Fines dodgers stump up after courts freeze bank accounts

Fines dodgers in Fife, Angus and Falkirk paid out more than £2,000 to settle their debts after getting a nasty surprise at the bank.

Nine people who had repeatedly failed to settle their court fines finally did so after finding their bank accounts frozen.

Those affected included a dangerous driver from Kirkcaldy and a St Andrews speeder.

The Kirkcaldy woman was fined £630 for dangerous driving and driving without a licence or insurance.

She paid in full after an order freezing her account was issued by Dunfermline JP Court.

The St Andrews driver caught speeding settled his £150 fine after action was taken at Dundee Sheriff and JP Court.

Elsewhere in Courier Country, an Arbroath man fined for driving without tax and insurance stumped up £489 after a bank arrestment order was made by Dundee Sheriff Court.

Nine drivers in the Glasgow area also settled fines totalling almost £2,000 after finding their vehicles clamped.

Arresting wages and freezing bank accounts are among a number of measures available to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) for recovering unpaid fines.

Other measures include taking money directly from benefits and even arresting nonpayers when they are travelling through ports and airports for business or holiday trips.

SCTS have revealed 84% of sheriff court fines imposed in the last three years have been paid or are on track to be paid through instalments.

Chief operations officer David Fraser said: “The fines enforcement teams continue to be highly effective in securing unpaid fines.”