Late booking speed awareness course ***Resolved***

[user1234]

I'd be really grateful for a bit of information on what my options are now - here is my situation.

 

I was caught speeding (38 in a 30) on 31st December- I thought it was 40 so it wasn't intentional :o) It was with West Midlands Police.

 

I got the letter and admitted the offence and on 5th February got a letter offering me a speed awareness course.

 

My personal situation was a bit difficult at this time - my husband had just moved out because of cheating leaving me in a difficult financial situation - debt :o( I am just getting back up on my feet.

 

The letter said I had 120 days to complete the course - so I went online to book it yesterday as I finally have the money together to pay for it. But it didn't recognise my drivers license.

 

I checked the letter again - I had to book it within 28 days! I am now so worried that I am going to be taken to court. I had every intention of doing the course but I simply misread the letter and thought I had time to get the money together.

 

I have tried calling the TTC direct but they can't do anything.

 

I am going to call the central ticket office tomorrow morning - what options do you think I have? If I explained my mistake, is there any chance I can still get to do the course so long as it's before the 120 days? Or can I accept the points and avoid court? If anyone has accepted the points, what impact has it had on insurance premiums?

 

Any help would be really appreciated

xxx

[rebel11]

Hi user1234

 

Welcome to CAG

 

I would write to them, personal issues / debt / misread letter, see what they say.

 

Here's some info:-

 

http://www.ttc-uk.com/Documents/SACTermsConditions.pdf

[leonmassey]

That's a shame you responded as if you didn't get the letter until Feb from your offence in Dec then the NIP would have been time barred.

[Aretnap]

She would have had to respond anyway - even if the NIP is late the requirement to name the driver is still valid. In any event it's the offer of a speed awareness course which she says arrived in February, not the NIP.

 

You may as well ask

- the worst that can happen is that they'll say no.

 

However as it's three and a half months since the offence you'll be lucky if they do give you another chance to book the course, and they're unlikely to move the 120 day deadline for actually doing the course - so if you do get the chance to book one you might have to be willing to be very flexible about where and when you do the course, as you may not find there are many slots still available in the next 2 weeks or so.

 

If you don't do the course they're likely to offer you a fixed penalty of £100 and 3 points as an alternative to court - unless they already made that offer at the same time as you were offered the course.

 

The amount by which a speeding conviction increases your insurance premium varies depending on your insurer and your particular circumstances. 10-20% increase is fairly typical, but if you're already in a high risk group (eg recently qualified) it might be a bit more, or if you're middle aged, middle class and generally boring you might not see an increase at all.

 

As always, make sure you shop around at renewal time, and don't assume the premium your current insurer offers you is the best price - it probably won't be.

[user1234]

Thanks to everyone who replied!

 

I called today and well, within 30 seconds of trying to explain what I needed help with, I burst into tears. It was the part where I had to explain my change in circumstances. The lady who answered the call was lovely! She calmed me down, was really patient listening and said it would be okay.

 

So, she put me back on the register and tomorrow I can call the office and arrange a course, asap. Cross fingers I can book one over the next two weeks!

 

I think I was lucky - I hadn't deliberately ignored it and I have not yet received a summons or anything - it was obvious I genuinely wanted to do the speed awareness course but had misread the letter. She was just lovely and said 'Trust me, you will get through it!' which I think was a reference to cheating men :o)

 

Cross fingers now I will get to complete the course in the next two weeks

x

[rebel11]

Well Done user1234, let us know how you get on with the course.

[user1234]

I went to book online at 7am this morning and panicked thinking that I couldn't find any ones in April. So I called the TTC and asked if there was any chance I could be on a last minute call or something if someone didn't turn up. When the chap checked my file, he said I had been awarded 30 extra days so I could complete it until the end of May. Phew!!!

 

So I had the online form up but went ahead with booking it with him as he was on the phone. Now here is the interesting bit - he had about 10 more course dates to offer than what was available online so I got a Sunday slot much closer than the first course available online. So, I would recommend calling up if the course times available online don't fit you.

 

So I am booked in and the saga has now been resolved! Yay! No more tears for me. I didn't think that I would be able to sort this out. I am very very lucky! :o)

[ostric]

Hello,

A similar thing has happened to me, I committed a speeding offence (36mph in a 30mph zone) I returned the information and driving license number within a week and was then issued a conditional offer of the speed awareness course or 3 points an a fine - obviously I wanted to do the speed awareness course.

 

Similar to yourself, I read the letter to say the course had to be booked within 5 months of the offence, my offence was on the 9th Jan and I could only book it today (17th Feb) due to having an operation recently. I have booked on the course but I am worried it was past the 28 days and I may receive a summons.

 

May I ask what the number was that you rang to explain your situation? I am very worried as I do want to do the course but I read the information wrong and thought I had longer to book it than 28 days!

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[user1234]

If you managed to book it online, it should still be fine. My problem was when I went online, it was no longer possible for me to actually book it. I had to call the number and get them to put me back on the system.

 

I think that since you are booked on it and you attend, there shouldn't be a problem.

[ostric]

I've just rang the office in charge of it to confirm that I am booked on and they have said I am so thankfully it has been resolved! I was just so worried that such a silly mistake could have ended up in a court hearing!