The police knocked at my door yesterday saying they see me driving the car the day before on the phone ( they were on foot) and told me to put the phone down and I refused and stuck my middle finger up and drove off they took the number plate down and got my address ( which is about 150 yards from where it took place) it wasn't me as I'm not insured in the car I have a work van and the car is registered to my wife who was away they have given me a £90 fine for the middle finger and a court summons for the phone situation what do I do as they wouldn't listen to me at the door

So who was driving the car?

No body was driving our car it was sat on my driveway I was round my parents having dinner at 5pm and they said it took place at 5.15pm they live 2 minutes round the corner I had walked round there I imagine they have got the registration wrong unless someone has cloned my car I have had it happen before but seems unlikely

Well how far is your parents place from your, and how many witnesses do you have to say you were at your parents?

Also is there any chance there might be some CCTV showing you couldn't have been driving at 5:15? For example maybe you walked past a shop on your way to your parents or something like that?

About 200 yards there were 5 people there but no cctv

You can go to court for both offences and plead not guilty. Your evidence will be that the officers are mistaken in identifying you as the person they saw using a mobile phone and spoke to, also that they either misread the car number plate or it was a cloned plate. Are there any features of your car that distinguish it from another car of the same model? You should call as witnesses as many of the people who were at your parents place as possible.

Be aware that if you are found guilty after pleading not guilty you will lose the discount off the fine you would get for a guilty plea and that the prosecution costs you will have to pay (unless this was in Scotland) have a guideline starting at £620.

Presumably the police think the driver is male with a resemblance to you which is why they have pursued you rather than your wife.

If you are certain it isn't you (and you aren't mistaken) then report your car to the DVLA as possibly cloned and forward these details to the police. The DVLA will issue you with a new registration number. The police are likely to investigate further and you may potentially need to defend yourself in court. The prosecution would need to prove beyond reasonable doubt you were driving which would ultimately hinge on how reliable the police witnesses are seen to be.

Be aware you need to be certain about times because if you are mistaken you are leaving yourself open to everything from no insurance to perverting the course of justice (jail time for you) and conspiring to pervert the course of justice (jail time for your parents). Playing along with the process would mean they are unlikely to look into insurance.

If the 5 people are all willing to go to court, you might have a chance, you would need to plead not guilty and go to court (there's instructions about this on the back of the ticket). Your witnesses would say that you were having dinner so it couldn't have been you who the police saw, and the police officers must be mistaken. This is assuming you're being truthful, if any of this is a lie, you and your witnesses could all go to prison for perverting the course of justice which is a lot worse than points and a fine.

Is there any CCTV where the police say they saw you driving? If there is and you can see it wasn't your car they might well drop the matter before it goes to court.

Ignoring the total lack of punctuation, your alibi taken literally is that 15 minutes before the incident you were 2 minutes walk away.

The first issue is how the prosecution will prove that the defendant was the driver. Absent a s 172 response they'd have to rely on identification evidence, which would need to follow the correct process, such as an identity parade. The officers can't just rock up in court and go "yeah that's him wot dunnit".

i sat on jury service some years ago and on one case seen the defendant got off as the police were unable to provide beyond reasonable doubt the identification of the defendant. The case involved a police car chase of a guy known to the police in a stolen car, he left the car and was only arrested at home in bed clothed !! (but it was dark and the defendants G/F provided an alibi to say he was in bed with her at the time clothed as he felt the cold at night - he got away with it).

Would you be able to contact your phone service provider and have your phone usage confirmed for this period ? you could certainly show any outgoing calls made.

Where the police who came to the house the same ones who allegedly identified you ?

Presumably the BiB who took down the reg. no. also made a not of car's description, e.g. red Ford, or silver estate.

Have you enquired as to what other notes BiB on vehicle they saw in addition to reg. no.? If they come back with description totally different to your car, then that's good for you. If it comes back the same, then it seem it was either your car or a clone, in which case you make a Police report.

Presumably their evidence will be that they called at the address of the registered keeper where they spoke to a man who identified himself as Mr Rikkih, the registered keeper, and they recognised as the man they had spoken to the previous day.

Not that it particulrly affects the case, but

Do you happen to have Google location services activated on your phone? If so, login and check where you were.

Did you check in anywhere on facebook?

Did you text/email anyone from your parents (that was specific to been at your parents - Hi Bob, im at my mums, I will call you later etc).

That's why we have ID procedures. Did they identify the man who answered the door as the driver, or did they assume it must have been him because he answered the door? That's not a safe ID.

Indeed, that's no better than a dock ID, he answered the door/is in the dock so it must have been him......

Are they just IDing the middle finger or the whole of the OP?

Now they have seen him, there would be a problem with an ID parade or anything else, would they be identifying the driver or the man who they saw at the house if they pick him out?

Exactly. Tainted ID evidence. The only way they can rectify it is to serve a s 172 notice. The OP's response would presumably be "not my car", so they'd be no further forward and be left with a s 172 prosecution where they have to prove it was his car.

But apparently, it's not the OP's car; it belongs to, and is registered to his wife, who was away, and thus unable to identify the driver.

Where were the keys?

So a s 172 prosecution against her defended on the same principles.

On face value I agree with Southpaw that there are likely to be some ID issues however what if the ID was not made at the door but the cop recognised the OP when they were driving.

Have you been in trouble with the cops before, would they be liable to recognise you?

at the risk of being rude my thoughts too, are they trying to be awkward and give him the run around ?

That would change matters if it was recognition rather than identification.

I was thinking more along the lines of if they recognised him then they wouldn't need to issue a S172 request to identify the driver as the identify was already known to them.