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#Post#: 11513--------------------------------------------------
Result of court case - worth doing a statutory declaration?
DIR By: dja
Date: November 29, 2023, 4:52 am
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My other half has been suffering from mental health problems,
and as such hasn't been opening their post. I opened one of
their letters today and it was from Walsall Magistrates Court
with the result of a case brought by the DVLA, to "keep a
vehicle without a valid licence". I went through the stack of
unopened letters and sure enough found a notice of a fine and
then one for a Single Justice Procedure Notice.
The first letter was a "Penalty for untaxed vehicle", and was
for £636 as an out of court settlement. It's not clear from the
letter if this is simply a penalty or includes the back duty as
well.
The second letter was a "Single Justice Procedure Notice, which
states that if guilty there will be £85 costs and £403.34 back
duty added. It does not make mention of the £636.
The final letter was the "Result of court case". which included
the above £85 costs and £403.34 back duty, but also an "Excise
Penalty" of £660.
Did the settlement figure in first letter include both the
back-tax and the penalty?
I'm aware that a statutory declaration can be made, and a guilty
plea can then be entered, but will that reduce any of the costs
or is it now too late?
Are there any other consequences to this court case, is it a
conviction that will affect credit scores or need to be declared
in any job interviews for example?
Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated, trying to handle
this for them while they get the treatment they need.
#Post#: 11517--------------------------------------------------
Re: Result of court case - worth doing a statutory declaration?
DIR By: slapdash
Date: November 29, 2023, 6:09 am
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I have asked for it to be moved to the correct forum.
The original settlement offer would have been the end of the
matter.
It won't affect credit scores.
If asked it needs declaring until it is "spent". Insurance
providers are likely to ask.
You can check when it become "spent" under the rehabilitation of
offenders act. 1 year.
Some jobs are exempt and they are entitled to ask for both spent
and unspent.
#Post#: 11518--------------------------------------------------
Re: Result of court case - worth doing a statutory declaration?
DIR By: mdann52
Date: November 29, 2023, 6:25 am
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Yes, the original Out of Court Settlement would have covered the
back tax and a penalty. They deliberately discount this to
encourage taking it up. The £636 is unrelated to any figure
prosecuted at court.
You can do a SD, however what reason would you seek to reopen
the case? The Out of Court settlement is gone and is (very)
unlikely to be reoffered.
You might be able to seek a lower fine (as this will be 150% of
weekly income, they will have used a figure of £440 due to no
information being given), however this will be capped at a
minimum of 5x the yearly tax owed on the car. Her income will be
assumed to be £120 if she receives less than that. It will also
require her attendance at court, potentially for half a day, so
that needs to be born in mind for the calculations as well
#Post#: 11527--------------------------------------------------
Re: Result of court case - worth doing a statutory declaration?
DIR By: dja
Date: November 29, 2023, 7:08 am
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Thanks. The reason I would have them give for the SD would be
poor mental health leading to the not opening of the post and
that I was the one to discover it. I don’t know if that’s a
valid reason, I’m clutching at straws here to see if there’s
anything I can do to help.
Weekly income is around £125, so there is scope for a reduction
there.
#Post#: 11539--------------------------------------------------
Re: Result of court case - worth doing a statutory declaration?
DIR By: NewJudge
Date: November 29, 2023, 10:10 am
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--- Quote ---
> The reason I would have them give for the SD would be poor
mental health leading to the not opening of the post and that I
was the one to discover it. I don’t know if that’s a valid
reason,..
--- End Quote ---
Bear in mind that unless you have some formal arrangement to
deal with their affairs, it would have to be you O/H who has to
make the SD, so that may create difficulties by itself. An SD
can be performed when the defendant was unaware of the
proceedings against them. I appreciate the mental health aspect,
but I'm not sure whether a letter providing details of just
that, left unopened on the sideboard, would qualify. A court has
no option but to accept an SD (provided it is made within 21
days of the defendant becoming aware of the proceedings) and
should not enquire into its veracity. However, a false statement
would be an offence under the Perjury Act. I suppose if the
defendant is genuinely unaware of the proceedings because of
mental incapacity I suppose it would qualify but I imagine some
medical evidence may be required. This is an interesting point
to which I don't know the answer. Hopefully somebody else does.
There is always, of course, the option to lobby the DVLA that,
given the circumstances, it might not be in the public interest
to re-start the prosecution if a way to sort the original
conviction out can be found.
#Post#: 11543--------------------------------------------------
Re: Result of court case - worth doing a statutory declaration?
DIR By: andy_foster
Date: November 29, 2023, 11:08 am
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The grounds for a stat dec are simply that he was unaware of the
proceedings. Service is neither here nor there.
The issues are what, if any, benefit there would be in
performing a stat dec, and whether it would be worthwhile
putting the OP's OH through that.
#Post#: 11555--------------------------------------------------
Re: Result of court case - worth doing a statutory declaration?
DIR By: NewJudge
Date: November 29, 2023, 1:20 pm
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--- Quote ---
> The grounds for a stat dec are simply that he was unaware of
the proceedings. Service is neither here nor there.
--- End Quote ---
Thanks for that, Andy. A bit off topic, but would that mean that
if I (with, thankfully no mental issues) simply left an SJPN,
unopened in its envelope on the sideboard, and was subsequently
convicted, I could lawfully perform an SD?
#Post#: 11561--------------------------------------------------
Re: Result of court case - worth doing a statutory declaration?
DIR By: andy_foster
Date: November 29, 2023, 2:15 pm
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If you simply did not open your post and were therefore unaware
of the proceedings, you would have been unaware of the
proceedings and therefore able to make a declaration under oath
to that effect.
If you somehow knew that it was an SJPN and sought to avoid the
proceedings by burying your head in the sand, then arguably you
would have been aware of the proceedings, albeit not of the
specifics.
#Post#: 11589--------------------------------------------------
Re: Result of court case - worth doing a statutory declaration?
DIR By: NewJudge
Date: November 29, 2023, 4:23 pm
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--- Quote from: andy_foster link ---
>
> If you simply did not open your post and were therefore
unaware of the proceedings, you would have been unaware of the
proceedings and therefore able to make a declaration under oath
to that effect.
>
> If you somehow knew that it was an SJPN and sought to avoid
the proceedings by burying your head in the sand, then arguably
you would have been aware of the proceedings, albeit not of the
specifics.
>
--- End Quote ---
A can of worms, methinks! Best end it there in case The
Moderator steps in! Oh! Hang on..... ;)
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