Sent my photo driving licence in for points to be added but it seems it’s lost. - ** RESOLVED **

[Aden Leigh]

Holding my hands up I was a naughty boy driving a transit van along the A55 in Wales in February and exceeded 60mph in what I thought was a 70mph zone. ( all to do with the weight of the van). When I realised the error of my way I took the fine and sent my licence off by Royal Mail.

Yesterday I received a letter from North Wales Police saying that I was now being prosecuted in court for failing to surrender my licence.

I paid the fine as soon as I received the £100 penalty letter and carefully read the form ( which is confusing to say the least) and immediately took a walk to the post box and sent my licence off.

In hindsight I’m a fool for believing that the licence would get to the HMCS in Loughborough without the need to track and trace the letter. I still believe that Royal Mail hasn’t lost the letter with my licence in it as I have never had any other letter go astray.

I believe the licence is with HMCS it’s just not yet been processed probably due to Covid backlog. Seems Covid is to blame for everything these days.
How can I avoid this going to court?

I’ve never had a speeding ticket in over thirty years of driving or any other ticket hence why I was keen to comply with the ticket and send my licence off as instructed.

[BankFodder]

I'm afraid that these people are notorious for losing documents and I have to say that something as precious as a driving licence is not something that should have been sent without having a very careful record that it was actually sent and frankly next day special delivery. That wouldn't have protected you from it being lost by them, but it would have helped.

You've learned this lesson now – but this is for the benefit of others who visit this thread.

I'm afraid that all you can do is contact the police and explain to them exactly what happened, date and time that you sent the licence. I'm not sure if anybody else will come along with better advice

[dx100uk]

umm..

 

if you failed to send off your licence to the correct place (should have been the DVLA i believe not the court?)

the £100 should also have been returned..

 

 

 

[Aden Leigh]

The address in bold on the back of the form was HMCS Loughborough. Not DVLA.

[dx100uk]

yes sorry, the forms can be confusing at best..

have you contacted the court and asked if there is a backlog?

 

it might pay you now to apply for a replacement licence to the DVLA you can do this online.

 

have you received a letter or checked if the £100 fine you paid has been refunded?

 

you don't have to appear in court if it gets that far, you can do it by letter and explain what has happened.

 

[Aden Leigh]

Something pricked my mind yesterday so I did apply for a replacement license but can take two weeks.I’ll ring North Wales Camera unit tomorrow and ask them to request a search.

im thinking the more I get them to do the longer they have to hold the process. 
mid it comes to going to court it’s more to add in mitigation. Could I be wrong?

[dx100uk]

ring the court you sent your licence too

 

has the £100 you paid been refunded?

 

 

[Aden Leigh]

Not yet

[Man in the middle]

12 hours ago, Aden Leigh said:

How can I avoid this going to court?

You almost certainly cannot.

 

The next thing you will receive will be a "Single Justice Procedure Notice". You will be asked to respond to it my choosing on of three options, one of which will be to plead guilty and have the matter dealt with by under the SJ procedure. You should select this. There will be a space for you to tell the court anything you want them to know. You should explain what has happened and ask that you be sentenced at the Fixed Penalty level. Magistrates have guidance which suggests they should do so in your circumstances:

 

Where a penalty notice could not be offered or taken up for reasons unconnected with the offence itself, such as administrative difficulties outside the control of the offender, the starting point should be a fine equivalent to the amount of the penalty and no order of costs should be imposed. The offender should not be disadvantaged by the unavailability of the penalty notice in these circumstances.

 

Your £100 should be returned in due course.

Edited June 13, 2021 by Man in the middle

[Aden Leigh]

Like to update.

just received an email confirming my licence has been endorsed and returned by HMCS on 10/6/21.

I think a bit more time is needed so people are not caused undue stress.

Its also cost me a replacement licence in an attempt to avoid court action.

[Man in the middle]

So it wasn't actually lost, then?

[honeybee13]

Thank you for letting us know. Once you have the licence in your hands, please let us know and we'll alter your thread title. It will help future caggers.

 

HB

[Aden Leigh]

I received the license back yesterday with a stamp stating process finished.

 

When you get a letter threatening prosecution one has to assume worst case scenarios.

Its natural to assume after a period of three weeks that the license is lost in the post.

There clearly is a backlog at HMCS which is going to affect a lot of people who may end up being prosecuted through the magistrate court for no reason other than an admin delay.

 

[honeybee13]

Thank you.

 

I've altered your thread title to show the outcome. Good luck with the rest of this, don't forget we're here if you have questions further down the line.

 

HB

[Man in the middle]

 

8 hours ago, Aden Leigh said:

There clearly is a backlog at HMCS which is going to affect a lot of people who may end up being prosecuted through the magistrate court for no reason other than an admin delay.

 

Indeed. But as I explained, they do have a remedy which should not see them disadvantaged.

Edited June 15, 2021 by Man in the middle