Gerard Pitt of Garden Court Chambers was instructed by Natalie De-Merist of IBB Law solicitors.
Gerard Pitt represented the Appellant in this case stated, challenging the standard practice of Guildford Magistrates Court to determine the total sum of a financial order and instruct the unwitting defendant to pay the full amount in 28 days, or negotiate an affordable repayment term with the Fines Office.
Gerard successfully argued that the Court is obligated to fix repayment terms according to well established criteria of fairness and affordability, and that the Fines Office is only empowered to amend repayment terms when certain strict criteria are met.
The Court therefore answered all the stated questions in the Appellant’s favour, and remitted the matter back to the Magistrates’ Court, giving guidance that repayment terms beyond three years would be justified only in “wholly exceptional circumstances”, and that the Sentencing Council Guidance on financial orders should be regarded as authoritative.
