Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi there,

Today I received a letter from HMCTS saying I owe £1014 as a result of failing to make a payment as previously directed.

I initially thought it was a scam as this is the first correspondence I had received. I called the HMCTS and was advised this is legitimate, and as a result of exceeding the speed limit in a 30mph zone in August 23.

All the correspondence was sent to my previous address and so I was never aware of any of the issues until now (no emails or any other form of correspondence was attempted). Due to this, I have accrued £1014 fine and 6 points now on my license.

I have filled in a statutory declaration and was advised my case will be reviewed in the next three months.

The reason the correspondence was never received is due to not changing my address on my VC5 when I moved.

I completely acknowledge this was a clerical error on my part and I take full responsibility for this, as I do for the speeding fine and will be pleading guilty to the fine. I have updated my address with the DVLA immediately.

I understand that not updating your address with the DVLA can come with a fine of up to £1000.

I have no previous convictions, this is my first ever speeding ticket and I have no previous run ins with the law.

My question is whether or not you feel the magistrates would review this case as it firstly being fair and reasonable to reduce the penalty to the initial fine and 3 points (which i would fully acknowledge and take without incident). Could there also be a chance that by me admitting to the clerical error of not updating my address with the DVLA, I would be admitting guilt to that and opening the chance of a further £1000 fine?

I have done some research and some are saying that due to me responding to the first correspondence and then updating my address immediately, paired with my ‘squeaky clean’ record and a guilty plea to the initial offence, this would work in my favour.

Others that I may open myself up to further fines.

I am just aiming to do the right thing and accept my punishment, but if you have any advice if there is a way I can influence how proportionate the punishment is, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot.

As above -it's a tough lesson but such is the nature of car ownership. I suspect it has happened but as per SP I can't recal la case (here) wehre anyone was prosecuted for failing to update their details (it's surprisingly common). How a Mag will view it in terms of the FTF/speeding no-one can say but you're facing a minimum of £100 plus potentially victim surcharge/costs if 'successful'. A fair bit less than £1k though!

Watch out for your insurance cover as well -some require immediate advice of convictions, some at the end of the policy period.