floods

Thank you for your opinion.

Let me ask, how will i be worse off if i plead not guilty? Ok if we are going by yes insurance/no insurance then technically I am guilty...but if it means being fined more then so be it...my main concern is losing my license...even needing to resit is a complete and utter **** because it'll mean 6 weeks without work or however long it takes to get an appointment.

Like you say though, a good solicitor is who I need to speak to. I appreciate everyones advice here, you've taught me that at least the magistrates are likely to look at me as guilty, no excuses.

fast bloke

I said it first, you said it second. might be possible for me to agree with you if I was psycich, but i can't even spell that, so you must be agreeing with me. Just gonna delete the posts in case someone thinks my mind is as feked up as yours


anyway - back to the thread

davegtt

fek it Ive had a drink Im tired and I cant be ar$ed reading the other 3 pages, after the first page though my opinion/advice is that you was silly enough to believe you had insurance even though u had no confirmation number or email saying they had received any details etc..... If you had the diligance to use the internet to seek insurance andfill out online payment etc I would have thought u would have knew to expect some sort of confirmation otherwise alarm bells should have been ringing much earlier than when the police stopped you. Saying that though this internet has wonderful ways of helping you out, who are the police to blame in the long run? you? or a computer? you would have to stick to your guns... and unless you have a very helpful copper Id be sat chatting to a solicitor right now.

Im pretty sure driving with no insurance is 6 points, no questions asked so that technically would mean a ban to you but that doesnt mean you will get banned. sounds like this could go to court in the long run and a letter from your boss explaining you need the motor for work and your services would no longer be required if you lost your license should seal it for you... but you'd have to be careful for a LONG time after that otherwise your screwed...

Good luck

Mitchy260

A probationary license means exactly what it says mate. Probationary!!!

Fu*k up in that time and bye bye license just the same as a criminal, mess up and back in jail.

Ive had numerous friends having to re-sit the whole lot again, a couple of driving lessons/theory/hazard and practical tests. I've never heard of a case for that matter where a probationer has kept his/her license for tolling up 6 or more.

If i were you i'd be booking your re-tests right now, there's no point in holding off and waiting because like everyone has said it is inevitable. In the eyes of the law you are in the wrong.

Good luck anyway, it is a harsh harsh world!

Lum

You said you were 1 1/2 years into your probationary licence?
You might want to consider some court delaying tactics for the next 6 months so that it's 2 years before your case comes to court.

I know you acted in good faith but the fact is you did not have insurance so in legal terms you are guilty and have already admitted this, so you will be pleading guilty with mitigating circumstances.

Set your web browser to "always use cached copy", stop reading scoobynet and go through your browser history now and print off every page from the insurance copy, print off the history itself as this should show that you have been to the secure bit (ie. Payment)

Take this to court with you to backup your claims of mitigation.

Assuming you don't get banned, you will also require this if you decide to take legal action to cover the cost of your fine and increased insurance premiums for the next 5 years.

Edit: Do you have proof of when you bought the car. Bought the car a week ago + quote made at the same time (shown in browser history) adds a bit of credence to your claim over someone who's had the car for years and chooses to drive uninsured, as does the fact that your other car is insured. If driving is your job do you get car allowance which of course you will spend on the running of the car. Generally you need to differentiate yourself from the chavs who do it intentionally. Buy a smart suit, get your hair cut (or let it grow a bit if you have a skinhead) etc. etc.

floods

Right ok, I can kind of see where this is going. IN the laws eyes, theres no way out for me. I think this stinks, but I suppose I'll have to deal with it.

Yes, I have been driving for about 1 and a half years. So therefore, if the court date is in 6 months or so I should be fine as in if I get 6 points I won't have to re-sit my test? OR will they take the date I got stopped as in how long I'd been driving?

Lum

I'm fairly sure it's based on conviction date rather than offence date, but you should probably check this before employing any court delaying tactics that cold later count against you.

floods

hmm will do.

I've been looking for a law forum in the uk, but I haven't found anything, you know of one?

End of the day if I have to re-test so be it, but I just don't think thats very fair considering the circumstances...fine me by all means but re-sitting test etc will cost me more than any fine they gonna give me

hedgehog

I am not fully up to date on the timing of the arrival of the points and this is a tricky area in some cases. However, for probationary licenses i belive it is fairly clear cut and, unfortunately, goes against you in this case:

Valid penalty points incurred prior to passing the first test are taken into account if the driver commits a penalty point offence during the probationary period. Points incurred after the probationary period has expired will also count if the offence was committed during the probationary period.

I repeat again, despite what some seem to be saying, that you are guilty of the offence as you were driving without insurance, no matter what you believed to be the situation. I believe that the minimum sentence the court can give you, without appeal to a higher court, is 6 points.

You need to see a solicitor and should certainly not be swayed by encouragement to do anything illegal concerning documents and the like. However, I suspect that you are looking at 6 points no matter what you do.

Harry_Boy

Unfortunately true mate.

Driving without insurance is an offence of strict liability.

As such, even a genuinely held belief that you had valid insurance at the time of the offence is no defence in the eyes of the law.

fast bloke

I can back this up 100%. My mate had insurance which he paid in full and had all the documentation. He moved house and informed the insurance company. The company decided that he needed to pay an extra premuim for the new postcode and sent a letter to his old address telling him. After 28 days they sent him a letter recorded delivery to his old address giving him 7 days to pay or the insurance would be cancelled. He knew nothing about this. About 4 months later he got stopped and given a producer. He complied with producer and showed his now invalid insurance schedule. About 2 days afterwards he was arrested from his own house for using forged documents
When the paper trail was sorted out the judge agreed that he was not trying to pull a fast one using the invalid schedule, but he still got 6 points for having no insurance
When all came to light

Harry_Boy

Exactly!

Buckrogers

That is grim! No fault of his own and gets 6 points for it!

Back to the thread, plead guilty and offer the reasons as to why. Get a good solicitor. You may also want to go to the "five-o" web site.

Lum

Presumably your friend then sued the insurance company for negligence as they obviously knew his new address (as that is why they were increasing the premium) but failed to make any effort to contact him at his last known address before cancelling his premium.

I think the cost of increased premiums and excesses for 5 years should do it.

TDT

Slightly concerning if you work in insurance and you're handing out that kind of advice. The PNC now holds details of insurance policies held against vehicles. This is accessed at the same time as the registered keepers details.

The police can stop who they like when they like (unless you're the Chief Con ). Random stop checks happen all the time.

Note to self:
Release the bloke I have in for murder that I copped in a random the other week.

www.five-0.com

gsm1

Motor Traders are now provided with an online database, with their own username and password, so they can update the details of all cars in their possession straight away, otherwise they will face similar prosecution, supposedly.

If you're driving anyone else's car on your third party insurance it already has to be insured by the keeper, otherwise people could run all sorts of scams.