Fort fines dodger pays up after wages seized

Court service steps up efforts to recover money

Fines dodgers have been warned to pay up or have their wages frozen after a Fort William hotel worker who owed more than £700 had his earnings seized.

The Lochaber man had six unpaid fines for road traffic offences, drugs misuse and drinking in public and had repeatedly failed to pay. After ignoring warning letters and offers to set up a payment schedule, an earnings seizure order was issued at Greenock JP Court and the £720 he owed was paid in full.

He was one of a number of fines dodgers who settled their balances after receiving a nasty surprise when their bank accounts or earnings were seized. An Alness man had his account frozen for repeatedly failing to pay.

The man was fined £450 at Oban Sheriff Court for drink driving and paid £30 but failed to settle the outstanding amount. Fines enforcement officers issued a Bank Arrestment Order and the £420 was fully paid.

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

Other enforcement measures include clamping vehicles, taking money directly from benefits and arresting non-payers travelling through ports and airports.

A new report released by SCTS reveals the fines collection rate remains consistently strong. It shows 87 per cent of the value of sheriff court fines imposed between April 1 2014 and March 31 2017 has either been paid or is on track to be paid – a rise of one per cent compared with the figure at April 10 2018.

Of JP Court fines imposed from April 1 2017 to March 31 2018, 80 per cent by value has been paid or is on track to be paid by 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.’

In all cases, offenders have opportunities to make payment of their fines at a reasonable and affordable instalment rate. All defaulters are issued with warnings before action is taken.

Those in genuine financial difficulty can engage with enforcement officers to discuss payment terms.