Driving while believing he had insurance

[crazymum]

In June of this year my husband was done for driving without insurance. He was in the belief that he had insurance as his mum had paid the year insurance on her credit card for us and we were paying her back. My husband was in receipt of a certificate of insurance. However when pulled he was told that the policy had been cancelled but neither my husband or his mother received a cancellation notice from SAINSBURYS insurance. Three months later my ma in law received her credit card statement and the money had been refunded. The police officers who stopped my husband assured him it wouyld not be taken further, now he is up in court at end of month. He would never knowingly drive without insurance as his job involves driving and I would never let my daughter in the car if he had no insurance. What do you think the outcome will be at court?

[bigmamma]

Hello crazymum, I am not totally sure if this is any help but as far as I think , your hubby was actually without insurance at that point whether he knew it or not , He may be treated more leniently if they take his mistake as m.c. He is obliged really to plead guilty therefore . He may expect a fine and a period of ban , which hopefully will take his job into consideration.
All the best :-) x

[NORMANTHEDOG]

he will receive 6 to 9 pts on his licence and a fine with costs,driving without insurance is not taken lightly by courts now,even with your excuse, as insurance companies do not just CANCEL peoples insurance without informing them,so either you or you mum in law would have been sent a letter telling you this.

[crazymum]

well sainsburys did.we received nothing from them apart from a certificate of insurance that covered us until feb 08 and they took the money from the bank account. they did not refund the money until after my husband was informed by the police he had no insurance. are you a solicitor then norman?

[Reverandfunk]

Whether or not you recieved a cancellation it is YOUR responsiblity to ensure that you have a valid insurance certificate. Ignorance is no defence and what Norman says is right.

[NORMANTHEDOG]

NO my dear,i am not a solicitor,but as we have told hundreds of people on here before,THERE IS NO EXCUSE, for not knowing or having insurance in the eyes of the law.the courts have heard all the excuses in the world,and unless you get sainsburys to write to the court saying thay did not inform you that they had cancelled it,im afaid he will be punished as in my first post,i have been in the motor trade over 30 yrs and have seen it all before,did the letter get lost in the post strike recently,sainsburys are the only ones who can help you.

[New Judge]

There is but one issue that leads me to believe that this is not as simple as earlier answers would suggest. Normally I would quite agree. No insurance is an �absolute� offence which means it is entirely the driver�s responsibility to ensure he is insured. However, if the facts stated are correct, that the insurer did not issue a cancellation notice or refund any money until after the alleged offence then it is arguable that your husband could have had no way of knowing that his insurance had been cancelled. He had a valid certificate of insurance, had paid his premium and had been given no indication of the cancellation.

As suggested by NORMAN, you need to contact Sainsbury�s urgently. You should ask to see all the documentation they have in relation to this policy. In particular you need copies of any notice of cancellation they may have sent you prior to your husband being stopped. You should also find out why the policy was cancelled and why no refund was made until after the alleged offence.

If this cannot be done before the court appearance your husband should attend, explain the circumstances, withhold his plea and seek an adjournment until you have the necessary information. A solicitor may help you achieve this more successfully.

[crazymum]

The facts stated ARE true. The certificate of insurance that we still have in our possesion is valid until 14th Feb 2008. He was pulled on 2nd June 2007, he was also assured by the 2 police officers involved that they would not take it further as they believed him. His mother received her Visa statement August and in between neither his mother who lives at one address and paid the year long insurance or my husband who lives at seperate address to his mother and in who's name the insurance is received any notification of the cancellation of insurance. On June 4th we got insurance with another company. Due to Data Protection Act my husband and I were not at liberty to view or question his mothers visa account.
At this point I might add that another reason why hubby would not drive without insurance and why we trusted his mother is that both his parents work in the West Mids Police force!

[crazymum]

and should we contact sainsburys or should we do this via a solicitor?

[New Judge]

If I was in your husband's position, crazymum, I would engage a solicitor immediately.

[crazymum]

we have got a solicitor but I was just wandering is it best for them to approach sainsburys or should we? As because it was his mum who paid, but in his name who is covered by the data protection act??

[New Judge]

What is the relevance of the Data Protection Act in this matter?

[crazymum]

As my husbands mother paid for the insurance on her credit card my husband and I have been told that due to the data protection act we cannot directly speak to them regarding the payment and the refund. I was wondering if this was the case also with the insuranced company.

[New Judge]

Many companies (conveniently) misinterpret the Data Protection Act. There is nothing in the DPA to stop them speaking to you and nothing in any other laws provided they have your mother-in-law�s agreement, but it is more convenient for them to issue their staff with blanket instructions rather than take each case on merit. The insurance company is obliged to deal with your husband�s enquiries as he is the policy holder

Get your solicitor to sort it out.

[crazymum]

thanks Judge!!! I had been led to believe by the person on the phone line at sainsburys that she was not allowed to tell us anything at all because of the DPA!!

[chompu]

Also if they cancelled the insurance they should have requested the return of the certificate which is required under the road traffic act. If they allege they wrote to you and obviously didn't receive the certificate from you then ask them why didn't they send you a reminder.

[crazymum]

chomp and judge you are DARLINGS!!!! starting to feel happier now!!