Summer holiday makers are being warned to pay their fines before boarding flights and ferries to avoid being arrested and facing disruption on what is expected to be the busiest travel weekend of the season.
If you are embarking on a summer holiday, the last thing you might want is to be stopped at the air or ferry port.
But that is exactly what could happen if you neglect to pay an outstanding fine. When defaulters fail to attend court, warrants can be issued for their arrest and they can find themselves pulled aside as they attempt to board a flight or ferry. Defaulters who cannot pay a fine in full on the spot can be arrested and taken into custody.
A Rosyth man who failed to keep up with fine payments recently found himself stopped at Edinburgh Airport. He had been ordered to pay the £745 fine in instalments to Dunfermline Sheriff Court, but had failed to stay up to date. He was stopped by the police and only allowed to continue on his journey after settling the outstanding £445 in full on the spot.
“If you are planning a summer holiday, we urge you to pay your fine before heading to the air or ferry port,” says Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) Acting Chief Operations Officer David Fraser. “Otherwise you risk being arrested and having your travel plans disrupted. It’s nicer to start your holiday without that worry hanging over you. Almost all fines can be paid quickly and easily round the clock on the SCTS website.”
If you fail to pay a fine, the SCTS also has powers in place to clamp your car or approach your bank, employer or the Department for Work and Pensions to deduct money directly from your accounts, wages or benefits.
All defaulters are issued warnings before action is taken. Those in genuine financial difficulty can engage with enforcement officers to discuss payment terms.
Most fines can be paid on our secure website at
www.scotcourts.gov.uk/payyourfine. Only fines which involve the endorsement of a driving licence with penalty points cannot be paid electronically including some police traffic tickets and penalties issued by the Safety Camera Partnerships for speeding or running a red light. In these instances offenders can post their licence to: Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Central Processing Unit, PO Box 23, Glasgow, G59 9DA or take it in person to any Scottish court.
Notes:
• Glasgow Airport officials have predicted 27 and 28 June to be the busiest travelling days of the season.
• A copy of the most recent SCS Quarterly Fines Report is available at:
http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/about-the-scottish-court-service/reports-data.
• Most of the money collected through fines payment is sent to the UK Treasury under devolution arrangements set up within the Scotland Act 1998.