54 mph in a 40mph zone opps didnt update DVLA address - ** RESOLVED **

[Man in the middle]

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He took the new address and told me all paperwork would go to the new address and the DVLA would update their records when he filed his report on no tax so I assumed the DVLA would know of my address change and didn't report a change of address on my vehicle.

 

Big mistake. Only you can update your details with the DVLA. They will not react to anything the police or anybody else tells them. Quite why the officer told you otherwise is a mystery and that is obviously the cause of all this.

 

First of all you need to find out which court convicted you (for failing to provide the driver’s details) and when. The DVLA should be able to give you that information. Then you need to perform a “statutory declaration” (SD). This is a statement sworn before either a Magistrate  or a solicitor that you knew nothing of the conviction recorded against you.

 

What happens next depends very much on what the original accusation was, but get the SD done first. This will “set aside” your conviction. The police will then have to decide whether to resurrect the “Fail to supply driver’s details”  charge (they almost certainly will) but find out what the original offence was, get the SD done and then come back.

 

You must get the SD done within 21 days of finding out about your conviction. You can do it free of charge at the Magistrates’ court or at a solicitor’s (who may charge you a small fee of £5 to £10). If you do it at a court you will have to make an appointment and you may not get one within three weeks. The legal position is that the court must accept your SD if made within three weeks but has the discretion to do so later. If you cannot get an appointment early enough that will not jeopardise you. However, my advice is to undertake your SD at a solicitors. This is because most courts now put the  charge immediately to the defendant following the SD. You want a bit of a breathing space so as to consider what next to do because you want, if possible, to avoid the “Fail to Provide” charge.

 

You should not drive until you have it confirmed from the DVLA that your conviction has been set aside and your licence has been reinstated. You may need to apply for a new one but the DVLA will advise you on that.

Edited September 21, 2019 by Man in the middle

[Man in the middle]

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So actually what I am doing is appealing the failure to supply drivers details which they will then re instigate.

 

No you're not appealing, as such. You're making a declaration to say that you knew nothing of the proceedings against you. You should not be convicted (of any offence) unless you were aware of the case against you. This applies even if, as seems likely in your case, the reason you were not notified is largely because of your failing. What happens is that the conviction is set aside (i.e. as if it never happened). The points should be removed from your record and your licence reinstated. (I'm not sure of the mechanics for that - whether it is reinstated automatically or whether you have to apply for a new licence - the DVLA will tell you).

 

After that the police will almost certainly begin the proceedings (for the "Fail to Supply" offence) again. I imagine (though I'm only guessing) what happened is that your car was detected speeding or perhaps running a red light. Because no reply was received to the request to name the driver court action followed for failure to do so. We're stepping ahead a little but if the original allegation was speeding or a red light offence, and you accept you were driving at the time, there may be a way to get the matter reverted to that. Those offences, unless serious, carry only three points. But let's not worry about that just yet.

 

Just one more thing. You said you failed to notify a change of address on your driving licence. Did you fail to notify the DVLA that the address held against your vehicle had changed as well? Your licence does not come into play when a speeding/red light allegation is made. The police write to the Registered Keeper at the address held by the DVLA for that vehicle. If you didn't tell them it had changed all the paperwork would have gone to your previous address.

 

Finally, the delay in settling matters will not help. It is the date of the offence(s) that count when calculating the two year probationary period under which your licence was revoked.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2019 by Man in the middle

[Man in the middle]

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The police apparantly wrote to me on 21.12.2018 asking for information on the driver. 

 

Are you sure it was 21.12.18? If the speeding offence was committed on 18th November the police have 14 days to serve the Notice of Intended Prosecution (which is sent with the request for driver's details)  on you. They rarely fail to do this and usually do so within a few days. If they sent it on 21st November you would have had until late December to respond and so would have committed the "Fail to Provide" offence then. 

Edited September 23, 2019 by Man in the middle