I'm British and have a UK driving license but in December I moved permanently abroad to a country outside the EU.
I got busted by a camera for speeding on FOUR separate occasions in the same place in October and November last year.
I guess I missed the camera! I was doing between 36-38 in a 30.
The thing is I use a friend's address for all my UK communications and she didn't open my post until two months after the fines had been sent!!! Now I've got a court summons but I missed the date to plea so don't know what will happen there.
I'm interested to know if the four offences means I'm likely to get 12 points on my license which means a driving ban?
If I don't respond and just have my friend say she's not at this address, doesn't live in the UK anymore and there's no forwarding address is it likely the fine will be escalated to the point that bailiffs will be sent to her address and a warrant for my arrest could be issued?
If this happens will the legal proceedings against me continue in my absence and could I end up with a criminal record?
Or a should I be a good citizen and try to attend the court date virtually? Is that even an option now I tried to contact the details on the Simmons but just get an automatic response saying it’s too late!
Obviously l'm not too concerned about the driving ban, but l'd prefer to not have a criminal record from the unpaid fine!
Grateful for any advice