I bought a second hand car on 20th January, and this morning I've just received 3 notices of intended prosecution from Staffordshire Police.

I can prove that I didn't own the car before 20th January, and these alleged offences range from October to December of last year, but I was just so gobsmacked that the police are prepared to prosecute me for these offences when they must know from DVLA records that I only became the registered keeper well after the dates of the offences.

I will look forward to a date and time in court when I can point out that this is a waste of everyone's time and energy.

How would you feel if your new car came with these little 'hidden added extras'?

All they care about is they have your details and someone has to pay/receive punishment.

Well- that someone won't be me. I'd hold my hands up and take the punishment if it was me that drove through roadworks at 20 miles and hour above the speed limit- but it wasn't, and I'm not prepared to take the blame.

Yet again more proof why speed cameras are just a revenue raising tool. They dont give a **** that you're not guilty, its not about road safety or any of that, they just want your money.

and so you shouldnt!! Do you have details like who you bought the car from?

It's happened to me.

Sold my failed MOT car to a scrap yard.

They didn't scrap it or tell the DVLA they had. I got two fines and had to get the DVLA to send me a photo copy of my part of the document I sent in.

The Police said they couldn't do it under the Data Protection Act.

So much for joined up Government.

Photocopy any documents involved.

I, in the end, didn't get fined.

Good luck. It's hard proving your innocense.

I bought a second hand car on 20th January, and this morning I've just received 3 notices of intended prosecution from Staffordshire Police.

I can prove that I didn't own the car before 20th January, and these alleged offences range from October to December of last year, but I was just so gobsmacked that the police are prepared to prosecute me for these offences when they must know from DVLA records that I only became the registered keeper well after the dates of the offences.

I will look forward to a date and time in court when I can point out that this is a waste of everyone's time and energy.

How would you feel if your new car came with these little 'hidden added extras'?

Have you sent a letter explaining this to the Assistant Chief Constable?

If you attach photocopies of the NOP and Log book they should leave it.

It just sounds like a clerical error from what you say.:)

and so you shouldnt!! Do you have details like who you bought the car from?

Oh yes- I've got a full dated and signed invoice from the dealer, along with the V5 and the new buyer's slip- both dated for the same day.

Who actually processes these prosecutions?

I would imagine that it's civilian staff rather than police officers.

Do such people actually have access to the DVLA database?

Does anyone know?

This kind of thing makes you wonder how many none-guilty people pay up. Its quite worrying.

Medusa, you havent been sending any letter bombs to DVLA have you? Only joking!!

This kind of thing makes you wonder how many none-guilty people pay up. Its quite worrying.

Bearing in mind that if I visit my parents I actually do drive down the stretch of the A38 that the offences relate to, that would be possible if I hadn't read the dates of offences (and if I'd visited my parents in the last couple of weeks, and were in the habit of driving through road works well above the speed limit).

all you need to do is complete the form stating who you bought it form and when- the instructions will be included with the nip.

you are not being asked to prove your innocence (if it wasnt you) they are just requesting your assistance.


x

***edited due to medusa's last post***

Surely once you've proven to them that you didn't own the car at that time they'll drop the matter and persue the chap who did.:confused:

Hopefully that will be so Carmine- I was just interested if anyone else had similar and whether it was standard practice for the ticket issuers to do this, bearing in mind the age of the offences and the fact that my V5 clearly states the day that I bought the car.

don't they allow you to tell them who was the driver?
if so , fill it in with the previous owners details on and let them chase him'/her up.

They already have the details of the previous registered keeper, but I have no idea or proof of who may have been driving the car 2 months prior to me acquiring it. I'm not prepared to speculate on who was driving at that time.

Hopefully that will be so Carmine- I was just interested if anyone else had similar and whether it was standard practice for the ticket issuers to do this, bearing in mind the age of the offences and the fact that my V5 clearly states the day that I bought the car.
Sounds like the systems a bit clunky and inflexible!

medusa, have you read my pm yet?

i hope it might clear up a few of your queries.


x

i had a 'friend' at uni who's hubby had just bought a new car... a few weeks later she told me they just hadn't bothered with the registration docs and that the 'poor old owner' was getting all of hubby's parking tickets (he got about 5 a week) hahahahahaha :loopy:

Who actually processes these prosecutions?

I would imagine that it's civilian staff rather than police officers.

Do such people actually have access to the DVLA database?

Does anyone know?They must have some access - otherwise how could they translate K398 MGG to "Mr McSmuggson, Auchtermuchty"?

I can't see why a change-of-registered-keeper could cause a resend of all outstanding tickets, as quite obviously the new keeper wouldn't have had anything to do with it. Maybe, as the change-of-address occurred within a few months of the offences, they assumed the offender had moved and forgotten to tell the DVLA about it, so resent the tickets to the vehicle's new address?