Failing to Furnish Information

Failing to Furnish- What exactly is it?

When a driver is alleged to have committed an offence but was not stopped by police, the first stage in the Prosecution process is the service of a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) which must be within 14 days of the alleged offence if it is to be valid. The NIP is sent to the last known address of the registered keeper of the vehicle and this information is obtained from the DVLA (which is why it is important to keep your driving licence details up to date!). This notice essentially asks the registered keeper to confirm who was driving the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence and there is a legal obligation for this information to be provided within a certain time stipulated on the NIP.

There are several important factors to consider when a driver receives an NIP and we would strongly urge you to contact one of the motor specialists at Olliers the moment you receive the notice.

If this information is not provided within the designated time then the driver has "failed to furnish" information and the matter is passed to the CPS who will then apply to the court for a summons. The summons process would also be instigated if more than one driver is named or the information provided proves to be insufficient.

The summons will be sent to the registered keeper requesting their attendance at court. The date of the summons must also be within a specific time for it to be valid but the registered keeper will face 6 points on their driving licence and a fine of up to £1000!

Is there a defence?

The law surrounding the offence of failing to furnish information is extremely complex and a little bit of a minefield. That said, it does allow for a number of defences that we can investigate. We would strongly urge you to contact one of our specialist motoring lawyers if you receive a summons for failing to furnish information as there are several options that may be available to you depending on the individual circumstances.

In addition to technical defences, the law provides a "statutory defence" and states that a person cannot be convicted of failing to furnish information if they exercised "reasonable diligence" in trying to ascertain who the driver was. The registered keeper is expected to know who is driving their vehicle at any given time and it is up to the defence to prove that there was no way of ascertaining who the driver was at the time of the alleged offence.

If you are a company, or the vehicle is registered to a company then again, we would strongly urge you to contact us as soon as possible as following our advice may result in a significant reduction of any penalty the court may wish to impose or possibly a total acquittal!

I have been summoned for failing to furnish and a SECOND offence!

Occasionally, drivers receive a summons relating to failing to furnish information and a second offence that is connected with it. The most common example is being summoned for failing to furnish AND speeding.

If the registered keeper has failed to furnish information about the identity of the driver at the time the speeding offence was committed, then it follows logically that the speeding allegation cannot proceed as the CPS still do not know who was driving and therefore do not know who to prosecute.

What do I Do?

In light of the penalty, drivers with 6 points or more on their licence would be facing a disqualification from driving for 6 months under the totting procedures.

There is a whole host of possible options when somebody receives an NIP/summons for failing to furnish information that will allow the registered keeper the opportunity to achieve one or all of the following:

• No penalty points at all;
• A significantly reduced penalty;
• Avoid a lengthy driving ban (depending on the status of your licence);
• Receive ONLY a fine; or
• Be acquitted (found NOT GUILTY) of all charges.

The options available to you will differ depending on whether you decide to plead guilty or not guilty and this is of course dependant upon the individual circumstances of your case.

There are several unique strategies adopted by the specialist team at Olliers that give you a number of options in how to proceed and we cannot stress enough the importance of contacting one of our motor lawyers as soon as you are aware of proceedings!

Pleading Guilty

If you simply wish to plead guilty immediately to the offence then we can offer you a fixed fee service and would still strongly urge you to contact us for advice. There is still much scope to affect the penalty and avoid 6 penalty points and/or a disqualification from driving.

This level of representation includes the meticulous preparation of your case, one of our specialist lawyers on hand for advice over the telephone any time between 8am and 10pm and a specialist court advocate who will accompany you to court and conduct the hearing for you. If you are at risk of a 6 month disqualification, please see our section on "Totting Up" for further information or contact us to discuss the options in more detail.