fixed charge parking offence

ct_roy

hi,

i missed a 56 day deadline provided to pay a fixed charge parking offence and have now been informed that a summons will be issued to appear in court. Naturally, I'm a bit worried as to what this all means.
I've not dispute with the offence. Just completely forgot to pay it.

I've a couple of questions:
1.) is there some way I can prevent the summons from being issued? i.e. Can I contact the Garda station in question or is it too late?
2.) Assuming point 1 is a waste of time, should I hire a solicitor?
3.) will I have a permanent criminal record as a result?
4.) how long does a case like this take to process?
5.) is my fine likely to increase as a result of the court appearance?

Any advice is much appreciated

Thanks

Victor

As I understand:

* Parking fine = €40
* Failure to pay within 28 days = €80
* Failure to pay within 56 days = Go to court and face a fine of I think up to €1,000 and a possible jail sentence (unlikely for ordinary parking matters)

Six months to issue warrant from time of offence, and its likely to be heard rather quickly on the set date.

You can approach the garda, but I'm not sure how much seccess you will have.

You should get proper legal advice, especially if it was an aggravated offence (loading bay, taxi rank, wheelchair space, etc.).

jvm76

ct_roy wrote: »

1.) is there some way I can prevent the summons from being issued? i.e. Can I contact the Garda station in question or is it too late?
2.) Assuming point 1 is a waste of time, should I hire a solicitor?
3.) will I have a permanent criminal record as a result?
4.) how long does a case like this take to process?
5.) is my fine likely to increase as a result of the court appearance?

1. summons are issued automatically through Garda Fines Office, prosecuting garda has no input into the issue of it.
2. unless you were disputing the offence, there is no need to hire a solicitor, you would be just be wasting money.
3. road traffic convictions are not considered to be a criminal record and parking offence are minor rtc's.
4. 4 to 6 months.
5. your fine will more than likely be increased in court (doubled, i'd say) but just give a valid (and believable) explanation.

good luck!

ct_roy

hi jvm,

thanks for the very helpful info!

pirelli

jvm76 wrote: »

1.
3. road traffic convictions are not considered to be a criminal record.

good luck!

Oh! are yous sure!
speeding
Drink Driving
attempted drink driving
*******************
Reckless driving
*********************
dangerous driving
dangerous driving causing homicide
******************************
dangerous driving causing homicide while twice the limit

reitoei

Hey, I'm up in court tomorrow in Dublin for the *exact* same thing... unpaid parking ticket from October 2006! Didn't even realise I had one outstanding. Sought legal advice, was told that I wouldn't really need a solicitor, just stand up and address the judge myself (as in "yes, judge" not "yes, your honour") and take the fine with good grace.

Apparently a lot of these cases get thrown out if the Garda who issued the summons doesn't show up, so, fingers crossed. I'll let you know how I get on.

Cacking it now, after writing about it

jvm76

pirelli wrote: »

Oh! are yous sure!
speeding
Drink Driving
attempted drink driving
*******************
Reckless driving
*********************
dangerous driving
dangerous driving causing homicide
******************************
dangerous driving causing homicide while twice the limit

i'm sorry..... did i miss the part where ct roy said he had parked his car on an old lady after necking a bottle of vodka......

johnnyskeleton

jvm76 wrote: »

1. summons are issued automatically through Garda Fines Office, prosecuting garda has no input into the issue of it.

Are you sure that office doesn't just deal with Fixed Charge Notices? Normally a Garda needs to issue a summons.

jvm76 wrote:

2. unless you were disputing the offence, there is no need to hire a solicitor, you would be just be wasting money.

Hiring a solicitor is really a personal choice depending on your circumstances and your opinion of the offence.

jvm76 wrote:

3. road traffic convictions are not considered to be a criminal record and parking offence are minor rtc's.

All road traffic convictions are criminal offences. Therefore, being convicted of a road traffic offence carries a criminal conviction.

[/QUOTE]

pirelli wrote: »

attempted drink driving

How does this work?

"Have you had anything to drink son?"
"No. I wanted to, but didn't have any money"
"Ah-ha, you're nicked, sunshine"

Or do you mean intoxicated while in charge?

Victor

reitoei wrote: »

Apparently a lot of these cases get thrown out if the Garda who issued the summons doesn't show up, so, fingers crossed. I'll let you know how I get on.

I wouldn't rely on it. Many gardai get their day in court when they complete a batch / book of tickets, so while he might not show for 1 or 2 tickets, he is going to show for 50 or 100.

jvm76

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Are you sure that office doesn't just deal with Fixed Charge Notices? Normally a Garda needs to issue a summons.


All road traffic convictions are criminal offences. Therefore, being convicted of a road traffic offence carries a criminal conviction.

the summons are issued automatically on behalf of the prosecuting garda now, apparently sometimes if a garda does not show up for a case it's because he did not get notification of the court date himself....

i take your point on the convictions though, what i meant was that a conviction for a parking offence would not stop you getting a visa or a psv licence, etc.

reitoei

Victor wrote: »

I wouldn't rely on it. Many gardai get their day in court when they complete a batch / book of tickets, so while he might not show for 1 or 2 tickets, he is going to show for 50 or 100.

So, I went to court yesterday, Richmond on Brunswick St., and my name wasn't on the big list of cases that day. I asked the guy on the door what's up and he directed me to the summons office, where a lovely lady informed me that the garda didn't submit the paperwork so the case was struck out!

I fought the law and... I won!

Gobán Saor

Good on ya!! :D:D

johnnyskeleton

reitoei wrote: »

So, I went to court yesterday, Richmond on Brunswick St., and my name wasn't on the big list of cases that day. I asked the guy on the door what's up and he directed me to the summons office, where a lovely lady informed me that the garda didn't submit the paperwork so the case was struck out!

I fought the law and... I won!

Except that you didn't actually fight the law, and you don't get anything for winning either.

Put another way, did you take the day off work to go to court? How much was the parking fine? How much would you have earned if you went into work?

Hoop66

Similar situation myself - I got a summons from a process server the other night for an unpaid parking fine. As far as I know I never got one - there was certainly no parking ticket on my car.

I don't deny I have parked on double yellows before now in the place where the summons says I was parked, but if I had got a ticket I would have paid it. No letter, nothing, just this summons arriving.

Any ideas? Should I contact the court? The court date isn't until Spetember.

jackiebrown

Guys, take it easy. Read the link.

http://www.worldfreemansociety.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=944

MadsL

unpaid parking ticket from October 2006!

I thought there was a 2 year limit on summons, could anyone clarify? Looked this up once - can't find it now.

Our man in Havana

6 month limit to apply for a summons. No limit on when the case is heard afterwards but undue delay can be argued and the judge may dismiss on that basis.

Jimdagym

MadsL wrote: »

I thought there was a 2 year limit on summons, could anyone clarify? Looked this up once - can't find it now.

I fell for it too. Look at the post date.

19-11-2007, 23:35