My points dilemma

[barty5]

EHHHHHHH!!! Wrong!....

well thats how it use to be pissed me off delay pay as didnt have the money wasnt till after i made the payment did i get a letter date same day after i made payment that points had been put on. guess it may have change in the last 6 years still clean no points and hopefully keepin it that way.

[Str8 Jacket]

well thats how it use to be pissed me off delay pay as didnt have the money wasnt till after i made the payment did i get a letter date same day after i made payment that points had been put on. guess it may have change in the last 6 years still clean no points and hopefully keepin it that way.

Ah, yeah....... Not sure about 6+ years ago but I worked for the MoJ for 5 years (leaving there 6 months ago) and things had changed then. I spent the first 18 months collecting fines and im pretty sure that as soon as you got the ticket that you got the points, that or as soon as it was imposed into the court system.... I could be wrong though as I havent worked in collections for over 3.5 years!

[swbarnett]

That's BS. So you could get 10 km/hr over the limit tickets every 2 years for 10 years and still lose your license

Actually (unless it's changed) the way I understand it the demerit points for each ticket drop off two years after the ticket was issued.

Some years back (less than ten) I had a several tickets to my name at once. I checked with LTSA at the two year mark for each of them and watched the demerits slowly drop to zero.

[Coldrider]

Ah, yeah....... Not sure about 6+ years ago but I worked for the MoJ for 5 years (leaving there 6 months ago) and things had changed then. I spent the first 18 months collecting fines and im pretty sure that as soon as you got the ticket that you got the points, that or as soon as it was imposed into the court system.... I could be wrong though as I havent worked in collections for over 3.5 years!

At which stage is one deemed guilty, I would have thought payment of the fine admits guilt, hence the demerits would be added then.

[Str8 Jacket]

At which stage is one deemed guilty, I would have thought payment of the fine admits guilt, hence the demerits would be added then.

hmmmmmm...... Basically you get a fine from the police. You have 28 day's to pay it with them OR dispute it or ask for your day in court. If you do neither, folllowing the correct procedures then your fine is sent to court. Once it's in the court system then it can not be withdrawn unless the Police request it and the court can make you pay it a few ways, no matter if you are guilty or not at this stage. Some people NEVR pay their fines how the heck do they lose their points?..... Im pretty sure the points are added automatically and are removed if the offence is withdrawn. BUT like I say, I could be wrong. There are a few Police types on KB, they might be able to clarify......

[KiwiRat]

The best way to find out is not to ask all the Bush Lawyers here, (me included if you like) but to ring LTSA and ask the kind lady on the phone how the process works. She will very kindly tell the simple biker (like she told this simple biker) what happens, when it happens, etc, etc.

Look, I'll make it even easier for all concerned. It's a toll free number for the Driver Licencing Contact Centre: 0800 822 422 Don't be shy, a little bit of knowledge won't hurt.

[PrincessBandit]

I'm going to be the boring old sensible mum here and say "you haven't thought about riding in a way which stops them amassing?"
*PB goes back to her day job of organising world peace and saving the dolphins and ending world hunger....*

[jaykay]

Sorry for dragging this thread up, but it may have connections with Reminder Notices.

Demerit points cannot be added to your licence until you are found guilty in court or the fine is paid. The points are effectively backdated to the offence date - and will drop off two years later.

The problem area is where Reminder Notices are ignored and the fine is passed to the courts for them to collect. I presume (but I'm not certain) that any points are added when the Notice of Fine payment date is passed or the fine is paid.
If however, the Reminder Notice is filed in the court as an unpaid fine without a good reason (ie you asked for a hearing and the police ignored it), then you can fill in a Form 57 saying you 'reasonably believed you asked for a hearing'.

As soon as the court accepts this form, the order made (to pay the fine) ceases to have effect - and the court cannot enforce payment. Presumably the demerit points must also be put on hold. It would then be quite possible to have a hearing, be found not guilty and any demerit points wouldn't apply in any case.

Note the Police only have six months to take you to court from the date of the alleged offence, so delaying tactics are often the way to go.

[Speedracer]

If however, the Reminder Notice is filed in the court as an unpaid fine without a good reason (ie you asked for a hearing and the police ignored it), then you can fill in a Form 57 saying you 'reasonably believed you asked for a hearing'.

As soon as the court accepts this form, the order made (to pay the fine) ceases to have effect - and the court cannot enforce payment. Presumably the demerit points must also be put on hold. It would then be quite possible to have a hearing, be found not guilty and any demerit points wouldn't apply in any case.

Note the Police only have six months to take you to court from the date of the alleged offence, so delaying tactics are often the way to go.

Please elaborate on this, is this taking to court as in a defended hearing? Surely if you say you asked for a hearing they will give you one, not just drop the matter for 4 months...

[jaykay]

As far as I can work out the Police try to avoid hearings - either by saying you were too late, or by withdrawing at the last minute (the last one I helped with was dropped at 9pm the day before the hearing, by telephone).

If the police say you were too late asking for a hearing, they inform the court the fine is unpaid and tell you that the police no longer have any jurisdiction in the matter.

The court system is then very slow about chasing up outstanding fines. A couple of friends of mine have been waiting over a year - when chasing up eventually occurs they will fill in Form 57s, probably get sent another Reminder Notice - and the whole process starts again.

[saltydog]

If U dont automatically get suspended....... dont pay the fine, forget the first reminder, wait for the red reminder then send in $405.. (say for a $400 fine), they muck around getting you a refund (overpayment), you get the refund for $5 but never cash it. The transaction and your dermits never get completed. By that time you other dermits have expired.
Apparently! ha it sounds like a classic case of the artful dodger to me, but it makes sence. Any one heard of this one?

[Biggles08]

If U dont automatically get suspended....... dont pay the fine, forget the first reminder, wait for the red reminder then send in $405.. (say for a $400 fine), they muck around getting you a refund (overpayment), you get the refund for $5 but never cash it. The transaction and your dermits never get completed. By that time you other dermits have expired.
Apparently! ha it sounds like a classic case of the artful dodger to me, but it makes sence. Any one heard of this one?

That was the way it used to be but now if you write a cheque out for the wrong amount they will return the whole cheque and the deadline remains the same...they figured this one out a while back...sorry.

[avgas]

have been in the same boat several times. But never lost it. I basically stopped at 70-80 pts everytime. If you can't slow down on the current bike ride one that you can't speed on. Worked for me.
But yes you only loose the points 2 years after you were given them
eg
40 pts + 6 months + 50 pts + 19 months = 50pts not 0pts.

[Bloody Mad Woman (BMW)]

Actually (unless it's changed) the way I understand it the demerit points for each ticket drop off two years after the ticket was issued.

Some years back (less than ten) I had a several tickets to my name at once. I checked with LTSA at the two year mark for each of them and watched the demerits slowly drop to zero.

This is correct - each fine has a 2 year life. Thank god or I would be walking!

[Patrick]

Note the Police only have six months to take you to court from the date of the alleged offence, so delaying tactics are often the way to go.

Oh dear..... a bush lawyer...:slap:

They have 6 months to lay a charge (an "information" in a court ie: the "charge"), not 6 months to get you to court. Delay all you like, once the charge is laid....