Question: I just got a speeding ticket and a friend told me that by over paying the fine on the ticket to the court that so long as I don’t accept the refund that I won’t get convicted. Does this actually work? I can’t afford any more demerit points without getting an MTO interview. Help!
Answer: It has long been an old wives tale that over payment of your ticket will somehow get the Court system to forget you had a charge in the first place. If you were to actually over pay your fine the Court would simply refund the difference and mark your ticket as paid leaving a conviction on your record. As for under paying a ticket, that will result in a conviction as well and quite possibly a licence suspension unless paid in full before the allotted time. There are many wives tales out there and myths about traffic tickets. Be very cautious of what you read and what you hear as some of it couldn’t be farther from the truth.
The best and only way to really get rid of your ticket is to fight it. There are always three options on the back of a ticket.
The first is a voluntary guilty plea, meaning you just pay the fine. This results in a conviction of the charge on the face of the ticket and you will incur the points accordingly.
Option number two is to plead guilty with an explaination. This requires you to attend the Court on the days set out on the back of the ticket and to go before a Justice of the Peace to enter your plea. This does not result in changing the charge, nor the points. At Court you will be present only to explain why you cannot afford to pay the fine amount on the face of the ticket and the Justice will then decide to either lower your fine or give more time for you to pay it, or both. A Justice of the Peace cannot change the charge and therefore cannot change the points.
Option number three is the option to file the ticket for trial. This is the option to choose if you are looking to have your charge reduced or thrown out in any way. This is the only time when you can negotiate with the Prosecutor for a more minor charge, or argue having it dropped entirely. This is the option that we as Agents choose. We make every appearance for you, and we negotiate with the Prosecutor on your behalf.
With that said, my advice to you is to contact our office for a Free Consultation and we will go over everything with you and let you know what we think can be done.
Amanda, Licenced Paralegal