HELP / ADVICE NEEDED. Pending motoring conviction, recommend a solicitor please

Hi All,
Thames Valley Police have issued me a court summons for speeding. I dont really want to go into the details of it on the forum, but I could really do with a recommendation for a good solicitor to approach for advice.

Annoyingly, they have had since feb to issue me with this summons, I only recieved it today and the court hearing is on the 10th June!! So time is of the essence.

Cheers
Pete

I think the standard approach is to try and get your wife to ‘fess up (and then *not* to have an affair).

pulls up chair. Grabs biccies.
Make this quick, lads, I have to go and pick up jr in an hour.

Did you receive a NIP within 14 days of the alleged offence?

Home

this guy has a good reputation apparently

chuckles at wwaswas
surely the answer depends on
1. where you live
2. whether you did it
3. how much money you have

I think 3 is the most important

Stoner – Member
Make this quick, lads, I have to go and pick up jr in an hour.

Jesus, Stoner – just leave later and rag the arse off your car on the way round there 🙄

Mate got caught speeding and was going to end up with > 12 points. He hired “Mr Getyouoff” solicitor (£££). The judge just laughed as he was caught bang-to-rights. 2 weeks ban. I shudder to think what his insurance is now. 😮

My cousin in law is a serial speeder, been caught so many times he’s already had three bans, but after each time, he just carries on regardless (after the ban has expired). Doesn’t seem to affect his insurance unduly. Nor does it seem to have any affect on his driving mentality.

Hmmm, in light of recent threads re cars and cyclists perhaps you should man up and get used to buses for a bit.

If you don’t want to be a pedestrian drive more slowly. 😀

It really depends on what the conviction is for.

I had a clean license for 10 years and caught doing a naughty speed. I was issued a court summons and offered 6 points and a sizeable fine. You just need to take it on the chin and suck it up. However if you are already on 9 points then you’re stuffed.

Good luck!

Road traffic law ain’t rocket science most of the specialist road traffic lawyers do it because it is easy money . Legal aid pays poor fixed fees calculated on a nominal rate of £40-£69 pounds per hour (cost of time not lawyers wage) private client work pays £100 to £200 per hour . legal aid is mired in red tape and takes 3 months to pay . Private clients pay cash on the nail.

I suggest you contact a solicitor local to the court ask to speak to a partner and discuss your options.

For a relitively straight forward case i would charge £500 always remember most solicitors quotes are net of vat which will be added on.

If you are well over a ton which by the sounds of it you are, you are prob best going down the apologetic route. Having one blip on 10 years will possibly be seen as partly admissible. You could throw into the mix that average miles per year is 12000, you do xxx per year if over this and have always had a clean licence, again suggesting it was a daft mistake. Check the time scale they have to issue court date etched and any inaccuracies on their part will get you off.

A friend told his solicitor to do one in court last time, represented himself and got off scot free! Sort out your facts and technicalities if there are one and stand up yourself! At least if you get a ban you haven’t had to line a solicitors pockets for the pleasure of doing nothing also, put it toward taxis!

A mate of mine’s dad was done for drink driving. Not for the first time, and not surprising as he’s never actually sober.

He hired Nick Freeman to defend his dad. Not only did he get him off, the judge gave the police a dressing down and made them pay the legal fees.

Amusing and really not, all at the same time.

Don’t know if he’s still about.

Not sure, but a friend of ours was caught at quite a speed (immediate ban speed) few years back. He was advised not to respond or something as he could only get done for the ‘not responding’ (or whatever it was) and not for the actual offence. cant really remember the details, but he did get this advise from a solicitor.

Ended up with just 3 points I seem to remember (was travelling over 90mph i think).

Dont think it really helps, but get a solicitor’s advice as soon as possible after the offence!

Simone

If you are well over a ton which by the sounds of it you are

Bit of a leap from ‘speeding’ there!

Some more info HERE[/url] and as cougar says – was there a valid reason for the long delay in issuing the NIP?

Workmate caught doing 120mph on his bike. 2 week ban and no points. Mate caught doing 107 mph , was polite, done for 96 mph and got a speed awareness course !!
Just take a 2 week holiday abroad if thats the speed you were doing……..

But was there a delay in the NIP? That is a very different thing than a court summons.

If its a summons for speeding then its within the 6 month window allowed to bring the case to court.

Don’t do the ignore thing now. The fine is huge £1000ish and the offence code on your licence is crippling on your insurance for 5 years.

You can try an early guilty plea which reduces the fine a bit. If you try an exceptional hardship plea it has to demonstrate other people will be adversely affected if you are banned, not just you not being able to drive to coed y brenin

Pepipoo speeding section is good for advice

As bland said, don’t bother lining a solicitors pockets, there’s plenty of advice on the web about getting off speeding tickets

Try this,

http://roadtrafficrepresentation.com/RTR/PublicForms/Home.aspx

It is a new type of service and I have heard that they are very good.

NJA i just tried the road traffic representation site and used their interactive free advise thing to do a worked example it got the answer wrong and was a Tad confusing.

represent yourself do the research on what may allow you to keep your licence (work, dependents etc) and forget solicitors, they are useless shites, and the most untrustworthy scum on the earth, next to politicians

+1 Sancho. A friend of mine was up to 9 points and got himself yet another SP30. He asked a friend who specializes in this type of law to represent him. She required him to get a reference from employer quoting how he needed his licence to carry out his job but his employer refused. She then declined to represent him and advised he was wasting his and her time. He went on to represent himself; ended up having a licence with 12 points, no totting up, and a nominal fine. He’s since had another SP30 Represented himself again & was going to be given another chance when the court realised he was using the same reason within a 12 month period which you cant do apparently. He now has a 6 month ban… doubt he learnt his lesson though.

they are useless shites, and the most untrustworthy scum on the earth

Don’t try to be tactful, if you don’t like them just say so 🙄

NIP was recieved 12 days later. It was the court summons that took 3 months!!

Hmmm, in light of recent threads re cars and cyclists perhaps you should man up and get used to buses for a bit.

If you don’t want to be a pedestrian drive more slowly.

There are lots of other threads on here related to speeding, maybe you should post on those. THIS thread is a genuine ask for help / advice, you know nothing about me or my driving history so please kindly go away.

To everyone else, thanks for your input. I dont really want to have to pay solicitors, so gonna go down the road traffic representation route.

As bland said, don’t bother lining a solicitors pockets, there’s plenty of advice on the web about getting off speeding tickets

A lot of it is absolute bobbins, too.

Do you pull your own teath too?

Post your issue and I will tell you wether in my opinion it is something you can do yourself or wether you.would be better paying a solicitor. See some of the told a solicitor to do one posts above . Where the bloke planned to lie and say he was going to lose his job when his employer would not confirm it he was obviously better representing himself as a lawyer cannot mislead the court. Where he had a previous special reasons argument succeed he may well have been better paying for someone who knew the law.
In general terms if you plan to plead guilty to a minor road traffic offence such as speeding and you are aiming for mercy you are as well representing yourself. If you are hopping to mess about with nip issues or
The like again chose the web advise carefully but you can do this yourself. For serious offenses drink drive with high readings dangerous driving and any denied matters that raise technical issues you are better with a lawyer.

As a criminal solicitor I actively discourage the majority of clients who seek to instruct me in driving cases as in many cases there is very little difference I can make to the outcome other than to add a big bill on top of the fine

To everyone else, thanks for your input. I dont really want to have to pay solicitors, so gonna go down the road traffic representation route.

Again, this depends on whether you’ll be more successful than with a Solicitor – and the result.

I’d have no sympathy for a load of SP30’s, but would have if you’d been caught 5 times doing 85mph on a M-Way in 3 years.

When I used a Solicitor I had a bigger problem (alleged careless driving), for £300 she ‘assisted’ me in completing the various paperwork. The Police accepted my story of the events as opposed to the other guy, so no prosecution. Money well spent.

Pete hunjan

Its easy to stay the right side of the law when driving.
Clearly you are being summoned for good reason.
You dont describe the incident, so clearly it is something you are guilty of and need to pay the price.
Yet you are seeking advice on how to ‘get away with it’.
You cant blame people for guessing what youve done so dont berate them.

you are seeking advice on how to ‘get away with it’.

Is he? Where’s he said that?

He’s asked for advice, there’s been no mention of trying to “get away with” anything. If I were going to court for something, I’d want advice too.

I’m afraid in my past I was a serial dick head (driving wise).

On one occasion (potential banning speed), I got a local solicitor (it was in the boonies and he spoke the lingo), a letter from my employer and claimed exceptional hardship. I attended, best bib and tucker, looked very contrite and got 6 points and a mahoosive fine for well over 100mph.

Another time, I didn’t use a solicitor but put together a very comprehensive mitigation statement. I attended, best bib and tucker, looked very contrite and got 3 points and a £200 fine for well over 100mph.

Either is possible (as is a ban) but if you show you’re taking thing seriously, show contrition and can demonstrate hardship (driving for work etc), they seem less likely to ban outright (IME).

Good luck (and ignore the high horsemen, holier than thou comments). We all make mistakes.

Crankboy can you stop those posts i am starting to think that the legal profession may include some honourable people in their midst

She required him to get a reference from employer quoting how he needed his licence to carry out his job but his employer refused. She then declined to represent him and advised he was wasting his and her time. He went on to represent himself; ended up having a licence with 12 points, no totting up, and a nominal fine

I don’t get the problem – she didn’t think she could help him and didn’t want him to waste his money.

Is he? Where’s he said that?

He’s asked for advice, there’s been no mention of trying to “get away with” anything. If I were going to court for something, I’d want advice too.

In fairness his method of requesting such advice does lead it open to conjecture somewhat.
And presumably ‘getting away with it’, is exactly what the OP is attempting to do. People rarely ask for legal advice on how to obtain a more negative outcome. I certainly wouldn’t.
I guess it’s possible that he could be asking advice so that he can do the exact opposite in an attempt to get the worst possible outcome, but it seems pretty unlikely.

“Do I need a solicitor” and “what do I do in court” seem like fairly reasonable questions to me.

Legal advice may be needed to decide wether or not he is in fact guilty of the offence. Or as to the range of sentences and how to present his mitigation to achive an appropriate and fair sentence. People sometimes just want to be told how a court appearance works.

Only if he knows that he is guilty and seeks advice to avoid conviction is he trying to get away with it.

But it is very hard to know or to offer advice when we don’t know what he is accused of.

I am truly glad that I am not bring tries on a court with some of you as jury members. Jumping to conclusions, making huge assumptions and taking the moral high ground on your presumption of his guilt.

Give the OP a break!

SEND HIM DOWN

*GAVEL*

jamj1974 – Member
I am truly glad that I am not bring tries on a court with some of you as jury members. Jumping to conclusions, making huge assumptions and taking the moral high ground on your presumption of his guilt.

Well he has admitted to driving a car….

(If it’s a motorbike, then he’s obviously innocent 🙂 )