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DIR Return to: Speeding and other criminal offences
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#Post#: 117967--------------------------------------------------
Re: England - Failure to Identify driver, any chance to reduce
fine?
DIR By: triflemail218222
Date: May 6, 2026, 3:56 pm
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--- Quote from: ManxTom link ---
>
> So did this form they sent you a link to not have anything to
identify it by?
>
> Like a name or a title...?
>
--- End Quote ---
Its a called "Review a magistrates' court decision", on the .gov
website.
#Post#: 117990--------------------------------------------------
Re: England - Failure to Identify driver, any chance to reduce
fine?
DIR By: tonys
Date: May 7, 2026, 1:35 am
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Why don't you give us the link, so we can see what you're
working with, and whether that's the best course?
#Post#: 117993--------------------------------------------------
Re: England - Failure to Identify driver, any chance to reduce
fine?
DIR By: triflemail218222
Date: May 7, 2026, 2:31 am
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HTML https://review-magistrates-court-decision.form.service.justice.gov.uk
This is the link
#Post#: 118010--------------------------------------------------
Re: England - Failure to Identify driver, any chance to reduce
fine?
DIR By: NewJudge
Date: May 7, 2026, 5:00 am
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There are two aspects to this.
First of all, you were convicted by a court under proceedings of
which you were not aware. The normal way to deal with this is to
make a “Statutory Declaration” to that effect. The conviction
and all the penalties that went with it are expunged and the
charge(s) will be put to you again.
In your circumstances, provided you were the driver at the time
of the speeding allegation, you can ask the prosecutor to drop
the “Fail to Provide Details” (FtP) charge if you plead guilty
to speeding. This is usually accepted and - provided your speed
was not particularly excessive - you will finish up with a much
less serious conviction (with a lower impact on any future
insurance premiums), fewer points and a lower fine.
The other issue is the level of the fine. Firs of all, the
speeding charge is a dead duck as they have no proof that you
were driving. The FtP offence attracts a fine of 1.5 times your
net weekly income. Since the court had no details of your
income, they would have used a default figure of £440pw. As well
as that you will be charged a “victim surcharge” of 40% and
prosecution costs. So you would have been fined £660, a
surcharge of £264 and £90 costs which equals £1,014.
If you want to go through that process it is unlikely that you
will be able to do so without attending court. But it’s worth a
try.
If you simply want to challenge the level of the fine, the
normal way to do that is to ask to to have your case reopened
under s142 of the Magistrates’ Court Act. That section is
designed principally to allow mistakes to to be rectified. But
if the court had no details of your income, they would have
proceeded perfectly properly in imposing a £660 fine, so I doubt
a request to reopen would be successful. In any case, it would
only be beneficial to you if your weekly income is less than
£440. If it is more, you could find the fine increased.
I cannot progress through the process you have provided a link
to because I do not have a valid URN, so I don’t know how it
works. But I would imagine, depending on your responses, it will
guide you to one or other of the two processes I described.
If you’re not bothered about the conviction, the points and a
“totting up” disqualification (as well as the impact all that
will have on any future insurance premiums) then there’s really
no point in doing much at all.
#Post#: 118019--------------------------------------------------
Re: England - Failure to Identify driver, any chance to reduce
fine?
DIR By: peak4
Date: May 7, 2026, 6:51 am
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Just a couple of questions, the answers to which may alter the
advice given.
How many points were on your licence before this conviction?
How long have you held a full licence?
#Post#: 118046--------------------------------------------------
Re: England - Failure to Identify driver, any chance to reduce
fine?
DIR By: ManxTom
Date: May 7, 2026, 9:52 am
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--- Quote from: triflemail218222 link ---
>
> [quote author=ManxTom link=topic=10733.msg117957#msg117957
date=1778094122]
> So did this form they sent you a link to not have anything to
identify it by?
>
> Like a name or a title...?
>
--- End Quote ---
Its a called "Review a magistrates' court decision", on the .gov
website.
[/quote]
Might have been helpful if you'd mentioned that in your first
post.
Did you explain to the court staff that you were unaware of the
court proceedings?
I think they've sent you the wrong link and they should have
given you this one -
HTML https://www.gov.uk/appeal-magistrates-court-decision/how-to-apply<br
/>- which is about making a statutory declaration when you've
been
convicted in proceedings you didn't know about.
Court staff aren't lawyers and don't always give the most
appropriate "advice"...
#Post#: 118047--------------------------------------------------
Re: England - Failure to Identify driver, any chance to reduce
fine?
DIR By: NewJudge
Date: May 7, 2026, 10:05 am
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The earlier link the OP provided seemed to cover his situation:
Who can use this service
If you had a case for a criminal offence heard in a magistrates’
court in England or Wales (search for the court) you can ask the
court to review it if:
you want the court to review the amount you were fined
you did not receive any notice from the prosecutor and did not
know about the case against you
[etc]
#Post#: 118131--------------------------------------------------
Re: England - Failure to Identify driver, any chance to reduce
fine?
DIR By: roythebus
Date: May 8, 2026, 11:57 am
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How long have you been abroad, which country, proof of arrival
there such as passport stamp? Are you aware that as you are
currently banned from driving in the UK that also bans you from
driving outside the UK unless you have a non-UK licence.
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