Free Traffic Legal Advice

This wonderful forum deserves some feedback. So I attended court wanting to plead 'not guilty' with my speech practised, polished and ready to go. (thanks andy_foster your input was very helpful, and the precision of your wording is very much appreciated) They had my trial down for last on the list and after I had been waiting for nearly 3 hours the Prosecutor called me into an empty courtroom saying he wanted a chat and, didn't fully understand everything, and there might have been a mistake. I used a few one liners from my prepared defence speech during this chat. It quickly transpired that they did not want this particular trial to go ahead. Instead, it was suggested that so the matter would be resolved today, I should plead guilty, pay the £100 fine (this included a court surcharge this time, but £100 in total) and take the 3 points. This exact scenario was I think outlined by NewJudge above as a possible outcome from a guilty plea, but only if they recognised they were at fault. I then quickly went before a district judge and pleaded guilty after he had kindly explained everything to me. Glad its over due to time taken up and stress, its a good result financially but part of me would have enjoyed giving the defence speech and going for the perfect result which would have been them accepting the prosecution was unlawful. That approach struck me as being quite risky in the circumstances and at the time, so I did not pursue it. I do think the magistrates court has prior experience in processing people who have had problems paying online fines for Conditional Offers, as it was mentioned as a known issue. Many Thanks again especially to Andy Foster and NewJudge for the accurate and timely advice.

Many Thanks Andy_Foster and NewJudge

In response to your kind suggestions I had a telephone discussion with a member of the Fixed Penalty Support unit who agreed that their systems were not perfect and that their data does back up / agree with the facts I wrote the below. They also said these system / process issues were known issues and they said to fill in the forms stating the facts and only the facts. I therefore intend to fill in the forms with the facts below and plan to plead not guilty as I met the conditions of the compromise agreement like you both said.  There is obviously a risk I will catch someone at the court on a bad day, but do you think the below might work out ok and is there anything you think is wrong / should be changed or added? Many Thanks for your kind input. Guy

Fixed Penalty Notice: XXX306619039XXXX re 03/11/2024 BP7XXXX
 
3/11/2024 BP7XXXX was observed speeding at 46mph in 40 mph zone
11/11/2024 – Notice of Intended Prosecution sent to The Defendant (Registered Keeper) together with requirement to provide driver details at the time.
Before 20/11/2024 - The Defendant returned Section 172 response admitting to being the driver.
20/11/2024 – Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty sent to The Defendant.
25/11/2024 – The Defendant attempted online payment of £100 amount in relation to conditional offer – this attempt is recorded on the Police System and was confirmed 06/05/2025 by staff at the Fixed Penalty Support Unit. There was no message at the time to say payment failed so The Defendant assumed it was successful.
25/11/2024 – The Defendant Posted Driving License Details as requested.
27/11/2024 – The Defendant’s Driving license details were received by the Fixed Penalty payment department having arrived in the post.
04/12/2024 - A letter was sent to The Defendant from Fixed Penalty Office in relation the Notice XXX306619039XXXX Offence Date 03/11/2024, thanking The Defendant for the license details (also stating Licence details enclosed) but indicating no payment had been received (no payment enclosed) so requesting £100 payment again. This is the first time The Defendant knew that payment attempt on 25/11/2024 was not successful.
09/12/2024 – The Defendant makes second (successful) online payment attempt for £100, and a receipt for this is received via email.
 
It is at this point, 09/12/2024, that the conditions of the conditional offer sent 20/11/24 had been met by The Defendant.

Factually, driving license details and Payment had been received within 19 days of the 20/11/2024 Conditional Offer being sent to The Defendant. This is why The Defendant has pleaded ‘not guilty’ – because he met the conditions on the conditional offer and demonstrably acted in good faith.

Hi - Please can someone kindly give me some advise?

Was caught doing 46 in a 40 zone, and received conditional offer.

I filled in forms requested and sent back driving license details and also tried to pay online - I thought system was happy with payment at time. Some days later, received another letter saying had not paid so was surprised to find out I hadn't - so paid again and got payment receipt this time via email. I did not receive the payment receipt the first time but there was no indication the first payment had failed at the time. Have no idea why first payment failed but second was successful. Now, 5 months later I get an SJPN letter. The witness statement says, rather confusingly....."The defendant, who is the registered keeper of the vehicle, completed and returned the section 172 response admitting they were the driver at the time of the offence"
"On 2022/2024 a Conditional Offer of a fixed penalty was sent to the same person and address as was on the Notice of Intended Prosecution. On 27/11/2024 the defendants driving license details were received at the Fixed Penalty Payment Department. On 4/12/2024 a letter was sent to the defendant requesting payment and re-submission of Driving License details. On the 9/12/2024 a payment of £100 was received to the file. On 01/05/2025 the records held by the Fixed Penalty Support Unit were checked, which showed that no driving license details were received and the conditions of the fixed charge penalty had not been met and the fixed penalty was withdrawn. A single justice notice was then generated and a refund requested."

You can see they admit they received my driving license details on 27/11....and that I paid the 100 as requested....but I missed the bit about resubmission

Any thoughts on how should I react this please? There computer systems obviously are not brilliant.
Many Thanks