Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hello!

I recently rented a vehicle for two weeks as mine was in the shop. A friend asked to borrow the rented car for a night as he had a family emergency, he assured me that he would insure himself for the duration and actually showed me what looked like a temporary insurance policy in his name. However, I have just received a letter from the rental company stating that there is a speeding ticket I need to pay for. My questions are the following -

- What happens if I provide the details of the driver but they decide not to respond and ignore the letters? Will the burden come back to me? Will the Met contact the rental company again as they are the registered keeper? Will this cause me further problems?
- Also, I have read that I will need to provide proof that my friend was in fact insured otherwise I could be prosecuted for letting them drive uninsured. Is this true?
- Will the Met notify the rental company of who the driver was and will I face any legal repercussions for borrowing the rented car?
_ Will it be easier for me if I accept liability but as a first time offender request that I am out on a speeding awareness course? Can I request to be on the course of are the Met forced to offer it to all first time offenders? Is there some criteria or legality on this as it doesn't seem fair and transparent for this to be up to their discretion.

I have never received a speeding ticket before so I am a bit lost and worried; especially with the fact the the vehicle is rented. Please could you shed some light as to how that changes things?

Thanks in advance!

As a general rule, we don't do "What if?"s - partly because it's a hypothetical question, and mostly because it is very close to asking us to conspire to pervert the course of justice - like you did in your fourth question.

There's also the possibility that your friend may be done for Taking Without the Owner's Consent as the rental company did not consent to him using the car,

As long as the OP gave their permission, there was no TWOC.

The offence of TWOC is prosecuted under the Theft act 1968
(From the CPS)

Taking Without Consent (TWOC)
Elements
Section 12 (1) TA 1968 defines the offence as taking any conveyance (apart from a pedal cycle) to use it without having the consent of the owner or other lawful authority (TWOC).

and for a hire vehicle, the owner is considered to the the person who has rented that vehicle.:

“owner”,  in relation to a conveyance which is the subject of a hiring agreement or hire-purchase agreement, means the person in possession of the conveyance under that agreement.