conditional discharge and fine when does it become spent

[xxesiuol]

I recieved a 2 year conditional discharge and a £40 fine. I was caught shoplifting this was totally out of charactor. I was suffering postnatal depression at the time. I came clean with my employer and they was a fantastic support as i work in the medical field.
The problem now is that i was refused home insurance due to my criminal record
They are saying my conviction will not become spent for 5 years which i find a little harsh as i thought it would become spent after the 2 years had come to an end.
Can anyone please help? is it 2 or 5 years?

[New Judge]

Offences punished by a Conditional Discharge become spent after one year or the period of the discharge (whichever is the longer) so in your case two years.

Offences punished by way of a fine become spent after 5 years (or two and a half years if you were under 18 when convicted).

Are you sure you were fined and not ordered to pay costs? It is unusual for a fine and a Conditional Discharge to be imposed for the same offence.

[sumo19]

That is correct. You can find information on the amount of time it takes for all punishments handed out to become spent on the web.

[fredpuli47]

You were not fined, methinks. A conditional discharge may not be combined with a fine. The Court of Appeal have ruled that it can't be [ R v Sanck 12 Cr.App.R (S) 155 C. A.] It can be combined with a compensation order or an order for costs and with some other orders e.g .disqualification from driving , but NOT a fine.

You can always check with the court if you want. Tell the insurers that you made a mistake and it was only a conditional discharge and costs of £40 and you therefore are reapplying to them . It's important that you make that clear because any other insurer you go to for this or anything else will ask whether you've ever had insurance refused, quite apart from asking about whether you have any convictions. You don't want to be answering ' yes' twice and/or endlessly explaining that you were refused because of your mistake.!

[New Judge]

Thanks, fred. I knew it was not done, but was unaware of the precedent you quoted.

[xxesiuol]

I have checked and yes your right it was court costs i had to pay! Thanks so much for your help! I will get on to the insurers and explain it was my mistake and it was not a fine and indeed cost
Thanks again x