Speed awareness course time lapsed due to the ticket office

[Bezo1985]

Good Morning,

I received a speeding ticket last December,

I had requested further information from the ticket office which they provided, I also sent back the form confirming i was the diver at the time, however, i had overlooked the signature at the bottom of the page, nobody from the ticket office got back in touch to mention this and i was trying to book a course with no luck,

I got in touch with them and sent them a screenshot showing them I was unable to book the course, they came came back to me and said we have no documents to say you were the driver (they did they just failed to mention I never signed it) they re sent the form and it was over the 120 days, i had mentioned to them previously that the timeframe was coming up and they would need to extend this.

They are now saying they have complied legally and i need to accept the 3 points,

I am trying to plead my case and I am tempted to let this go to court and provide the evidence of my constant communication on the matter.

has anyone got any experience with this?

TIA.

[Man in the middle]

So not entirely down to the ticket office, then.

In fact you have been quite fortunate. The "Section 172" response provides the evidence the police need to prove that you were driving if they wish to prosecute you in court.

In England and Wales there is a legal precedent which has determined that an unsigned s172 response does not meet the requirements of that part of the RTA. In effect, an unsigned response is equivalent to no response at all. (This precedent is not recognised in Scotland and there is a strategy to "go unsigned" to avoid conviction).

When they receive an unsigned response the police are perfectly entitled to prosecute you for "Failing to provide drivers details" and they more often than not do. This offence carries six points, a hefty fine and insurance grief for up to five years. So you got lucky.

The situation now is that the deadline for accepting a course is passed. Four months is the absolute maximum, with some forces cutting it back to as little as three months from the date of the offence. The police will not extend this because if you fail to complete the course before six months has elapsed, they can no longer prosecute you. They can only begin proceedings up to the corresponding date in June (i.e. if the offence was December 10th, they have until June 10th to begin proceedings).

You will gain nothing by taking this to court. On the contrary you have a lot to lose. Courses are offered entirely at the discretion of the police, you have no right to one and the court has no powers to order one. Presumably you have been offered a fixed penalty of £100 and 3 points. If you are sentenced in court it will cost you at least three times that, possibly more (depending on your speed and your income).

My advice: accept the fixed penalty and do it soon as there is a deadline for that as well and if you allow it to pass your matter will be taken to court anyway.

Do not forget to submit your driving licence details as instructed when accepting the offer. If you fail to do so the police will have no time left to remind you (and they don't usually send reminders for this anyway) and, again, your case will end up in court.

Edited May 10 by Man in the middle

[Bezo1985]

it seems they can do what they like then.

I contacted them before the date was due for the course, I explained i was trying to book and it would not let me, 

I just find it frustrating they can revoke the offer because of the times it has taken them to respond, they issued another form which i sent back but due to the timing of everything it went over.

They should have the decency to review the situation,

I understand it was not signed but they still had all the information to see I had sent the details.

Thank you for the reply.

[dx100uk]

the law is not 'what they like' it's the law.

dx

[Bezo1985]

Its pretty crappy to not have to decency to say they had received it but it was missing a signature law or not.

[dx100uk]

its pretty crappy to speed in the 1st place too and not have the decency toward others that live and drive there to bother to drive slowly.

dx

[Man in the middle]

They are no doing what they like; they are doing what they have to.

Whoever is to blame for this makes no difference. It could be 100% down to the ticket office (though it isn't) and they would still not offer you a course. They must begin a prosecution in June (which is their only alternative if you fail to complete the course). They are not sitting in their office with just your case before them, eagerly awaiting your completion of the course (or not) so that they can either close your case or prosecute you. They have a system which is designed to keep all the (many) cases they have moving.

As I said, you have been lucky. The normal reaction when they receive an unsigned response is to go straight to prosecution. It's unfortunate that you have been on the wrong end of this but it emphasises the need to get everything absolutely right first time when dealing with such matters (hence my warning to submit your licence details when accepting the fixed penalty)..

[Bezo1985]

they have all my license details they had them from the start, the signature was missing that was all, that was stopping me from booking the course.

 

2 hours ago, dx100uk said:

its pretty crappy to speed in the 1st place too and not have the decency toward others that live and drive there to bother to drive slowly.

dx

it was 60 in a 50 on a variable motorway I was hardly mowing down pedestrians in a residential area, sorry we are not all perfect like yourself, just don't comment if you are going to be sarcastic, what a waste of your own time.

[Man in the middle]

Quote

they have all my license details they had them from the start,

Indeed they may have. 

But you will be required to submit them again when you accept the fixed penalty. The instructions will be with the offer. It's up to you whether you want to ignore those instructions or say something like "you already have them." But if you do, the offer will be withdrawn and your case will move to court action where, as I said, the cost will be considerably greater. It's your choice but I mentioned it so as to avoid you any further trouble.

Believe me, I know about these things.