Trial To Get Fail To Name Driver Reopened

Question:

The situation is as follows

I was advised from work of a NIP for speeding in an area I do not normally cover.

The next I heard was a letter advising me that they had not received a reply from myself.

I immediately phoned x police and advised them that I had not received anything from them to reply to.

They then sent me out a duplicate set of forms which I filled in as far as possible but advised them that I was possibly the driver although I had no recollection of being in that area at the time of the offence since I work in the south of England.

I asked if they had photographic evidence which would help me see if it was my works car and if so who the driver might be since the car can be used by my close family or if we had been out of area perhaps to a meeting could be driven not only by myself but by any of my colleagues if we were traveling together.

I received no response until after xmas this year when I received a letter advising me I had been fined for failing to provide details of the driver.

I contacted the court and they advised me to apply to have the case reopened. I did this and a new date for a hearing was set.

I then asked for an adjournment of this date following a fire at home. This was granted and a new date set.

I contacted the court the day before I thought I was due to attend to check on the time of the hearing. I was advised that their computer system was down and that they couldn’t advise me of the date of the hearing but it wasn’t the following day as I thought since I was not in the court list.

They said they would phone me later that day to advise of the correct hearing date but failed to do so.

I phoned again the next day and was told the hearing was tomorrow. This caused me problems as I would have had to travel by public transport. I advised the court of this and they said I could apply for another adjournment by fax which I did explaining the circumstances.

I received a letter telling me I had been dealt with and fined and had points put on my licence.

I wrote explaining that I thought this unfair as I had always stated my plea of not guilty as I had replied to the original forms. I heard nothing then received a bailiff notice. I wrote again by recorded delivery and heard the case was to be put back before the magistrates to be reopened.

This was refused.

Dominic says:

Are the other possible drivers insured to drive your car? Did you ask all the possible drivers whether they had driven in the area in question? Your suggestion that their could be other drivers has to be realistic and believable.

On what date did they indicate their final refusal to reopen?

Your only option would be to appeal against sentence, but the trial date is of critical importance.

What date was it dealt with in your absence? In theory you have 21 days from that date to appeal.

I can help you but I need to know how long ago all on this happened.