clearly set out that the fee would be £30 for any admin to chase fines etc.

As for the Bus Lane thingy, chances are the photo was from behind so the first course of action is to request the picture. If it shows you you are banged to rights however if the photo is from the rear then you have a chance of fighting.

In law at the moment there is a grey area in as much as by telling the authority who the driver was you are in fact, incriminating yourself without first being proven guilty. There are a lot of test cases going on at the moment to try and get this changed as under European law, you have a right to silence and it is therefore down to the prosecuting authority to prove it was you driving. Very difficult to do if there is no photographic evidence no matter whose car it is!

Give you an example, my friend and his wife were travelling north on the A1 at night and got flashed by a Gatso. They were required to inform the authority as to whom was driving. Their reply was that they shared the driving, swapping numerous times so had no idea who was driving at the time. In the absence of any photo of teh driver the case was dropped.

In any event, I have got myself off bus lane fines and CC fines by engaging in lenghty correspondance. Keep it up long enough and eventually the prosecuting authority will make proceedural mistakes and render the fine unenforcable.

Good luck!

Thanks for the comments!

Main problem is that they(Lease Co) have paid the fine and assumed I'm guilty, now want the money and admin fee from me without giving me a chance to speak up for myself!

As for the 'standard for a lease co charge and in the terms I agreed to' - sounds remarkably similar to a bank charge, eh? ;-)

Yes, penalty charges where two parties are bound by a contract is unlawful and can be challenged. You are only liable for the actual loss incurred. The parking ticket, however, should be disputed with the council and, if refunded, should be paid back to the leasing company.

The issue of penalty charges vs liquidated losses is related to breaches of contract. To contest the charge on those grounds you would have to show that in being caught in a bus lane (or committing some other driving offence) you were in breach of your contract with the car hire company.