FINE dodgers preparing to go on holiday have been warned to settle their bills or face embarrassment and disruption to their travel plans.
The warning comes after two Glasgow men who failed to pay fines were forced to cough up after having their bank accounts seized.
A Gorbals man who had been fined for speeding, not having insurance, urinating in public and not having a TV licence, ignored repeated warning letters to pay back a total of £720.
A bank arrestment order was issued at Glasgow Sheriff and JP Court to recover the full amount from the offenders bank.
Another man, from Drumchapel, who had been fined for a number of offences including threatening behaviour and resisting arrest, paid out £510 after finding his account had been frozen on orders of the court.
An offender who was convicted of theft and assault and fined at Dumfries Sheriff Court, was held at a ferry port after failing to pay £395 and ignoring repeated warning letters.
A warrant was issued and he was arrested at Cairnryan ferry port having arrived on a ferry from Ireland.
Police took the man to Stranraer police station and after he paid the outstanding amount in full he was released.
A new report released today reveals that the SCTS has maintained a strong fines collection performance. It shows that 86 per cent of the value of Sheriff Court fines imposed during the three-year period between April 1 2014 and March 31 2017 has either been paid or is on track to be paid consistent with the figure at 17 January 2018.
Of JP Court fines imposed from 1 April to 31 December 2017, 81 per cent by value has been paid or is on track to be paid by instalments.
SCTS Chief Operations Officer David Fraser said: “Jeopardising your travel plans is just not worth it. The fines enforcement teams continue to be highly effective in securing unpaid fines so 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 the inconvenience and embarrassment of being arrested when travelling abroad.”
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel