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maramar100

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Everything posted by maramar100

  1. I'm not taking a solicitor to court. I'm simply going to do as advised because i can't pay the £300 in full. I will get a chance to give details of the incident and i've spoken to three solicitors over the phone who say while highly unlikely courts do have discretion as to which penalty to impose. They have no discretion but to revoke license if they give the 6 points. I'm not taking a solicitor because i cannot get legal aid for motoring offences. Its all beside the point because I don't have £300 to pay the fixed penalty offer. Thanks for the help guys will let you know what happens.
  2. I have been told that there is a chance of discretion by the court and to be honest i have nothing to lose. I cannot pay £300 in full. I have asked and there is no way they will accept part payments. If i am to lose my license then at least i can pay bit by bit. There's nothing i can do about that. I will at least get to have my say. I do know for sure after a free 15 min call with a solicitor that courts do have discretion and are not bound to give 6 points. Yes they probably will as that is the set amount but it is not mandatory for a court to give. I won't be turning up at court and have been told i can simply do it via post once i receive any court documents. If i had done the fixed penalty off i would have lost my license immediately without any chance of at least saying what happened and why. I wasn't prepared to do that. It says at the top of every penalty notice they absolutely do not accept instalments. I'm guessing i will hear from the court sometime after the 28 days is up. If i get a 500 fine at least i can pay it in instalments. It will be higher but i will have been able to have my say. I have been told that due to my health problems there could be discretion as not driving will leave me housebound. If i accept the notice i definitely will lose my license. I think its posted in this thread twice somewhere that courts have discretion.
  3. Just checked online and i have 0 penalty points and no revocation. I havent been given a fixed penalty, just the offer of one. So as of today i have no points at all as the case hasn't happened yet.
  4. hi mikey. I can't have my license revoked until i have either accepted the fixed penalty notice within 28 days or been to court. I've done neither so have not been convicted of any offence as of yet. I'm not accepting the fixed penalty offer. It was just an offer for me to accept or to not answer and it would be forwarded for a court date. My license hasn't been revoked yet as i have no points at the moment
  5. I'm a bit confused. Don't you have that the wrong way around. Its been posted before and i've seen it on official sites too: "Whilst revocation is automatic if you reach 6 points, if you can prevent points being endorsed, you can avoid revocation. Consequently, for some offences it may be more practical to obtain a short period of disqualification by way of a punishment instead of penalty points. Although to achieve this, you will have to attend Court, if you can convince the Court to impose a punishment that avoids penalty points, you will avoid revocation. It is important to understand that whilst the Court has no discretion on whether revocation is imposed should you reach 6 points, it does have discretion on the punishment imposed and therefore, avoiding points will avoid revocation. This will require technical knowledge of the law so you should seek legal advice if you chose to go to Court." So they do have discretion as to award the points but have no discretion to not take away license if you get the 6 points. its the opposite of what you've just said i think
  6. Thank you crappoman. That gives me some hope no matter how small. That's how i read it online.
  7. Thank you for replying and helping, everyone. It's not about definitely not wanting to take the offer of fixed penalty its that i can't. I did however think from all the reading i've done that the 6 points, although usual for the offence, is still discretionary by the court. Am i wrong in that? Surely the court have to give the 6 points as a punishment for DVLA to be able to act on that. DVLA don't have the legal power to award 6 points themselves. Thank you for the doctors note idea. I will do that.
  8. Thank you mikey. Am scared stiff but i have to at least try. I hope i get the chance to explain what happened in court. It happened and i will accept the punishment but just need to be able to speak at least.
  9. Hi mikey ty for the help. I'm not answering the offer of a fixed penalty of 6 points and a 300 fine. I don't have to answer that unless i accept it. I have 28 days to respond and if i don't it will be passed along for a court date. Thats what I'm doing. I don't have to pay the fixed penalty fine unless i accept it which i don't. I'm not sure what directions to which court you are referring to. Its not the one where i live in Devon. Mines in a street called St Andrews and nowhere near a police station. Also i'm not selling any cars to pay a fine and have no say in whether my son sells his car or not. Thanks guys. I will not respond to offer and wait instead for court. I will live with revocation of license if it happens but want my chance to at least explain what happened to a court and try to not get the points. I accept the chances are low but if i accept the fixed penalty they are zero. I have all the info i need thanks to everyone. I'll post when i've been to court and let you know the result.
  10. Sorry i'm a woman lol just read some of the posts and thought i'd put where i'm coming from answering some of the points but obviously am coming from a perspective of total ignorance of the law in this regard other than what i've read. I'm a 54 yr old woman. I took over driving my 20 year old sons car one evening when he was looking for spots to photograph for a course but began to feel unwell due to a headcold he had which made him feel a bit dizzy. He had a fully comp policy to drive his polo and i had a fully comp policy to drive my own car. I've had my license since april 2014. I was driving for around 5 mins if that and driving really slowly as wasn't sure which way to go as not an area i really knew. Police car behind me and stopped for what he said was driving suspiciously. They were very nice and new the car was insured. At no point that night was i told i was going to be prosecuted or know i would possibly have to give back my license. It wasn't said verbally and I was given no paperwork. I was simply asked to go home and look at my policy as they could not even find my insurance when they radioed in. No idea why. Anyway got home and found the sentence saying i couldn't drive other cars. As my son did not want to drive after his policy was up in two weeks (He's a student who can't afford over 2000) we decided in order to keep the car until he could in the future he would cancel his insurance and i would insure it in my name so we could park it outside and i could drive it if needed. So insured in my name within 30 mins of getting home. It wasn't until the following day i got a call asking me to go to the station. That was when the paperwork and notice of prosecution was filled in and given. Although i think because they knew it was a genuine error they treated me very nicely. Then a few days later i got the offer via fixed penalty of 6 points and £300. I would immediately have to give my license and i do not have £300 to pay in full. I just don't have it. I then read online what someone else has posted that it is possible with a solicitor as i was not deliberately driving without insurance and because of the effect revoking my license would have, that a sympathetic court does have it in their power to not give 6 points and that it is well within their jurisdiction to not give them. They only have no leeway if i've already got the points. I cant pay the fixed penalty as i don't have the money so that must happen to a lot of people on low incomes and only those with hundreds in the bank can make use of them. I do know that i will probably have additional financial penalty such as court costs etc but i also know magistrates courts look at your income and let you pay weekly which i will do. I am frightened. I can't get legal aid for a motoring offence but there's noi thing else i can do. Its not a ban its basically taking my license away as though i'd not had one and i would have to get a provisional again and retake test. if i retook my test and passed the six points would be on that new license but i would no longer be subject to the two year rule. The cost of insurance on declaring i had 6 points might mean i can no longer afford to drive. If i can't have legal aid for motoring offences then i probably can't speak to any duty solicitor. Unless they do it for free. My son does not wish to drive any more so he doesn't need insurance or to be on any insurance. The police said to me they were not interested in taking his car or looking at him as they were aware of the circumstances of the night. Its a basic driving with no insurance for me. At least in court, aside from the awful embarrassment of being there, i can say exactly what happened and hope they won't be too harsh with me. To be honest this has really upset me and i doubt i'll have the heart at my age to go out and retake a test etc. I live purely on disability benefits now due to some problems i have and was only just affording the 600 a year for the insurance i had.
  11. I've checked the policy and the only reference anywhere on it to this is one sentence that says 'The driving of other cars extension is not included for any driver named on the policy.' its not mentioned anywhere else. I called and they said i am not covered. I looked online and it seems Admiral don't cover people to drive other cars. At least most i've looked at said they don't.
  12. I've contacted them and they have confirmed i was not covered to drive other cars Took me 54 years to finally get a license. 30 minutes to lose it My own fault i'm just really upset about it. I'll go to court plead guilty and tell them all circumstances and hope for the best. I have to because i need to pay bit by bit either way. Thanks very for the huge amount of help. Very grateful. Wish me luck
  13. I'm really confused. The fixed penalty notice address is the conditional offer unit in southend. It also says on the form " Payments by instalments will NOT be accepted under any circumstances. I have no choice but to go to court. I'll get a solicitor and let him argue for me and try to avoid the points if possible. If not at least i can pay bit by bit. I simply don't have £300. I'm really confused now so best to speak with a solicitor although no idea what that cost will be. The above post says courts do have discretion on whether or not to give points. They just can't stop the revocation of license once points are given. Now i'm worried about a 12 month ban that's not been mentioned before for circumstances like mine. Ok thank you. More worried than ever now but have no choice but to go to court. Thanks guys. Am off now but am very grateful for the information.
  14. It says on the enforcement notice that you cannot pay instalments. It's pretty clear pay the fine in one go or not at all. Re the ban. I'm confused re that when most get 6 points and a £300 fine even when they deliberately drove with no insurance on the car at all. Are you now saying the 6 points and a fine are not likely and that a 12 month ban for a first offence when i did not knowingly drive with no insurance is likely? I'd better find a solicitor quick then and get some advice because thats the first time anywhere i've heard i'm likely to get a 12 month ban. I'm not going to plead not guilty. I simply want a chance to let the court know the circumstances and be able to pay in instalments. Thanks anyway. Think i need to see a solicitor. what would a victim support payment be? Not sure who the victim is I thought going to court would be better so that i didn't lose my license right away which means i cant drive anymore anyway. But also earlier i found this on the driving ban website which says re new drivers: Whilst revocation is automatic if you reach 6 points, if you can prevent points being endorsed, you can avoid revocation. Consequently, for some offences it may be more practical to obtain a short period of disqualification by way of a punishment instead of penalty points. Although to achieve this, you will have to attend Court, if you can convince the Court to impose a punishment that avoids penalty points, you will avoid revocation.It is important to understand that whilst the Court has no discretion on whether revocation is imposed should you reach 6 points, it does have discretion on the punishment imposed and therefore, avoiding points will avoid revocation. This will require technical knowledge of the law so you should seek legal advice if you chose to go to Court.
  15. I've used the contact form and see what they say. Have looked online in general though and it seems Admiral don't let you drive other cars in general so don't hold out much hope. Thanks That aside i won't accept the police penalty and will go to court because at least there its a judge handing a penalty to me and i will be allowed to pay in instalments. Thanks everyone.
  16. It says on ticket that you have to pay in full and cannot pay in instalments.
  17. No it definitely says is not covered to drive other cars. Also re the ticket its not that they gave it the next day in a station its that they have written on their letter to me for the offer of a fixed penalty ''i refer to the traffic offence report ticket that was issued to you at the roadside' Its simply not true that i was given it that night. Just wondered why they wrote that. Ok well thanks for the help and replies. I'll have to go to court because i can't afford the £300 at once anyway and at least it will be a judge deciding not a policeman. Thanks again I do realise its my own fault for not triple checking but couldn't check policy till after i'd driven him home and assumed this policy would be the same as the previous and the one i have now. I am concerned about the reference to being banned from driving from unclebulgaria because it isn't a driving ban i will get. I will literally lose my license and have to apply for a provisional and retake my test which i think i can do right away. The 6 points will then be on that license but I don't get a driving ban. (At least i don't think i do according to the police anyway and the gov website). You've all been brilliant and replied really quickly. Thanks Thanks Thank you Toby. I have rechecked and the only sentence referring to it is mixed in amongst lots of terms and conditions i should have read through. It says "The driving of other cars extension is not included for any driver named on the policy.". There's no other reference to driving cars that are already insured on third party anywhere. My own fault. The car is in my sons name.
  18. Thanks for replying. The police are saying 6 points and a fine. That is a definite loss of license. do i have anything to lose by going to court and giving the circumstances? Plus should they have given me the traffic ticket that night at the roadside along with caution? I've tried to look online and it does say that a court has no powers to not revoke a license if 6 points given but it can give other options as punishment if it chooses instead of points depending on any mitigating circumstances. So fed up at my stupidity at not double checking. Plus i do not have £300 to pay in full. Instalments not accepted on a fixed penalty
  19. Hi I feel a bit silly at the moment but need some advice if possible please. I'm 54 and only got my license in April 2014. I have a few problems such as social phobia and other things was advised by people that having my own car would help me get out of the house more etc and be able to lead more of a life i tended to rarely leave the house as i cannot use public transport or walk where there are other people (I know i'm weird ) I did this and was so chuffed when i passed first time. I got a car with comprehensive insurance which allowed me to drive other cars. Around 6 months after that my oldest son bought me a newer car and i got new insurance which was comprehensive. Last week i was out with my teenage son at night in his small car. He's had his license for around a year. We were out taking photographs of various things for a course he's on. He started feeling a bit unwell and so i took over and was going to drive us home. A few minutes later we were stopped by the police as they said i was driving suspiciously. I was simply driving slowly trying to work out the best way home as its not an area i'm familiar with. They saw that the car was insured with my son but asked under which insurance was i driving. I said under my cars comprehensive insurance. They then said that not all comprehensive lets you drive other cars. A fact i didn't know. They let me go with my son driving and asked me to double check my policy and call them when i got home. I found my policy and in the small print was a sentence saying i could not drive other cars. I immediately called them and told them what it said. Also within 10 minutes of getting home and finding this out i took out a policy for the car in my name as my sons was due to run out and as a student he could not afford to pay the nearly £3000 policy to renew anyway and it allows him to keep the car on the drive until he can afford to insure it himself. The next day i got a call asking me to go to the station where forms where filled out and i was issued a traffic offense report ticket. Yesterday i got an offer of a fixed penalty of 6 points and £300. This will mean i lose my license and my life will severely curtailed as its the only way i can leave the house. It says if i don't accept i can go to court and plead guilty or not guilty. It also says at the top 'i refer to the traffic offence report ticket that was issued to you at the roadside' This is not correct. The police simply wrote in a notebook and asked me to phone them later. I was issued nothing official at the roadside and was given this paperwork the following day at the station where it was filled out in front of me. I was also only cautioned at the police station the following day Does this fact have any impact on anything? Also why have they said it was issued at roadside when it was filled in and issued at the station a day later? My point after the long ramble is whether or not i would be wasting my time going to court and if i have any mitigating circumstances at all that could lead a court to not giving me 6 points. A fine, a course, anything else would be ok as i realise the law was broken, even though i'd struggle with a fine it would be better than losing my license. I have 28 days to accept or not. Have looked online and seems to say i can't get legal aid for a motoring offence so have no support in this. Any advice would be gratefully received. I genuinely thought i was covered to drive it. I paid £1100 for my comprehensive policy on the other car. Thanks
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