litter fine

[deggers316]

my friend (NOT ME)
received a litter fine (please no holier than though messages)
the council just asked him for his name address & dob which he wrote in a note book and told him if he paid within 2 weeks it would be �50
the council guy never checked for anything to back up that was the real address he gave (which it was)and never gave him a recipt of the fine or asked him to sign anything is this legal

[pink-kittens]

�50!!?? He's lucky, it's �75 here

[Kathyan]

So your friend didn't ask this guy for proof who he was and then paid him �50? Is he real?

[Cheatseeker!]

A littering fine can range from �50 - �80 depending on the Authority issuing under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 Section 87.

There is a period that some authorities will allow a reduction in the amount for an early payment, for example our authority give out an �80 fine payable in full within 14 days which, if paid within 10 days, is reduced to �50.

Unless the officer issued your 'friend' with a legal Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) then this does sound very strange.

An FPN may only be issued if the officer feels that they would have enough evidence to take the matter to magistrates court if the fine is not paid and in this case, without showing that they actually issued your friend with a fine stating where to make the payment and how, I cannot see how this would ever stand up in court and would be questioning the authority before making payment.

Our authority do not allow its enforcement officers to accept payment in any way shape or form which takes away the situation that you have just explained and the possibility for accusations of theft.

Ask the question from the local authority!!! It may be that this guy is not an authorised officer for the purposes of litter and that he is simply going around collecting money from people who fall for it!

Hope this helps

Cheatseeker!

[deggers316]

kath get some glasses i said the coucil man said if it was paid within two weeks NOT on the spot fine !

[deggers316]

thanks cheat
the guy had sheffield coucil uniform on with all the cards showing etc very genuine but yes i agree he never issued my mate with anything just wrote in pencil in his book ,very unusual,never been fined myself but i would have thought some recipt would have been issued

[Cheatseeker!]

Yes... without the actualy fixed penalty notice this would be an odd one to prove surely!

Let me know if he looks into this one...

would be interesting to see what happens...

Cheers

[deggers316]

hi cheat
my friend has rang to say got his fine though to post this morning,he phone sheffield council and said he should have been given a fixed penalty notice when the council guy took his name and address but the man on the p[one said it can be given on the spot or sent by post.

[Cheatseeker!]

Of course this can be done deggers but it's pretty ridiculous to send out a fine through the post when they obviously have the ability to issue on the spot fines!

Although some of our fines are done using the postal method, these are only fines that relate to vehicle litter where we have to use the DVLA source and gather the information from a registration number provided in a witness statement.

The big wuss's!!! lol

Was your friend cautioned? Did he offer to return and collect the item of litter? Did he admit to dropping the litter?

Let me know.. Cheers,

[deggers316]

hi cheat
he said the council guy offered no warning and yes offered to pick up the butt he also asked why the small bins were not near the seats where people often at for a cig: instead of being well away from where he was sat, he did look round for a bin but said the place had around 20 butts around the,he admits he was wrong and did say he dropped it as it was obvious the guy had been watching him through a window from behind
hes still waiting for a reply from sheffield council

[tw@t]

this just goes to show the sooner smoking in the street is banned the better

[deggers316]

yes fella and just think of your council tax zooming up to pay for all the thousands of wardens to police the ban,get real, there aint enough cops to stop people drinkin and driving,breaking and entering etc..........

[deggers316]

hi cheat
according to sheffield council every thing on there part is correct
and my friends wife is fed up with him going on about in so to save arguments hes' paid the �50
best of it is he's only what u call a social smoker a 20 pack will last him 3 weeks and more.lol

[Cheatseeker!]

Hi Deggers... Awww shame! I would have liked to have helped him to argue that one! lol

If he wasn't cautioned, this evidence was inadmissable in court!!!! I think that he should have battled this one mate!

Hey ho.... tell him maybe it's time to stop smoking!! lmao

Cheets...

[Cheatseeker!]

Hi there,

A local Authority officer only need to witness the offence to be able to obtain details of someone committing a littering offence. Standard practice is for the officer to then carry out checks with the appropriate council tax office on return the their office in order to confirm that the details are correct.

If the information is correct, a letter will normally follow through the post a few days after which will have details of the offence on and explain the payment methods available.

The time for payment is normally 14 days, following which, if the officers evidence was details in a notebook, a prosecution in Magistrates Court will then follow.

I know this is a bit late but hope this helps.