Fixed penalty ticket leading to prosecution

[jedimistress]

I have a fixed penalty ticket for crime B. The council is now taking me to court under crime A. Crime B as stated on the ticket carries up to a �1000 fine. Crime A carries up to a �2500 fine. The fixed ticket says the lesser crime but the letter from the council advising they are going to hand penalty ticket to their legal dept & prosecute me, but they have said in the letter it is for the greater crime. Can I be tried for a crime other than the one on my fixed penalty ticket? Thanks in advance.

[NORMANTHEDOG]

explain what they are for and we could tell you.

[jedimistress]

Should it matter? I had my dog off a lead ona public highway, but the letter says they note I did not pay your fixed penalty for dog fouling therefore they are passing matter to legal dept. Dog fouling is a greater charge.

[hugnie21]

Ok if I understand correctly, you have received a FPN, up to �1000, for no lead (crime B), but the letter states that it is being passed to the legal dept because you did not pay the previous FPN, up to �2500, for fouling (crime A).

You would have been sent a FPN for the first one, and they will take you to court for not paying it. I assume you are saying you never received it so this should be your defence (how can you pay a fine you didn't receive). The downside to that though is that there would have been at least one or two more warning letters sent to you before getting to this stage which you obviously didn't respond to either.

Is there an initial lower fine for both offences if paid within a certain time? If so contact the council and ask if they are willing to accept those payments to stop it going to court.

[Law Man1856]

Hi jed.....

Fixed penalty tickets are issued to allow you to pay a fine �80 usually to save you going to court.
I you do not pay it or decide not to pay it or cannot afford to pay it you need to complete the form on the back or contact the office on the ticket or you will have to go to court.
You will be dealt with at court for the offence you commited, the police officer or PCSO or other official who issued the ticket will be 100% sure you committed the offence or they would not have issued it.
Do the right thing and paid it or contact them to arrange to pay.

Cheers

[jedimistress]

It was a fixed on the spot penalty, not one sent to my address. I am going to dispute it in court an am quite happy to go before the magistrates. I have not used an excuse of having not received it. I received it and am choosing not to pay. I'd rather have my day in court even if the outcome is worse. But I need to know what they can charge me with....the crime A (fouling) or crime B (no lead).

[hugnie21]

Ah I see so you did receive both. Then they can charge you with both

[jedimistress]

No.....lol.
I received one. For one crime, but the letter refers to the dog off lead penalty & says " as I failed to pay my penalty for dog fouling within the fourteen days they are passing it to legal dept to prosecute". The penalty wasn't for dog fouling.

[almcd007]

There's also a mix up here over the word "crime" None of the "offences" - which is the word you are looking for, are crimes they are just that - an offence - you will not get a criminal record for what you have done. "Charge" is another word which is not being used correctly the police "charge" you when they accuse you of a crime. What you have are fpn's fixed penalty notices. The police are not involved in the matter.

When you get to court you can explain that the original offence of not having a dog on a lead was what you have been accused of. They will then clear up the obvious mistake of the "fouling" accusation. They will then ask you if you had the dog on a lead. If the answer is no then you are guilty and will pay a higher fine than the original Fixed penalty including costs. If you did have the dog on a lead then you need a witness to say you did as they will believe the warden/officer over you. If the dog fouling is in addition to the "no lead" then they need to issue you with a fpn for that offence.

[almcd007]

PS have you actually written to the legal dept asking them to clarify the matter, explaining your side to them, saying you are willing to pay the Fpn for the lead as that is what you were originally accused of - but you weren't accused of the dog fouling. They may realise the mistake and rectify it without going to court. If when it gets to court you havent done this and the Magistrate finds out - he may not look on it lightly that you knew there was an issue here and waited until it got to court - wasting the courts time.

Always show you are co-operative, helpful and willing to save the courts time - this will go a long way with the magistrates if it gets that far.

[jedimistress]

Many thanks for the clarification and all your helpful replies..