The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service’s new automated phoneline for fines has brought in more than £1.2M in its first year of operation – making the payment process easier.
The automated system, which operates around the clock, was launched by the SCTS on 29 June 2015 and as at 30 April 2016, a total of £1.2M had been paid using the phoneline.
While the SCTS has made it easier to pay, robust sanctions are applied if there is no engagement or payment. These include freezing bank accounts, taking money directly from earnings or benefits and clamping cars.
People with unpaid fines can even be arrested at airports or ports when travelling abroad. Two fines dodgers from the Aberdeen area were arrested at airports after failing to pay their fines. A drink driver who owed £450 for a fine imposed at Aberdeen Sheriff and JP Court was arrested by police while travelling through Edinburgh Airport.
A second man who owed £330 for a fine imposed at the same court was held by police at Heathrow Airport. Both paid up in full before being allowed to continue their journeys.
Three non-payers from the Edinburgh area have had their vehicles clamped after repeatedly failing to pay their outstanding fines imposed at Edinburgh Sheriff Court for motoring offences. One offender paid up a £150 fine in full to recover his vehicle. The other vehicles will go into storage until the fines for £320 and £450 are paid by their owners who will also have to pay for storage and other costs before their vehicles are released.
A new report released by SCTS today reveals that the fines collection rate remains consistently strong. It shows that 87% of the value of Sheriff Court fines imposed during the three-year period between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2015 has either been fully paid or is on track to be paid through instalments. This is a rise of one percentage point on the value of fines paid as at 11 January 2016.
The Quarterly Fines Report also includes the reporting of Community Payback Orders (CPOs) for the first time. CPOs are made by the Court as an alternative to imprisonment if the offender defaults in payment of a fine. A total of 4346 CPOs have been issued since 1 April 2012 where people were unable to pay, 377 of them imposed within the three months to 11 April 2016.
SCTS Chief Operations Officer David Fraser said: “The fines enforcement team continue to be highly effective in securing unpaid fines – ignoring your fine and not speaking to an enforcement officer if you are having difficulty paying is very unwise. Failure to pay, or to engage with our officers, will result in strong sanctions being taken including arrestment of wages, bank accounts, your car being clamped or inconvenience and embarrassment by being arrested when travelling abroad.”
All defaulters are issued warnings before action is taken. Those in genuine financial difficulty can engage with enforcement officers to discuss payment terms.
Court-imposed fines as well as most penalties issued by the Crown and Procurator Fiscal Service can be paid by phoning the automated line on 0300 790 0003. Police-issued penalties or those requiring endorsement of a driving record cannot be paid using the new system.
Most fines can also be paid on our secure website at www.scotcourts.gov.uk/payyourfine only fines which involve the endorsement of a driving record cannot be paid electronically at the moment.
For those penalties that cannot be paid using the online or telephone payment systems, customers can post payments to Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Central Processing Unit, PO Box 23, Glasgow, G59 9DA or take it in person to any Scottish court fines office.
Ends
Notes to Editors
• Fine defaulters are not named for data protection reasons.
• A copy of the most recent SCTS Quarterly Fines Report is available at: http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/about-the-scottish-court-service/reports-data
• Many fines are paid by instalments over the course of two or more years which will affect collection rate figures.
• Most of the money collected through fines payment is sent to the UK Treasury under devolution arrangements set up within the Scotland Act 1998.
Contact: communications@scotcourts.gov.uk Tel: 0131 444 3310