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#Post#: 112960--------------------------------------------------
Going 24mph on a 20, only saw NIP 4 months later
DIR By: toto1283
Date: March 12, 2026, 6:43 am
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Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice about a speeding situation and
whether there’s any chance of resolving it.
I was caught doing 24mph in a 20mph zone and was apparently
offered a Speed Awareness Course. However, I never saw the
letter offering the course until after the deadline had already
passed.
The issue is that it was sent to my old address. I’m a new
driver and I made the mistake of assuming that when I updated
the address on my driving licence, that would also update where
things related to my vehicle (like tickets) are sent. I’ve since
learned that the vehicle logbook (V5C) with the DVLA needs to be
updated separately, which I hadn’t done at the time. That was my
mistake.
On top of that, we have an ongoing issue with post being
delivered to the wrong address in our area. We actually go to
the old house roughly every 3 days to check in case anything
important has been delivered there. During the time the course
letter was sent, nothing had arrived there when we checked.
We also have a long history of written evidence and complaints
about parcels and letters being delivered to the wrong house on
our old address, so this has been a recurring problem.
If I had seen the letter in time, I would have taken the Speed
Awareness Course immediately. Instead, I missed the opportunity
because I didn’t know about it.
Given that the address on the V5C hadn’t been updated at the
time (my mistake), but there is also a history of postal
delivery issues, is there any realistic chance of asking for the
course to be reinstated or challenging this? Or is it likely the
court would simply say it was my responsibility to update the
V5C?
Any advice would be really appreciated.
#Post#: 112964--------------------------------------------------
Re: Going 24mph on a 20, only saw NIP 4 months later
DIR By: FuzzyDuck
Date: March 12, 2026, 6:51 am
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Based on the wrong address on the V5C, the postal issues at a
completely different address are irrelevant.
Assuming you are still allowed to accept the CoFP, I would take
that and move on. Update your V5C (if not already done).
#Post#: 112970--------------------------------------------------
Re: Going 24mph on a 20, only saw NIP 4 months later
DIR By: andy_foster
Date: March 12, 2026, 7:16 am
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You are David Lynch and I claim my $5.
Despite checking the old house for post roughly every 3 days,
you only saw the NIP (which is only mentioned in the subject
heading and not in the body of the post at all) 4 months later
(than some unspecified date or event).
So, the first issue is that on the face of it you have committed
an offence contrary to s. 172(3) RTA 1988 by failing to provide
the required information in the 28 days beginning with the date
of service. Whether you have since named yourself as the driver
and whether the CTO have accepted a late nomination is currently
a matter for conjecture (give us a frickin clue).
You claim that you were apparently offered an SAC, but that the
letter offering the course has not been located, despite the
diligent checking of post at the old house that took 4 months to
locate the NIP. The obvious question is how do you know that a
course was [apparently] offered if you did not receive the
letter - unless there has been some minor triffling development
in the case, such as an SJPN having been issued, which was
reasonably considered too trivial to bother mentioning.
So, what actually happened, in chronological order, rather than
an ill-advised homage to Twin Peaks?
#Post#: 112973--------------------------------------------------
Re: Going 24mph on a 20, only saw NIP 4 months later
DIR By: toto1283
Date: March 12, 2026, 7:23 am
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At the time, the vehicle’s V5C was still registered to my old
address.I mistakenly assumed that updating the address on my
driving licence would also update the vehicle record with DVLA,
which I now understand isn’t the case.
Because of that, the original Notice of Intended Prosecution and
follow-up correspondence were sent to my old address.
I wasn’t aware of any of this at the time. The reason I later
found out about it was because the police checked their systems
and located my current address through updated records. That’s
when the matter was brought to my attention and I was told that
a Speed Awareness Course had previously been offered.
I didn’t ignore the notice or refuse to identify the driver — I
simply didn’t know it had been issued because it had been sent
to the old address.
We do still check the old address periodically, but none of the
relevant letters were found during that time.
Now that I’m aware of it, I’m trying to understand where I stand
legally and whether there is any possibility of resolving it, or
if the fact that the V5C address hadn’t been updated means that
the responsibility ultimately falls on me.
#Post#: 112984--------------------------------------------------
Re: Going 24mph on a 20, only saw NIP 4 months later
DIR By: FuzzyDuck
Date: March 12, 2026, 8:32 am
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The last part of the final final sentence sums it up. Unless the
force failed to serve the NIP within 14 day (and I suspect it
was), you are absolutely responsible.
You could contact the force and see if they will take a late
name response but at 4+ months on it is a slim hope.
#Post#: 112985--------------------------------------------------
Re: Going 24mph on a 20, only saw NIP 4 months later
DIR By: NewJudge
Date: March 12, 2026, 8:49 am
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So what has happened since you found out about all this?
From what you say, nothing has. Bu I could be wrong because you
haven't told us.
If that is the case, you can look forward to a "Single Justice
Procedure Notice" informing you that court proceedings have been
taken. These will charge you with "Failing to Provide Driver's
Details" and hopefully the original speeding offence. The first
of these carries six points.
When you say that it had been “brought to your attention”
because the police tracked you down, what did they say when they
informed you?
You need to tell us what has happened in detail because the
learned moderator becomes impatient if we have to draw
information from you, drip by drip.
How you stand legally depends very much on what the police now
intend to do. But one thing is a certainty – at more than four
months after the original offence you can dismiss from your mind
any idea that a course may still be a possibility.
#Post#: 112987--------------------------------------------------
Re: Going 24mph on a 20, only saw NIP 4 months later
DIR By: toto1283
Date: March 12, 2026, 9:02 am
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Step by step this is what happened:
I moved house at the end of December 2024. In September 2025, I
was flashed by a speed camera. At the time, I was unaware that I
also needed to update the address on my V5C logbook. When I
changed the address on my driving licence, I believed that this
would automatically update where any notices or tickets would be
sent. Unfortunately, this was my mistake.
After moving, we continued to regularly check the mailbox at our
previous address in case any letters arrived there. This was
because we are a large family and some services may not have had
our updated address. We also have friends who live in the area,
so we were able to check the mailbox frequently.
During the period when we were regularly checking the mailbox,
we did not see the Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) or the
letter offering the Speed Awareness Course (SAC). We have an
address that is very similar to ours and we have a very long
history of letters and parcels being sent to that wrong
address(this can be evidenced on multiple occasions)
It was only on 16 January that I received a letter at my new
address stating that I must either accept a fixed penalty of 3
points and a £100 fine, or take the matter to court. I contacted
the police to explain the situation, and the lady I spoke with
advised that because a Speed Awareness Course had previously
been offered but not accepted, I was no longer eligible for it.
She mentioned that they had checked the police systems to get
our new address.
The court response period has now passed, and I have since
received a court summons letter, despite trying to explain the
situation and actively being in contact with the police.
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