You may recall I was recently stopped by the police, and it turned out that although I had paid my car registration in full and on time (and marked it off in four different places – I know not to trust my memory), it had not gone through – so technically my car was unregistered.
Since then we have squared things with the RTA (with ease), but it turns out that the infringement notice I was given by the police officer at the time – the $1100 infringement order, which is more than I’ve earned in the last three months – still stands. The error was caused by an incorrect customer number – so I probably did screw up after all (this was just after we found out I was pregnant, and just before I became more ill and ended up in hospital on a drip because I was too sick to drink water).
To deal with the fine, I needed to email the police directly. I did so immediately, including the email from the RTA saying it was all cleared up at their end.
The police emailed back saying that the infringement notice stands.
. . .
Did I want to appeal to the Magistrate’s Court?
Yes, I did.
So that’s where we are now: waiting to hear back from the Magistrate’s Court. I’m hoping that this is simply a beaurocratic thing, and it won’t go any further. I’m particularly hoping we don’t need to front up to court somewhere, possibly pay legal fees, and end up paying the fine as well.
I THINK it’s a beaurocratic thing.
I think that, in Australia, you don’t get fined unless you’ve actually done something criminal, or harmed someone somehow, or failed to pay a fee (such as parking). Courtroom dramas are all very well in fiction – not so fun in real life.
I’ll let you know what happens.
Check out disputing an infringement here: http://www.police.act.gov.au/roads-and-traffic/paying-traffic-fines.aspx#Howtopayatrafficfine#Disputethenotice
There could be additional costs……
Thank you, Ann. I’ve bookmarked the site ready to slowly digest what it says.