What will happen at court

Convicted Driver Insurance
What have they done to justify £2400? That is in to not guilty case preparation territory, certainly not
Representation for a Guilty Plea!!!!!!
What did they say they would do for you for that money?
 
Yes my solicitor has gone through things with me regarding court, bit annoyed with myself for not finding this site sooner, I have paid £2400 upfront to them and after reading info on here I've probably wasted most of that but we live and learn.
Yes £2400 is very steep. Maybe you could question this with them?
If it would stress you out too much then dont. As you say we live and learn. I think the majority of us have lost alot of money in this process.
 
What have they done to justify £2400? That is in to not guilty case preparation territory, certainly not
Representation for a Guilty Plea!!!!!!
What did they say they would do for you for that money?
I don't know, I panicked I think when it happened, thought I was getting jail, if I'd looked for this forum first I wouldn't have bothered so much. Geoffrey Miller Solicitors it was.
 
Hi Colin
The guidelines stated will be where you will be sentenced.
I was in a similar position 12 months ago and had quite a bad collision (head on), luckily no serious injuries, blew 69.
I was sentanced to a 18 month ban, like you i was scared of prison and a solicitor put my mind at ease, representing me for just over £300.

Some great advice and examples on this wonderful forum.
Hi, who was your insurance with and did they come after you for third party costs etc?
Thank you for your advice!
 
I don't know, I panicked I think when it happened, thought I was getting jail, if I'd looked for this forum first I wouldn't have bothered so much. Geoffrey Miller Solicitors it was.
Hi similar situation.. my lawyer charged 1200 and when we come across this forum I did question them and they sent me a sheet with cost breakdown confirming thst they managed to spend 80% of that 1200 in 48hrs.... pointless at that stage to fight... but 2400 that is steep!!!
 
Hi similar situation.. my lawyer charged 1200 and when we come across this forum I did question them and they sent me a sheet with cost breakdown confirming thst they managed to spend 80% of that 1200 in 48hrs.... pointless at that stage to fight... but 2400 that is steep!!!
 
I have read that the evidence received from cps is the initial evidence in case, as far as I'm concerned the collision is what it was, me and the driver blaming each other for going through a red light, I am adamant that I went through green and it was TP that caused the collision, am I going to turn up in court on Tuesday with further evidence being thrown at me, the collision happened at a 5 lane nulti junction spurring off in different directions, am I over thinking this, the police charge me with drink drive only, no poor driving just the fact there was a collision, can I face further witness statements stating this that and the other regarding my driving?
 
You are only charged with drink driving, I don‘t think at all that the CPS will add another charge on the day.
What will happen is you will be asked to plead to drink driving, and you say “guilty.”
Then the CPS will outline the case, probably saying that the other driver says you went through a red light.
There will be no “further statements”, just the case being outlined verbally by the CPS prosecutor.

Your solicitor will then speak, outline your circumstances but strongly refute the claim that you went through a red light.
The magistrates will consider what to do with you. Their range is between 17-22 months.
If the solicitor has done a good job of sowing doubt about the red light, and impressed them about your character (have you got written character references to hand in?) then it will be 18-20.
If the magistrates feel that you probably did go through a red light, it will probably be 20-22 months.

Get your solicitor to ask for the Drink Drive Rehabilitation Course if the magistrates do not offer it. This has to be done before the case is finished in court, it cannot be done afterwards. This will reduce your ban by up to 25% if you complete it.
 
Hi Colin, as the police have only charged you with Drink Driving it would suggest there is no further evidence regarding the fault of collision it's just your word against theirs. I wouldn't worry too much about it, the magistrates may consider that a collision did take place (and possibly could have been avoided if drink wasn't involved, eg. faster reaction times) but if the police accident investigators can't determine that you were at fault then it shouldn't weigh heavily against you.
 
Thanks gents, I live central Manchester, how do I find a DDR course provider nearest to my location? Or they all online due to covid at the moment.
 
TTC and a couple of others run them in Manchester.
You can look at the list here, The court will have a list in the court room and will ask you to nominate which one you want to be referred to, but if you then find that they cannot meet your requirements for course dates you can change provider later.....
Obviously if the course is online, location doesn’t matter!

 
You are only charged with drink driving, I don‘t think at all that the CPS will add another charge on the day.
What will happen is you will be asked to plead to drink driving, and you say “guilty.”
Then the CPS will outline the case, probably saying that the other driver says you went through a red light.
There will be no “further statements”, just the case being outlined verbally by the CPS prosecutor.

Your solicitor will then speak, outline your circumstances but strongly refute the claim that you went through a red light.
The magistrates will consider what to do with you. Their range is between 17-22 months.
If the solicitor has done a good job of sowing doubt about the red light, and impressed them about your character (have you got written character references to hand in?) then it will be 18-20.
If the magistrates feel that you probably did go through a red light, it will probably be 20-22 months.

Get your solicitor to ask for the Drink Drive Rehabilitation Course if the magistrates do not offer it. This has to be done before the case is finished in court, it cannot be done afterwards. This will reduce your ban by up to 25% if you complete it.
Yes got 3 very good character references, one from employer, no driving involved in my employment, plus a letter of apology from myself expressing remorse and so on, as previously stated I've paid £2400 for a guilty plea I'm an idiot I know!! But I was an idiot to get in my car that so lesson learnt, let's hope my solicitor performs.
 
Well, after my solicitor scaring me to death, stating custody was a possibility due to going through a red light causing a collision even with a reading of 78 breath, he said he didn't want to argue the red light aspect of it as it might not help and may look like we were trying to argue the point. We went in court at 12.45, 15 minutes before lunch break, the courts do not accept character references on paper at present due to covid 19 so my solicitor conveyed parts from the 3 I had, one from the elderly gentleman I help due COPD and sheiding, the reason I drove on the night was to support my partner who has an autistic child was my second character reference and one from employer. Solicitor made point I had never had a point on my licence in 3 decades. Magistrates retired to think and came back, gave me credit for early guilty plea, helping the elderly gentleman with COPD during covid, and the fact I was driving to support my partner with autistic son and I have worked for same company for 21 years. They stated it was very rare to hear of some with a clean licence for 30 years. I was humble in court fully suited up and apoligised for my poor decision making on the night. They gave me an 18 month ban with course offered reducing it by 18 weeks, and a £490 fine. Great result but I shouldn't have put myself in this position in the first place, been very lucky and can hand on heart say, it is a lesson learnt.
 
A decent, if expensive, result!
Price 1367, your guidance especially, and huge thanks to everyone else has been invaluable in keeping me sane, and I can't thank you all enough. For anyone else reading this I paid £2400 for a guilty plea which is nearly as stupid as driving my car on the night, I got a great result in my opinion but my solicitor didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Price 1367 undoubtedly knows what he is talking about so listen to him.
 
Must beike a massive weight lifted.

Best possible outcome by the sound of things.
Yes, definitely, ruined my perfect record. Expensive and gonna be a nightmare but we reap what we sow, won't be making the same mistake again. Thanks everyone.
 
Phewwwww all over... surely there should be a independent body that looks at lawyers cost vs effort etc... so much focus on compliance, treating customer fairly when it comes to insurance etc but nothing on lawyers... I totally understand if things goes trial then it becomes very specific situation I.e costs too but for a standard guilty plea surely it can be a standard within a tolerance..
 
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Phewwwww all over... surely there should be a independent body that looks at lawyers cost vs effort etc... so much focus on compliance, treating customer fairly when it comes to insurance etc but nothing on lawyers... I totally understand if things goes trial then it becomes very specific situation I.e costs too but for a standard guilty plea surely it can be a standard within a tolerance..
Totally agree, I won't be in this position again so please please everyone do not pay 2k + for a guilty plea.
 
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