Free Traffic Legal Advice

I am contacting regarding a letter I received about failing to give information of the driver.

I had received a letter which was asking if I was the driver at the time about 2 months ago and I had replied 2 weeks later and had sent the letter back to the address on the back as stated first class from the post office in Scarborough. I don’t know if it wasn’t meant to go there or not but I am sure it was.

What would the next sensible option to proceed be, do I contact the police themselves and ask kindly for a 2nd letter and for it to be tracked this time?

I am actually frustrated as to what to do

I had replied 2 weeks later and had sent the letter back to the address on the back as stated first class from the post office in Scarborough.

What information did you provide when replying?  They usually provide a correctly addressed envelope for responses (just add stamp).

OP, what is the "letter" you have now received? Is it a Single Justice Procedure Notice"? If it is, there is no point in contacting the police, as it's out of their hands. Please confirm, so that we can provide proper advice.

Whatever you have sent and wherever you sent it, the police say they did not receive it. They are most unlikely to budge from that and their next step will be o prosecute you, so you need to be prepared for that rather than try to get to the bottom of it.   

When you receive your court papers, it will probably be a “Single Justice Procedure Notice” (SJPN) rather than a summons. Hopefully it will list two charges: speeding and failing to provide driver’s details (FtP). You will be asked to enter pleas to those charges. You will then have a decision to make. You can either:

(1) Plead Not Guilty to both charges and then offer to plead guilty to the speeding charge if the FtP charge is dropped. Or

(2) You can plead Not Guilty to both charges and defend the FtP charge on the basis that you responded as required. Or

(3) You can simply plead guilty to the FtP charge.

The speeding charge cannot succeed without you pleading guilty as the police have no evidence that you were driving.

The usual advice in your circumstances is option (1). You can make your offer when you respond to the SJPN. In some areas that offer is deal with under the SJ procedure, other areas may require you to attend court.

If you intend to defend the FtP charge you will have to convince the court “on the balance of probabilities” (i.e. that they are more sure than not) that you did respond. Without any evidence of posting your response that may be difficult.

You haven't said but I assume you were the driver at the time the police are asking you about.

OP, what is the "letter" you have now received? Is it a Single Justice Procedure Notice"? If it is, there is no point in contacting the police, as it's out of their hands. Please confirm, so that we can provide proper advice.

Yes its that letter
I am trying to contact them as I’ve seen people ask for it to be resent and therefore avoid all the court stuff

What would your advice be?

Yes i sent my license and address details back in the same brown envelope it came in as thats what it said to do with the address written on the back of it, I sent it by first class

Do you still have the paperwork stating this?

I am trying to contact them as I’ve seen people ask for it to be resent and therefore avoid all the court stuff

If you have received an SJPN you won't avoid all the court stuff. That has already begun and the SJPN is your notification of that.

Are you sure that the SJPN mentions only "Failing to provide driver's details"?

I am surprised that the police sent you a "Notice of Intended Prosecution" (NIP) saying they plan to prosecute you under Section 172(3). I'm even more surprised that they say they are doing so in accordance with the requirements of Section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders' Act as no NIP is required for Section 172 offences.

...and you've not redacted your personal details