Personal penalty for the driver — what you can do

Your penalty is a separate case

For the same concealed person, Border Force may issue a penalty to the driver and a separate one to the owner or hirer of the vehicle. Each penalty has its own notice, its own reference number and its own deadline. The company's objection does not replace yours: if you want to challenge your penalty, an objection must be made on your behalf.

1. 1Check the date on the notice. The 28 days for an objection run from the date of the letter, not from the day you received it.
2. 2Keep every letter from Border Force and the documents from the trip: vehicle checklists, photos of seals and cords, CMR, tachograph data.
3. 3Decide who represents you. If a representative handles the case, Border Force expects a signed Agent Authority Form. Send it straight away, without waiting for the objection; the Border Force letter may set a deadline for it.
4. 4File the objection with evidence before the 28 days run out. It can challenge the basis of the penalty and ask for a reduction under the Level of Penalty Code, including 50% where the driver carried out the steps required by the Carriers’ Liability Regulations.

The company is jointly liable, also if you are self-employed

If you drive under a contract with the owner or hirer of the vehicle, they are jointly and severally liable for the penalty issued to you (s.32(4) IAA 1999). The provision covers any contract, “whether or not a contract of employment”, so it also covers a self-employed driver working for the company. Border Force can claim the amount of your penalty from you or from the company.

Financial means after the decision

After the decision on the objection, usually before the payment date, a request can be made for the driver's financial means to be taken into account. It is supported by documents showing income for the last 3 months, regular outgoings and family circumstances. Border Force may take your financial situation into account; Border Force decides how the penalty is to be paid.

When your interests and the company's differ

The driver's and the company's letters should be consistent, because they concern the same incident. Interests can still diverge, for example when the company wants to show that the driver did not follow its procedures, or when it is unclear who will cover the penalty. In that case one representative may not be able to act for both.

• You can have your own representative, regardless of whom the company has chosen.
• Joint representation of the company and the driver requires the informed written consent of both.
• Do not sign a statement about the incident if you do not understand what it says. Ask for a version in your language.