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Posted by: chocolateginger Mon, 20 Mar 2017 - 17:46
Post #1270656

Hi all

As my topic title says, I've recently returned a reminder NIP albeit a week late.

The offence was speeding, 37 in a 30 zone. I never saw the original NIP, most likely my mistake and it was probably stupidly binned as being junk mail.

Three weeks ago I went through some post that had been sitting on the side in my kitchen, all of which I thought were bank statements that didn't need to be immediately opened. I found the reminder NIP, looked at the date, time and place of the offence and was able to identify it as being correct.
The reminder was by now a week outside of the 28 day period to respond, so I panicked, signed it to identify that I was the driver and put it straight in the post. I didn't add a letter to explain why it was late, nor call to explain why it was late, or get proof of postage.

It's now been three weeks since I sent it and am assuming that as I've not had anything in the post thus far that it's likely to have been passed to the court to deal with.

This weekend I found this forum and after extensive reading have figured that I'm going to get issued with a summons for the speeding offence and a failure to furnish. As I've sent back the NIP identifying myself as the driver am I right in thinking that I'll not be able to plead not guilty to both offences, and not be able to do a plea bargain?

Posted by: notmeatloaf Mon, 20 Mar 2017 - 17:59
Post #1270659

Take a step back, fill out the http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?autocom=nipwizard or at least let us know when the date of the offence was.

Although you are technically guilty of the S172 offence assuming you are not near six months after the offence date an apologetic email or phone call to the ticket office to check they've received your reply may well get you back to speed awareness course or fixed penalty territory.

I wouldn't even mention S172 failing to furnish unless they bring it up.

Posted by: chocolateginger Mon, 20 Mar 2017 - 18:28
Post #1270669

NIP Details and Circumstances
What is the name of the Constabulary? -
Date of the offence: - December 2016
Date of the NIP: - 43 days after the offence
Date you received the NIP: - 75 days after the offence
Location of offence (exact location as it appears on the NIP: important): - A4074 Warborough
Was the NIP addressed to you? - Yes
Was the NIP sent by first class post, second class or recorded delivery? - Not known
If your are not the Registered Keeper, what is your relationship to the vehicle? -
How many current points do you have? - 3
Provide a description of events (if you know what happened) telling us as much about the incident as possible - some things that may seem trivial to you may be important, so don't leave anything out. Please do not post personal details for obvious reasons - Travelling on a stretch of road that is a 30 zone. No other traffic around. Didn't notice that there was an attended van in a layby.

The duplicate notice is dated 19/1/2017 and the letter states, "The date shown on the duplicate Notice is the date from which you have a further 28 days to respond."

NIP Wizard Responses
These were the responses used by the Wizard to arrive at its recommendation:
Have you received a NIP? - Yes
Are you the Registered Keeper of the vehicle concerned (is your name and address on the V5/V5C)? - Yes
Did the first NIP arrive within 14 days? - Unsure
Although you are the Registered Keeper, were you also the keeper of the vehicle concerned (the person normally responsible for it) at the time of the alleged offence? - Yes
Were you driving? - Yes
Which country did the alleged offence take place in? - England

NIP Wizard Recommendation
Based on these responses the Wizard suggested that this course of action should be considered:

• The law requires you to provide the information requested in the Section 172 notice within the 28 day period, naming yourself as the driver. If you are considering obtaining formal legal advice, do so before returning the notice.
  
  You should note that there is nothing to be gained by responding any earlier than you have to at any stage of the process. You are likely to receive a Conditional Offer of a Fixed Penalty (COFP) and further reminder(s). If you want to continue the fight, you should ignore all correspondence from the police until you receive a summons. You need to understand from the outset that while you will receive much help and support from members on the forums, you will need to put time and effort into fighting your case and ultimately be prepared to stand up in court to defend yourself.

Generated by the PePiPoo NIP Wizard v3.3.2: Mon, 20 Mar 2017 18:26:58 +0000



Thanks for the reminder to fill out the Wizard.

Posted by: The Rookie Mon, 20 Mar 2017 - 18:58
Post #1270678

So did you get he original NIP/S172 request and then wait for the reminder?

Posted by: chocolateginger Mon, 20 Mar 2017 - 19:13
Post #1270683

No, I never saw the original NIP/S172, I was going through old post on 20/02/17 that I had thought was all bank statements that didn't need my attention and found the reminder.

Posted by: Logician Mon, 20 Mar 2017 - 20:55
Post #1270698

If you have copied your reply or can otherwise get the contact details of the office you sent it to, I would contact them and see what is happening, they possibly have not even received it and one way or another you may be able to retrieve the situation.

Posted by: chocolateginger Mon, 20 Mar 2017 - 21:17
Post #1270705

Hi. Stupidly I didn't copy my reply, but do have the details of the office it was sent to. I'm not sure how I'd go about retrieving the situation but thank you for the suggestion that that might be possible.

Posted by: notmeatloaf Mon, 20 Mar 2017 - 22:43
Post #1270736

01865 290470

They are a surprisingly helpful bunch considering they must receive less than pleasant phone calls.

Posted by: chocolateginger Tue, 21 Mar 2017 - 08:14
Post #1270783

Thanks notmeatloaf, I'll give them a call at the first opportunity and will see what I can do.

And thank you to everyone else for your comments, let's see if I can work my way through this mess I've made.

Posted by: chocolateginger Tue, 21 Mar 2017 - 08:56
Post #1270794

A quick question, I presume when I call that I should ask if the signed NIP has Benn returned and not say anything about it being returned late? Won't they be able to see that from their records?

Posted by: Logician Tue, 21 Mar 2017 - 11:09
Post #1270833

I would say that you are ringing to check whether they have received it, as you have heard nothing. If they ask for more particulars, including dates, then it will become clear it was late, and it would be pointless to try to gloss over that.

Leave Mr Benn out of it, it will only cause confusion.

Posted by: chocolateginger Tue, 21 Mar 2017 - 12:01
Post #1270861

Ha, yes, i don't think he'd be much help.

Posted by: chocolateginger Tue, 21 Mar 2017 - 14:03
Post #1270911

Ok, so I spoke to someone just now who confirmed it had been received. She said that she'd move it forward to the next action (although to my ear she sounded as though she had a raised eyebrow and a quizzical edge to her voice). I asked what that next action would be and she said that if was eligible for a course I'd receive an offer of a course. If not a course then the expected fixed penalty and points.
I'm slightly paranoid by nature so will be waiting with bated breath.

Posted by: Jlc Tue, 21 Mar 2017 - 15:15
Post #1270932

Whilst it seems a s172 offence may of occurred they would normally prefer to issue a course/fixed penalty. (i.e. a 'late' nomination is often accepted)

Posted by: notmeatloaf Tue, 21 Mar 2017 - 15:52
Post #1270956

Well done, a good result. Enduring a quizzical voice is much better than the alternative

Posted by: chocolateginger Tue, 21 Mar 2017 - 17:25
Post #1270993

Absolutely, kicking myself for not calling before now so thanks for the push to do so. I guess I figured I'd just automatically go through the system, the late return would be flagged up and it would then be the alternative.



Yes, as I could only berate myself for being an idiot about not opening my post in a more timely manner (because I thought I knew what the envelopes contained) I figured that responding late to a reminder would only end badly.