Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Fine dodgers get the message
Clamping concentrates the mind
Monklands fine dodgers have coughed up thousands of pounds after having clamping orders issued on their vehicles in a crackdown on persistent non-payers.
An Airdrie man forked out £1075 on outstanding fines for two road traffic and three drugs offences imposed at Airdrie Sheriff Court and Coatbridge JP Court, after a seizure order was issued on his vehicle. He had avoided paying the fines for some time but settled in full after the order was issued but before his car was clamped.
A Coatbridge woman who owed £160 for road traffic and misuse of drugs offences settled immediately after her Ford Fiesta was clamped outside her home. The action came after she had ignored numerous letters demanding payment.
Similarly, two Airdrie drivers who owed almost £ 500 for road traffic offence fines also paid up after their vehicles were clamped. One man paid £190 for fines imposed at Hamilton JP Court, while the other had to pay £280 to get his BMW back after it was seized for fines imposed at Coatbridge JP Court.
In all cases, the offenders had opportunities to make payment at a reasonable instalment rate – but chose not to. Fines enforcement teams then issued seizure orders.
A new electronic interface between the Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service (SCTS) and the DVLA vehicle database has enhanced the ability to track down drivers.
They face having their vehicles clamped and taken into storage with additional fees mounting each day and ultimately scrapped or sold off if they don’t settle their fines.
Other measures available to the SCTS for recovering unpaid fines include freezing bank accounts, taking money directly from earnings or benefits, and even arresting nonpayers as they travel through ports or airports on holiday or business trips.
A new report released by SCTS reveals that the collection rate remains consistently strong, with 88 per cent of the value of sheriff court fines imposed during the three-year period until March 2016 either fully paid or on track to be paid through instalments.
SCTS Chief Operations Officer David Fraser said: “The fines enforcement team continue to be highly effective in securing unpaid fines. Failure to pay, or to engage with officers, will result in strong sanctions being taken.”
Failure to pay will result in strong sanctions being taken