A Glasgow man who had avoided paying fines for road traffic offences over a four-year period settled the outstanding amounts two hours after finding that his Range Rover Vogue had been clamped.
The man had received four fines for having no tax or insurance and owed a total of £870. The enforcement team obtained a vehicle seizure order at Glasgow Justice of the Peace Court and his luxury Range Rover was clamped just after 11 in the morning. By 1:30 the same day the man had settled his fines in full.
He was one of a number of persistent non-payers who were forced to pay outstanding fines after being tracked by fines enforcement teams. The speed and success of tackling non-payers reflects the effectiveness of the data-sharing agreement reached recently with the DVLA which has made it harder for non-payers to avoid enforcement action.
A Lanarkshire man who had avoided paying a fine for six years settled the same day after having his car clamped.
The Cumbernauld driver, who owed £525 for fines imposed at Glasgow JP Court for speeding and driving without insurance, had ignored repeated warnings from enforcement officers. But he stumped up within hours of finding that his Skoda had been immobilised.
And three drivers in the Stirling and Falkirk area paid up in full after their vehicles were all immobilised within 24 hours. The BMW, Mercedes and Renault were clamped over unpaid fines for motoring offences.
Clamping vehicles is one of a number of measures available to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) for recovering unpaid fines. Other measures include freezing bank accounts, arresting wages, taking money directly from benefits and even arresting non-payers when they are travelling through ports and airports for business or holiday trips.
In all cases, the offenders had opportunities to make payment of their fines at a reasonable and affordable instalment rate – but did not pay up.
A new report released by SCTS today reveals that the fines collection rate remains consistently strong. It shows that 88% of the value of Sheriff Court fines imposed during the three-year period between 1st April 2013 and 31st March 2016 has either been fully paid or is on track to be paid through instalments.
SCTS Chief Operations Officer David Fraser said: “The fines enforcement teams 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.
Most fines can be paid round the clock on our secure website at www.scotcourts.gov.uk/payyourfine or using our automated telephone payment system by phoning 0300 790 0003. 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.
Notes to Editors
• Photos are available with this release.
• 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