One of the things we help a lot of clients with at Martyn Prowel is a special type of Court application in the Magistrates Court called ‘Exceptional Hardship’. This is for anyone who finds themselves in the very difficult situation of having penalty points and facing a new motoring offence which will mean they are banned from driving under the penalty points system if they plead guilty to the new offence or are convicted after a trial. Any driver who reaches 12 points or more in a 3 year period is banned from driving by the Court for 6 months. The 12 penalty points required can be from any mixture of minor road traffic offences such as speeding (3 points for minor speeding offences) or using a mobile phone whilst driving (6 points or a ban if serious) or driving with no insurance (6 points or a ban).
If you have had, for example, 9 penalty points imposed for three minor speeding offences in the last three years and you now find yourself accused of another speeding offence then you may be shocked to realise that you will lose your licence for 6 months once convicted. Such a Disqualification from Driving can cause exceptional financial hardship for people, as it is quite usual for your employment to be affected or you may find yourself unemployed as a result of the driving ban.
We regularly help clients who find themselves in this situation. We will look at your case carefully to see if there are any grounds to put forward an argument of ‘exceptional hardship’ to avoid disqualification from driving. This is an argument which can be made in a number of ways; it could be that a member of your family would suffer exceptional hardship if you lost your job or your employment, this could lead to them losing their home or having to move house or even being homeless. Alternatively, you might have an elderly or disabled family member or even a close friend who you care for and they may suffer exceptional hardship if you lose your licence. Another argument which can be put forward successfully is that you employ staff or that other people’s jobs (even non-employees) would be lost if you could not drive any more.
If you think we might be able to help; contact Kate Lingley on [email protected] or call 02920 470909. It is usually best for us to arrange an appointment in our office or a telephone conference so that we can go through all of your relevant paperwork, take your full instructions and then give you the best advice for your personal situation. All our fees and rates are on our website for you to see in advance.