Garda Fine arrived after 28 day cut off.

Areas

I'm hoping someone here can give me some advice.
I was stopped in Galway on the 11th April for driving in the hard shoulder.
I admit that I shouldn't have been doing it and I was willing to pay the fine which was €80 and 2 penalty points. What happened was that I received the letter on 3/6/2016 and day 28 to pay the fine was 27/5/2106. I had been waiting for this letter to arrive.

I contacted the phone number on the letter and was speaking to a person there who wasn't that helpful. She said that my choices were to pay the €120 as I was now on day 39 or wait and go to court. She said that this was a problem with An Post. She said the letter was issued there on the 30/4/2016 and that's the end of the story.

I'm not sure that I would be willing to go to court as there is no date stamp on the envelope showing me when the letter was posted.

I feel it is unfair that I am being penalised an extra €40 when I had been waiting for this letter to come in the post for more than 7 weeks and when it did arrive the 28 days had already elapsed.

Any advice our there?

Kimbot

Areas wrote: »

I'm hoping someone here can give me some advice.
I was stopped in Galway on the 11th April for driving in the hard shoulder.
I admit that I shouldn't have been doing it and I was willing to pay the fine which was €80 and 2 penalty points. What happened was that I received the letter on 3/6/2016 and day 28 to pay the fine was 27/5/2106. I had been waiting for this letter to arrive.

I contacted the phone number on the letter and was speaking to a person there who wasn't that helpful. She said that my choices were to pay the €120 as I was now on day 39 or wait and go to court. She said that this was a problem with An Post. She said the letter was issued there on the 30/4/2016 and that's the end of the story.

I'm not sure that I would be willing to go to court as there is no date stamp on the envelope showing me when the letter was posted.

I feel it is unfair that I am being penalised an extra €40 when I had been waiting for this letter to come in the post for more than 7 weeks and when it did arrive the 28 days had already elapsed.

Any advice our there?

First of all if the letter went in the post then there has to be a stamp mark on the envelope.
Secondly, I would ring them back and explain that if I got the letter in the appropriate timeframe then I would be able to pay the original fine. They will say that their hands are tied and there isnt much you can do but request a supervisor and keep asking to go higher until its resolved.

Areas

jonnycivic wrote: »

First of all if the letter went in the post then there has to be a stamp mark on the envelope.

There is no stamp at all on the envelope. It's a prepaid envelope and has no date or mark or anything on the outside. I was advised to e-mail them which I did on Tuesday and I still haven't heard anything.

Areas

A few people have advised me on waiting for the summons and explain to the judge that I didn't get the letter until after the 28 days. My worry with this would be that the judge could hear this excuse from everyone who didn't pay their fine on time and might give me the maximum fine of €800 and my penalty points would go from 2 to 4.

HelgaWard

Keep a copy of your phone records and e-mail records proving that you rang the phone number on the letter (did you ring the day the letter arrived?) This might help persuade the judge.

Areas

I received the letter on the Friday, did a quick look through on Friday evening, then when I went to pay it on the Tuesday (Bank Holiday Monday) I noticed the dates on it. And as soon as I had finished on the call I e-mailed them. They can ask anyone at work and my family and friends, all I've done is wait for this letter because it's the 1st time I've ever received anything from the guards in the post.

HelgaWard

I think you should go to court and argue your case to the Judge, be honest and hopefully he will facilitate you just paying the initial fine.

Areas

Hopefully, as I said, I'm happy enough to pay the fine and take the 2 penalty points. Well, not happy but I know I have to pay it.

Allinall

Not legal advice, but just what I would do in the situation.

For the sake of €40 extra, pay it and move on.

The risk of getting the wrong judge on a bad day, together with the costs involved in time and expenses attending the court would be not worth the €40 in my mind.

A strongly worded letter to both the fines office and An post afterwards would make me feel a bit better.

Areas

I know that would be the easy option, but it's so frustrating. €40 is a lot for someone on minimum wage and bills to pay.
I'll probably pay it and get my strongly worded letters drafted!
Getting nothing back from the e-mail I sent is annoying as well.
My word against the Guards word might not get me anywhere in court.

gerard2210

There should be orange barcode type markings on the back of the envelope
An post can tell when the envelope when through the sorting machine and which delivery office it was sent to.
Ring customer service and see can they give you this info.
As said earlier less hassle just to pay the extra 40, might be cheaper in the long run.

Areas

I just received this as a response to the e-mail I sent on Tuesday:

Whilst I note in your correspondence you state you did not receive the Notice, I am to inform you any issue regarding the delivery of this Notice is a matter for the postal authorities.

ted1

Areas wrote: »

A few people have advised me on waiting for the summons and explain to the judge that I didn't get the letter until after the 28 days. My worry with this would be that the judge could hear this excuse from everyone who didn't pay their fine on time and might give me the maximum fine of €800 and my penalty points would go from 2 to 4.

It happened me with a speeding ticket , the judge wouldn't even let me explain. Best bet is to just pay it

BaronVon

They should be in a position to cancel the original fine, and re-issue a new one for the original offence, thereby allowing you to pay it at the original price.

pat1981

Areas wrote: »

I'm hoping someone here can give me some advice.
I was stopped in Galway on the 11th April for driving in the hard shoulder.
I admit that I shouldn't have been doing it and I was willing to pay the fine which was €80 and 2 penalty points. What happened was that I received the letter on 3/6/2016 and day 28 to pay the fine was 27/5/2106. I had been waiting for this letter to arrive.

I contacted the phone number on the letter and was speaking to a person there who wasn't that helpful. She said that my choices were to pay the €120 as I was now on day 39 or wait and go to court. She said that this was a problem with An Post. She said the letter was issued there on the 30/4/2016 and that's the end of the story.

I'm not sure that I would be willing to go to court as there is no date stamp on the envelope showing me when the letter was posted.

I feel it is unfair that I am being penalised an extra €40 when I had been waiting for this letter to come in the post for more than 7 weeks and when it did arrive the 28 days had already elapsed.

Any advice our there?

At least you received the fine, I didn't but don't get me started on that one.

You could wait for the summons and go to court, and then plead guilty or not guilty.
If you plead guilty the matter is dealt with there and then and you will be fined, but if you plead not guilty it will be another day in court and could/maybe have a very different outcome if the judge agreed with your explanation. I'm not giving legal advice but would strongly recommend you hiring a solicitor to represent you if you choose to follow this course.

ted1

infacteh wrote: »

They should be in a position to cancel the original fine, and re-issue a new one for the original offence, thereby allowing you to pay it at the original price.

Nope, it's out of there hands.

EndaHonesty

Areas wrote: »

I'm hoping someone here can give me some advice.
I was stopped in Galway on the 11th April for driving in the hard shoulder.
I admit that I shouldn't have been doing it and I was willing to pay the fine which was €80 and 2 penalty points. What happened was that I received the letter on 3/6/2016 and day 28 to pay the fine was 27/5/2106. I had been waiting for this letter to arrive.

I contacted the phone number on the letter and was speaking to a person there who wasn't that helpful. She said that my choices were to pay the €120 as I was now on day 39 or wait and go to court. She said that this was a problem with An Post. She said the letter was issued there on the 30/4/2016 and that's the end of the story.

I'm not sure that I would be willing to go to court as there is no date stamp on the envelope showing me when the letter was posted.

I feel it is unfair that I am being penalised an extra €40 when I had been waiting for this letter to come in the post for more than 7 weeks and when it did arrive the 28 days had already elapsed.

Any advice our there?

Where in Galway did the alleged offence take place?

hullaballoo

Does anyone have anything to say on the issue of fundamental fairness?

EndaHonesty

EndaHonesty wrote: »

Where in Galway did the alleged offence take place?

If the offence took place under the jurisdiction of Galway District Court I would recommend not paying and instead going to court.

A quick search shows Judge Mary Fahy presides there and she seems to be a very pragmatic Judge.

If she accepts your evidence she will strike out the case. That means you will have no fine and no points.

The "system" is not very efficient. If you take your day in court you would be surprised as to how successful you can be.

It is always a good idea to have legal representation in court.

JimsAlterEgo

EndaHonesty wrote: »

If the offence took place under the jurisdiction of Galway District Court I would recommend not paying and instead going to court.

A quick search shows Judge Mary Fahy presides there and she seems to be a very pragmatic Judge.

If she accepts your evidence she will strike out the case. That means you will have no fine and no points.

The "system" is not very efficient. If you take your day in court you would be surprised as to how successful you can be.

It is always a good idea to have legal representation in court.

legal representation for €40

pat1981

JimsAlterEgo wrote: »

legal representation for €40

wow, i was charged €250 +vat for my solicitor to attend court, I must be losing my bargaining skills lol

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

JimsAlterEgo

pat1981 wrote: »

wow, i was charged €250 +vat for my solicitor to attend court, I must be losing my bargaining skills lol

my point was you would have to be able to get it for < 40 to make it worth while. forgot the "?":o