Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) - Court Summons

[Aretnap]

It would probably be better if your friend posted here himself, rather than playing Chinese whispers through a friend of a relative.

 

If he knew about the NIP and didn't respond to it then he's guilty of failure to identify the driver, and can expect 6 points and a hefty fine, regardless of whether he was speeding or whether the camera was working properly. Pleading guilty will reduce the size of the fine, but not the points.

 

If he wasn't aware of the NIP, eg if he was away from your relative's home all that time and she didn't inform him of it, then he may be able to defend the charge on the basis that it wasn't reasonably practical for him to have become aware of the requirement and to have replied to it.

[Aretnap]

I'm a bit muddled here, but I think if the summons is in your (male) friend's name it must be for the speeding offence? A summons for failing to give the driver's details would have been sent to the (female) relative?

That's not correct. When the (female) relative named the (male) friend, the (male) friend would have been sent his own requirement for driver details which he'd have been obliged to complete himself. If he didn't, it's him who gets charged with failure to provide.

[Aretnap]

A minor error like a spelling mistake on the summons won't make any difference to the outcome I'm afraid.

 

What do you mean by the redline for a reply being tomorrow? If you mean the court date is tomorrow then he's going to have to go - phone in sick if necessary.if he pleads guilty they'll deal with him there and then. If he pleads not guilty they'll adjourn and set a new date for a full trial. Without knowing more about the circumstances it's impossible to say whether it's worth pleading NG and trying to defend the charge.

 

In the absence if a defence to the failure to name charge his best option might be to get to court early, ask to speak to the prosecutor and ask him whether he would be willing to switch the failure to name charge for a simple speeding one in return for an agreement to plead guilty to speeding. The prosecutor would not be obliged to accept this sort of plea bargain, but they often will. If the speed alleged is not too far over the limit, a speeding conviction would get him 3 points and a s,mall fine, rater than the 6 points and a big fine he can expect for silver to name.

 

Failing that, if he is convicted he will get 6 points, but he can avoid a ban if he can persuade the magistrates that a ban would cause exceptional hardship. There is no set in stone definition of what exceptional hardship means; having a job which relies on being able to drive is a start, but in general hardship caused to other people will weigh more heavily than hardship caused to himself. Does he have dependants who would suffer if he lost his job?