Fixed Charge Notice - Sent to UK Address?

sunnysoutheast

Hi all

I was stopped by a traffic garda with a speed gun earlier this week. I hold my hands up to the speeding offence, a genuine mistake, although I will be checking for correct speed signs when I'm on that road again tomorrow.

I have a valid UK photocard licence which has my apartment address on it (a relative lives there now and forwards my post). The car is registered and insured to my Irish address.

If anyone has been in this situation before can they confirm whether the FCN is sent to the Irish address - i.e. where the car is registered - or the UK one - which the garda took down at the time. I ask because the garda seemed to imply that I would never get the letter or the summons in the UK, whether this is because he thought it was a hooky address or something I don't know.

Given the above, is there any way to confirm whether a FCN has been issued other than emailing the garda fixed penalty email address?

I know I will get an Irish shadow licence and points applied to that etc. but I'm not too concerned about that, I just want to pay the €80 and not end up with summonses out etc.

Cheers

sunnysoutheast

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

Hi all

I was stopped by a traffic garda with a speed gun earlier this week. I hold my hands up to the speeding offence, a genuine mistake, although I will be checking for correct speed signs when I'm on that road again tomorrow.

I have a valid UK photocard licence which has my apartment address on it (a relative lives there now and forwards my post). The car is registered and insured to my Irish address.

If anyone has been in this situation before can they confirm whether the FCN is sent to the Irish address - i.e. where the car is registered - or the UK one - which the garda took down at the time. I ask because the garda seemed to imply that I would never get the letter or the summons in the UK, whether this is because he thought it was a hooky address or something I don't know.

Given the above, is there any way to confirm whether a FCN has been issued other than emailing the garda fixed penalty email address?

I know I will get an Irish shadow licence and points applied to that etc. but I'm not too concerned about that, I just want to pay the €80 and not end up with summonses out etc.

Cheers

Anyone received a ticket as above? I find it hard to believe that no-one on this message board has ever had a speeding ticket :pac:

Checked the closest sign to where I was pulled - tiny little speed sign obscured by leaves - but was in a 60 zone anyway. Goddamit!

kerry4sam

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

Anyone received a ticket as above? I find it hard to believe that no-one on this message board has ever had a speeding ticket :pac:

Checked the closest sign to where I was pulled - tiny little speed sign obscured by leaves - but was in a 60 zone anyway. Goddamit!

Why don't you contact the FCPS office in Thurles tomorrow and ask them?

Contact:
Fixed Charge Processing Office
Parnell Street
Thurles
County Tipperary

Tel: +353 504 59800
Freephone: 1890 30 40 60
Fax: +353 504 59844
E-mail: npo@garda.ie

Hope that helps,
kerry4sam

sunnysoutheast

kerry4sam wrote: »

Why don't you contact the FCPS office in Thurles tomorrow and ask them?

Contact:
Fixed Charge Processing Office
Parnell Street
Thurles
County Tipperary

Tel: +353 504 59800
Freephone: 1890 30 40 60
Fax: +353 504 59844
E-mail: npo@garda.ie

Hope that helps,
kerry4sam

Yes thanks I'll probably end up doing that anyway, just wondered if anyone had been in the same situation. As far as I know you can't pay the fine without the physical notice. I am assuming I won't get away with the "crime".

mgbgt1978

I'm not 100% on this but I believe if it's an Irish registered vehicle the FCN will go to the registered owner.
Which in this case is yourself.
You are then liable for the points and fine unless you state that somebody else was driving. You must then give the name and address of this other driver.
As you sre the 'other driver' in this case I would assume that when the FCN arrives through your letterbox you will have to somehow fill in the form stating that you were driving but that you actually live in the UK and give your UK address (as shown on your licence).
After that I would just wait and see if a letter arrives to that address.

As you say you are aware of the points being held on a 'Shadow licence'.

sunnysoutheast

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

I'm not 100% on this but I believe if it's an Irish registered vehicle the FCN will go to the registered owner.
Which in this case is yourself.
You are then liable for the points and fine unless you state that somebody else was driving. You must then give the name and address of this other driver.
As you sre the 'other driver' in this case I would assume that when the FCN arrives through your letterbox you will have to somehow fill in the form stating that you were driving but that you actually live in the UK and give your UK address (as shown on your licence).
After that I would just wait and see if a letter arrives to that address.

As you say you are aware of the points being held on a 'Shadow licence'.

Yes you are spot on if it was a speed camera. This was a garda traffic stop.

However, the garda only took down my UK address from my UK licence. The car is registered to me in Ireland but I don't know if that will come into play.

I'm going to end up in prison aren't I?

mgbgt1978

He still took down an Irish Car Reg. If he decides to issue a ticket I would think that the address linked to the Reg is where it will arrive.
At the end of the day while he may not have an exact quota, he has to issue 'some' tickets....if he is 'down' a bit this month he has nothing to lose by issuing the FCN.

I know it's not the precise answer you're looking for, but as no one else has come up with anything it's how i see this playing out.

rex-x

It goes to the address on the licence, nothing to do with where the car is registered.

ShaShaBear

rex-x wrote: »

It goes to the address on the licence, nothing to do with where the car is registered.

My partner has had two in the post and neither went to his licence address. Both came to the house the car was registered to, which was a different address on each occasion.

rex-x

It shouldn't, standard practice to send to the licence address, what if its not your car? the owner would be getting your fines, would make no sense to do it that way

ShaShaBear

rex-x wrote: »

It shouldn't, standard practice to send to the licence address, what if its not your car? the owner would be getting your fines, would make no sense to do it that way

If the car is registered to your address and it isn't your car, it should be extremely easy to prove.

Victor

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

I will be checking for correct speed signs when I'm on that road again tomorrow.

The signs don't matter, it's the bye-laws that count.

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

Checked the closest sign to where I was pulled - tiny little speed sign

That's a repeater sign.

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

obscured by leaves

Report this to the council.

sunnysoutheast

ShaShaBear wrote: »

My partner has had two in the post and neither went to his licence address. Both came to the house the car was registered to, which was a different address on each occasion.

Were they traffic garda stops or camera? Thx

sunnysoutheast

Victor wrote: »

The signs don't matter, it's the bye-laws that count.

That's a repeater sign.

Report this to the council.

Yes he had me bang to rights unfortunately. Genuinely thought it was an 80 limit.

ShaShaBear

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

Were they traffic garda stops or camera? Thx

Both Garda

sunnysoutheast

ShaShaBear wrote: »

Both Garda

Ok thanks, interesting to know. Would be easier for me if they came to the registered address for the car. Gard seemed to imply otherwise though.

Thanks all

Kevhog1988

id wait it out

sunnysoutheast

theemigrant wrote: »

id wait it out

Yeah I decided against emailing them for now. Didn't get the impression I wasn't going to get a letter in the post though.

delahuntv

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

Given the above, is there any way to confirm whether a FCN has been issued other than emailing the garda fixed penalty email address?

I know I will get an Irish shadow licence and points applied to that etc. but I'm not too concerned about that, I just want to pay the €80 and not end up with summonses out etc.

Cheers

Usually it will be sent to the address the garda took down as the offence is against the driver of the car rather than the registered owner (in most cases both are the same)

Points are then "noted" for the address given and on record for that address for 3 years - it used to be held in limbo and transferred to any Irish licence you subsequently got and the 3 years started from then, but that changed.

As for changing to an Irish licence? Why? UK licence is valid til expiry. In my case I have the old paper licence valid til 2038! - as a garda said, I'd be crazy to give up "that piece of gold"

awec

This post has been deleted.

Ollygolf

Sunnysoutheast,have you got anything in the post yet? I got pulled two weeks ago and I'm still waiting on it to come through the letterbox.

Kevhog1988

awec wrote: »

Not true.

I have a UK license and got pulled in on the M1 in 2012. Guard wrote down the details on the license and a letter was sent to the UK address a few weeks later saying I had 2 points etc.

Had to send off the form to pay the fine if I remember right.

Got another letter sent to the same address a few months ago saying the points were now expired.

Some guards wont bother with the paperwork

Kimbot

rex-x wrote: »

It goes to the address on the licence, nothing to do with where the car is registered.

No it doesnt, my license was registered to my ex's mothers house as we were between houses at the time and any FCN went to the address where my car was registered.

sunnysoutheast

Ollygolf wrote: »

Sunnysoutheast,have you got anything in the post yet? I got pulled two weeks ago and I'm still waiting on it to come through the letterbox.

Nothing yet to either address, but it's only been a week.

sunnysoutheast

delahuntv wrote: »

Usually it will be sent to the address the garda took down as the offence is against the driver of the car rather than the registered owner (in most cases both are the same)

Points are then "noted" for the address given and on record for that address for 3 years - it used to be held in limbo and transferred to any Irish licence you subsequently got and the 3 years started from then, but that changed.

As for changing to an Irish licence? Why? UK licence is valid til expiry. In my case I have the old paper licence valid til 2038! - as a garda said, I'd be crazy to give up "that piece of gold"

Yes I know - my UK licence is valid until 2038 too - but (by the letter of the law) if the licence does not display your current valid address you are subject to a £1000 fine if caught in the UK. I had to exchange my paper licence in 2012 as the address on it had fairly dodgy people living in it and I got a photocard one, which is only valid for 10 years.

In my case my UK licence is registered at an apartment I own (and never plan to sell) so all should be fine when renewing.

As you say from recent research I think the "points" now go against a driving record which must be declared to insurance and can lead to a ban, but on the other hand they do now expire.

Also I wouldn't be surprised to see insurance companies start to ask for corroboration of the driving licence address in future.

sunnysoutheast

Just in case anybody was wondering - the FCN went to my UK address. Sent out after just over a week.

Oh well!