Unpaid Fines. Next Step

[nailit]

Unpaid fines passed on to debt collection agency. What would be the next step if collection agency failed to retrieve the fines (along with their costs on top) and the debtor has no 'goods' to cover the cost if bailiffs were to be sent out?
Thank you.

[Buenchico]

The offender will be recalled to court to determine if the non-payment of the fine has come about through 'culpable neglect'. (i.e. they've not budgeted their lifestyle appropriately to pay the fine). If it is deemed that 'culpable neglect' is the cause of non-payment, a prison sentence will be passed but suspended in order to give the debtor time to pay. If the offender then fails to keep up the payments that prison sentence will be activated.

The preceding paragraph is based upon a post from New Judge, elsewhere on AB, addressing the same question. (I've not provided a link as that thread was rather complex and confusing). NJ didn't address the issue of what a court would do if it was determined that non-payment hadn't come about through 'culpable neglect' (but still recognising that the offender had no means to pay the fine) but common sense suggests that the court would be forced to substitute an alternative sentence (such as a Community Order).

[Buenchico]

PS: With a total of around two billion pounds currently outstanding in unpaid fines, and with prisons full to bursting point, no court is going to rush to send someone to prison for an unpaid fine!

[nailit]

Thank you Buenchico.
The fines are my sons. I posted earlier on in the year about this but have only found out today that his original £200 fine has now more than doubled after been passed on to a collection agency. I was once worried sick at the thought of him getting sent to a YOI but now think it might be the best thing for him as he seems to think that he can do what he wants and not pay for it.
Thanks again.

[New Judge]

Just a quick addition as I'm about to get to kip.

If either "culpable neglect" or "wilful refusal to pay" is found a suspended prison sentence will be imposed as Buenchico says. There is a scale of sentence for this depending on the amount owed. I haven't looked it up but I believe for £200-£500 it is ten days. If neither are found then the court has the power to remit (i.e. write off) the fines. A community order is not an available disposal for non-payment of fines.

[Buenchico]

>>>A community order is not an available disposal for non-payment of fines

Can an alternative sentence for the original offence (rather than a punishment for non-payment) be substituted in place of the fine?

[New Judge]

No it cannot, Chris.

There are two reasons why this may be so:

1. Many offences for which fines are imposed can only be dealt with by way of a fine (for example many motoring offences). An alternative sentence for the offence itself is therefore not available.

2. Even if the original offence does carry harsher penalties, strange as it may seem, unlike a community order or a suspended sentence order an order to pay a fine cannot be "breached" in the same way and an alternative sentence imposed. To further complicate matters the defaulter may have arrears of fines which were imposed for a number of different offences making resentencing somewhat tricky (e.g. they may have paid some instalments making it messy to determine which fines they have paid and which they have not. They may argue "I've paid the fines imposed for the offences which can carry a community order or custody. It's only the fines for the less serious offences which are outstanding").

The only alternative is to bring the defaulter to the fines enforcement court, examine their means and go through the decision making process we have already discussed, with custody being the only ultimate sanction.

[Buenchico]

Thanks, NJ

[nailit]

Thank you Buenchico and NJ, very informative. Just a pity the courts cant give a kick up the a*se. Might do my son more good than pussyfooting around.