£15 extra tax on car fines

[Derek]

Of course if you don't speed/use a phone while driving/ go through red lights etc. you won't pay any fine let alone a 'victim surcharge'

Meanwhile back in the real world it is a fairly shameless attempt to get more money in. I don't think for a second the money raised by surcharges is ring-fenced to ensure it goes to 'victims' and like the recent increases in seatbelt and registration plate offences does nothing to address the root cause and is purely about getting money in.

I'd wager important parts of my anatomy that one of the new targets (that don't officially exist anymore) will be to target road deaths via seatbelt tickets and other traffic crime by doing people for having dodgy number plates.

[andyandy]

Originally Posted by Derek S

Of course if you don't speed/use a phone while driving/ go through red lights etc. you won't pay any fine let alone a 'victim surcharge'

Exactly what I was thinking.... Dont do the crime, dont pay the fine and all that..

Just hope that the extra revenue is actually given to those who should be getting it

[Cobbydaler]

The trouble is, it doesn't go directly to the 'victims' but to 'victim services'. Apart from the percentage that gets swallowed up in administration costs, there is a significant amount of unpaid compensation out there.

Originally Posted by The BBC

The levy has raised nearly £4m in 2007/8 and £8m in 2008/9 for several victim services including Victim Support, the Victims Fund and the Crown Prosecution Service's witness care.

Originally Posted by The BBC

John Thornhill, chairman of the Magistrates' Association, criticised the levy system, saying the money was going to victim support agencies, rather than the victims themselves.
His association is calling for a victim fund to be established so that when magistrates order for compensation to be paid to a victim, it can be paid in full immediately.
"There's £40m of unpaid compensation so if you were a victim and awarded compensation, the chances of receiving that compensation are very, very low," he said.

[SMG]

Originally Posted by Derek S

Meanwhile back in the real world it is a fairly shameless attempt to get more money in.

So, Its getting worse & in the near future, can we expect this?

Parking fine £30.00
Domestic Violence tax £15.00
Attendants fees £25.00
Administration fees £25.00
Photo services £10.00
Hire of attendants uniforms £15.00
Attendants Kit-Kat & Coffee £6.00
Winter surcharge £10.00
Post & Packing £8.00
Handling fee £6.00
V A T @ 17.5% £26.25


Total to pay £176.25

Cheque enclosed.



.

[Derek]

Originally Posted by SMG

So, Its getting worse & in the near future, can we expect this?

On the brightside your chances of getting done are practically non-existant seeing all the cops are inside the station drinking tea and keeping warm.

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by Derek S

On the brightside your chances of getting done are practically non-existant seeing all the cops are inside the station drinking tea and keeping warm.

and given it takes 3 days to respond to a plea for help i see your point .

[SMG]

I dont blame them in this weather m8.

Two words " Stealth Tax "
Somebody has to pay for the British Economy going down the pan, the bankers bonuses, mp's expenses etc;

---------- Post added at 11:01 ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 ----------

Originally Posted by SMG

I dont blame them in this weather m8.

Must be murder leaving Wii Sports

---------- Post added at 11:04 ---------- Previous post was at 11:01 ----------

Originally Posted by andyandy

Exactly what I was thinking.... Dont do the crime, dont pay the fine and all that..

Just hope that the extra revenue is actually given to those who should be getting it

Ofcourse, after the admin fees have been taken out, you know how these things work.
There is someone at the top on a nice little wedge and benefits, their money comes out of where?
In a way it's like the CSA, the wayward father pays the CSA £20 per week the child gets £7.

---------- Post added at 11:08 ---------- Previous post was at 11:04 ----------

Originally Posted by Welshchris

I have to disagree with part of that statement... Parking offenses can cause victims.. On the road i live in we have a doctors surgury and people have a habbit of parking on the double yellow lines and across the slopes in the pavements meant for wheel chair users to get on and off the pavements and late last year a woman in a wheel chair couldnt get off the pavement and fell out of her wheel chair because of this.

That is caused through selfishness, it will not be cured by increasing fixed penalty notices, lining up and shooting the perpetrators might make others think twice, I know thats rediculous, but so is the thought that increasing fines will stop the problem.

[Flyboy]

Originally Posted by Moldova

It will have Parking Attendants ticketing more cars and more and more speed cameras and mobile speed cameras put in place so that the car driver can be forced once again to foot the bill for something that has escalated out of control.

Hey, what about a really radical solution? I wonder if anyone can guess what it would be.

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by Flyboy

Hey, what about a really radical solution? I wonder if anyone can guess what it would be.

We give up. what is it?

[Flyboy]

Originally Posted by Cobbydaler

The trouble is, it doesn't go directly to the 'victims' but to 'victim services'. Apart from the percentage that gets swallowed up in administration costs, there is a significant amount of unpaid compensation out there.

But then:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6973689.ece

Between April 2008 and January 2009 the surcharge raised more than £6.6 million

“The MoJ spends over £360 million a year supporting and compensating victims. It is right that offenders should contribute towards these services.�

So, it raises six million pounds, but three hundred and sixty million pounds is paid out. Now, even my maths says that more money is paid out than is raised. Which says to me that any surplus (where, I cannot see) is used to pay for such services.

What is wrong with supporting the victims of crime, do you not think that providing support services for victims is a worthwhile pursuit?

---------- Post added at 11:43 ---------- Previous post was at 11:40 ----------

Originally Posted by arcamalpha2004

That is caused through selfishness, it will not be cured by increasing fixed penalty notices, lining up and shooting the perpetrators might make others think twice, I know thats rediculous, but so is the thought that increasing fines will stop the problem.

So, you don't think that someone falling out of a wheelchair deserves to be compensated for their injuries? Selfishness aside, a criminal offence has been committed and someone has been injured because of it.

Flyboy, did I say that someone falling out of a wheelchair is undeserving of compensation?
No.
We live sadly in a large selfish society, where no matter what is thrown at people they ignore the consequences.
The other day alone I spotted two able bodied people parking in disabled bays at the front of an asda, would the thought of being caught and hammered with a £60 fine stop them? if it did you could guarantee that within five minutes of them driving off someone else would do the same thing.
Sorry, its a stealth tax, nothing less, and the real issue is not being tackled.

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by Flyboy

What is wrong with supporting the victims of crime, do you not think that providing support services for victims is a worthwhile pursuit?

We are all victims of crime from the MP's expenses, the war in Iraq, and the banks.
We should claim all put claims in for suffering loss, expense, and lack of sleep.

[Toto]

Originally Posted by Moldova

It will have Parking Attendants ticketing more cars and more and more speed cameras and mobile speed cameras put in place so that the car driver can be forced once again to foot the bill for something that has escalated out of control.

Only if you drive over the speed limit and park illegally.

Yes, it is as simple as that.

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by Toto

Only if you drive over the speed limit and park illegally.

But that is a 'crime' that you have commited yourself. but are punished by having to pay for somebody elses crime. a crime that is totally unrelated to you and your car.
that isn't what justice is about. it's not even what the law is either.