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#Post#: 97410--------------------------------------------------
Zipcar did not inform me of NIP and now I'm being brought to Cou
rt
By: LondonDriver1125 Date: November 8, 2025, 11:20 am
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I rented a car from Zipcar and was found driving 26mph on a
20mph in London on 15/06/2025.
The first time I was made aware of this was when Zipcar sent me
an email on 24/10/2025 with the original NIP dated 10/07/2025.
This was honestly so long ago I can't even remember the
incident. But I was obviously driving the car based on my Zipcar
history and I wanted to be as cooperative as possible. I emailed
Zipcar and the Police to make sure my the correct details.
Zipcar replied confirming my address was correct, while I never
got a response from the police.
I received the NIP - Nomination letter dated 30/10/2025 from the
Camera Processing Services. I signed and sent it back 03/11/2025
with my driver details.
I mistakenly expected that I would be offered the speed
awareness course or at most a Fixed Penalty Notice. However, I
just received a letter dated 05/11/2025 saying:
[hr]
> Unfortunately your admission to being the driver/rider at the
time of the alleged offence was received outside of the
timeframe for consideration of an out of court dispoal and this
matter can now only be dealt with by court proceedings for the
offence.
> This case has already ben referred to the prosecution team.
Court proceedings are being initiated and in due course you will
receive a further communication which will explain the options
available to you.
[hr]
What options do I have? Should I call/email the Police to
explain my situation? Is there any possibility of me being given
the option of avoiding penalty points by taking the speed
awareness course now.
I only got my license in April 2025, so getting any penalty
points is quite scary to me as I believe 6 poitns will result in
me losing my license. Is the worst case scenario getting 3
points? Or is there a chance I'll be charged with 6 points
because I failed to identify myself early enough?
#Post#: 97413--------------------------------------------------
Re: Zipcar did not inform me of NIP and now I'm being brought to
Court
By: andy_foster Date: November 8, 2025, 11:49 am
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Please don't lie to us. You claim that Zipcar did not inform you
"of NIP" and that you're now being "brought to court", and then
go on to tell us exactly when and how Zipcar did inform you of
the NIP - not that there was any requirement on them to do so.
You had 27 days from date of service of the s. 172 requirement
("nomination letter") sent to you by the police to name the
driver - in effect you had until 30/11/2025 to do so, and you
received confirmation that your response was received on
05/11/2025 - which is before 30/11/2025 - so struggling to see
how you could be charged with failing to name the driver within
the statutory period.
The court cannot order a course - it is merely offered at the
discretion of the police as an alternative to the proper
enforcement process.
In order to prosecute you, court proceedings must be initiated
within 6 months of the date of the offence - so by 15/12/2025. A
COFP would usually be offered for the alleged offence, but there
is no requirement to do so, and a COFP would have the effect of
barring proceedings from being instigated for 28 days - meaning
that if one was offered and you did not accept it, they would
not have many days left to instigate court proceedings.
There is guidance in the Magistrates's Sentencing Guidelines to
sentence inline with the fixed penalty where one was not offered
for reasons unrelated to the offence - and that's about as good
as it will get.
#Post#: 97416--------------------------------------------------
Re: Zipcar did not inform me of NIP and now I'm being brought to
Court
By: LondonDriver1125 Date: November 8, 2025, 12:58 pm
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Hi andy_foster, thank you for your reply. I meant it to mean
"Zipcar didn't inform me until several months after they had
received the first NIP dated 10/07/2025, so now my only option
seems to be to go to court", but abbreviated it for the subject
title. My intention wasn't to lie, but re-reading my title, I
understand why it comes across like I did and I apologize for my
mistake.
Thank you for clarifying that the 27 days limit started from
when the police sent me the letter on 30/10/2025. I was worried
the timer started from 10/07/2025 of the original letter.
If I understand correctly, it sounds like the only option
available to me now is to wait for the police to bring me to
court, where I will likely be sentenced with a Band A fine. Will
I need legal representation for this?
This is my first offense - I can't help but feel a little sad
that, because I got informed so late, I have been given no
options but to go to court now because of circumstances I don't
think I could control. Was there anything I could have done
differently to handle this better/faster?
If Zipcar has no requirement to inform me of NIPs, does this
mean there's a possibility I have several pending NIPs that I
don't know about? I find this thought very worrying.
#Post#: 97417--------------------------------------------------
Re: Zipcar did not inform me of NIP and now I'm being brought to
Court
By: FuzzyDuck Date: November 8, 2025, 1:09 pm
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Zipcar may not even be the Registered Keeper of the vehicle,
it's very common for large fleets to be outsourced to leasing
companies and/or finance companies. So there could have been
several notices to various parties before your's was sent and
may explain the apparent delay.
The next thing you will probably get is a Single Justice
Procedure Notice (SJPN), if you were to respond to this with a
guilty plea, you will almost certainly be sentenced (Band A)
without the need to attend court.
#Post#: 97418--------------------------------------------------
Re: Zipcar did not inform me of NIP and now I'm being brought to
Court
By: LondonDriver1125 Date: November 8, 2025, 1:36 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote]Zipcar may not even be the Registered Keeper of the
vehicle, it's very common for large fleets to be outsourced to
leasing companies and/or finance companies. So there could have
been several notices to various parties before your's was sent
and may explain the apparent delay.[/quote]
I think you're right. I noticed in the first NIP dated
10/07/2025, it was addressed to Avis. That probably explains why
I got informed so late. It's unfortunate but admittedly
understandable.
[quote]The next thing you will probably get is a Single Justice
Procedure Notice (SJPN), if you were to respond to this with a
guilty plea, you will almost certainly be sentenced (Band A)
without the need to attend court.[/quote]
I see. That makes sense. I think this is the best scenario I can
hope for.
Thanks everyone for the replies.
#Post#: 97422--------------------------------------------------
Re: Zipcar did not inform me of NIP and now I'm being brought to
Court
By: The Slithy Tove Date: November 8, 2025, 3:24 pm
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[quote author=LondonDriver1125 link=topic=8702.msg97418#msg97418
date=1762630560]
[quote]The next thing you will probably get is a Single Justice
Procedure Notice (SJPN), if you were to respond to this with a
guilty plea, you will almost certainly be sentenced (Band A)
without the need to attend court.[/quote]
I see. That makes sense. I think this is the best scenario I can
hope for.
[/quote]
You can do better than that. As Andy has pointed out, the
guidelines say that you ought to be sentenced at the Fixed
Penalty rate (£100 + 3 points) and not all the surcharges and
extras. When you get your SJP, your response needs to request
this and mention those guidelines.
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