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Advice Please....6 Points And £300 Fine...guilty But Can I Assk For Leniency?
hi, i was stopped and found to be without insurance. I wasnt aware of it but i understand that means nothing. But for the reason...5 yrs ago i suddenly fell...it left me with a severe anxiety disorder, agorophobia and major panic disorder....i am just beginning to get on my feet again to the point where i can start working again and the 6 points will likely make me unattractive to a prospective employer[ i am a tractor driver/farm labourer]....what i did was not open some mail...its a hangover from the anxiedty condition...but one of those letters was a notice informing me my insurance was due to run out.....i just didnt think....i had changed insurers a couple of years previous and was used to my insurance rolling over automatically. So, is it worth going to court and asking for leniency and community service instead perhaps? many thanks, Mark
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The only advantage of going to court, rather than accepting the fixed penalty, might be that a lower fine could be imposed if you're on a very limited income. The fine would almost certainly be in 'Band C', which means between 125% and 175% of 'relevant weekly income'. (That's your actual income after deduction of tax and National Insurance if you're working, or your JSA/ESA/etc if you're not, but it's subject to a notional minimum of £120).
So if you're on JSA (or similar), the lowest fine you could receive would be one of £150 (= 125% of £120) but you'd still have to pay a surcharge and costs on top of that, so you'd probably not be much better off.
The MINIMUM number of penalty points which can be imposed for the offence is 6, so you couldn't benefit there by taking your case to court.
See pages 147 to 149 here to read exactly what the magistrates would have in front of them when considering sentence:
https:/
So if you're on JSA (or similar), the lowest fine you could receive would be one of £150 (= 125% of £120) but you'd still have to pay a surcharge and costs on top of that, so you'd probably not be much better off.
The MINIMUM number of penalty points which can be imposed for the offence is 6, so you couldn't benefit there by taking your case to court.
See pages 147 to 149 here to read exactly what the magistrates would have in front of them when considering sentence:
https:/
“6 points and a £300 fine is VERY LENIENT for a no insurance offence!!!
You would normally expect get an immediate 12 month driving ban.”
“…there is an automatic 10 points.”
Sorry, Eddie, but you really must not keep on giving out duff information like this.
The guideline penalty in court for a first offence of No Insurance is 6 to 8 points. Most offenders get six points unless there are aggravating circumstances. Whilst it’s true that magistrates can impose an immediate disqualification for any offence which carries an endorsement, the guidelines must be adhered to. In fact, they cannot impose more than eight points for No Insurance. (You can look up the legislation if you like. It will be somewhere in the Road Traffic Offenders’ Act). If the offence is deemed more serious that that penalty addresses a ban will have to be imposed.
“If the case goes to court you could get: an unlimited fine.”
Yes you could, but you wouldn’t. The fine has to be within your ability to pay so unless you have unlimited means the fine will generally be restricted to a fine of one and a half week’s net income (reduced to one week if you plead guilty).
‘Chico has provided all the details and the guidelines.
So, back to the question, “…is it worth going to court and asking for leniency and community service instead perhaps?”
No it is not. You have been handed a fixed penalty which is just about the best deal you can hope for. If you go to court the fine may be higher and you will also pay a surcharge of 10% of the fine (minimum £30) and £85 costs. “Community Service” is not an option for No Insurance. It can only be dealt with by way of a fine. And you certainly cannot trade such a sentence for points even if it was an available option.
You would normally expect get an immediate 12 month driving ban.”
“…there is an automatic 10 points.”
Sorry, Eddie, but you really must not keep on giving out duff information like this.
The guideline penalty in court for a first offence of No Insurance is 6 to 8 points. Most offenders get six points unless there are aggravating circumstances. Whilst it’s true that magistrates can impose an immediate disqualification for any offence which carries an endorsement, the guidelines must be adhered to. In fact, they cannot impose more than eight points for No Insurance. (You can look up the legislation if you like. It will be somewhere in the Road Traffic Offenders’ Act). If the offence is deemed more serious that that penalty addresses a ban will have to be imposed.
“If the case goes to court you could get: an unlimited fine.”
Yes you could, but you wouldn’t. The fine has to be within your ability to pay so unless you have unlimited means the fine will generally be restricted to a fine of one and a half week’s net income (reduced to one week if you plead guilty).
‘Chico has provided all the details and the guidelines.
So, back to the question, “…is it worth going to court and asking for leniency and community service instead perhaps?”
No it is not. You have been handed a fixed penalty which is just about the best deal you can hope for. If you go to court the fine may be higher and you will also pay a surcharge of 10% of the fine (minimum £30) and £85 costs. “Community Service” is not an option for No Insurance. It can only be dealt with by way of a fine. And you certainly cannot trade such a sentence for points even if it was an available option.
well well well...first i thank you all for taking the time to answer my question...you are a wonderful rescource and no doubt about it...thankyou. The law can be a real ass at times imho... I shall not ask for leniency but i feel the system is clumsy and unjust. Also i feel very fortunate that it was not a worse scenario...no one else involved....lesson learned...
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