The Court: Frankston Magistrates Court
The Lawyer: Rebecca Glew
The Charges:
The Allegations:
Our client was a 58-year-old male who had accumulated 320 infringement fines, totalling over $95,000. The majority of these fines related to unpaid tollway use, with a small number concerning other traffic-related matters. The fines were accumulated over six years while the client worked as a rideshare driver and used toll roads daily without a toll tag.
The client was experiencing housing instability and had been living in shared accommodation for much of the period during which the infringements were incurred. He had been working casually as a chef at a local restaurant and held a second job as an Uber driver to supplement his income.
The client arranged to pay off the total debt on a payment plan. After a few months on the payment plan, the client defaulted because he had lost his job at the restaurant, which in turn significantly reduced his income. Once the client defaulted on the payment plan, he was arrested and bailed to appear in court regarding the outstanding debt.
At Court:
Our solicitor took extensive instructions from the client regarding his personal circumstances and his reasons for the accumulation of the infringements.
Our solicitor made submissions to the court pursuant to section 165 of the Fines Reform Act 2014 (Vic), stating that the client had defaulted on the payment plan due to financial limitations after having lost his job as a chef at the restaurant. Our client’s finances were limited, and he was therefore unable to continue the payment plan at the time.
By the time the matter reached court, the client was now in a better position to repay the debt, as he was employed full-time at a bank and continued to work casually as an Uber driver in the evenings.
The Outcome:
After hearing oral submissions by our solicitor and reviewing supporting documentation, the Magistrate acknowledged that housing instability and financial limitations were contributing factors for the client’s default on the payment plan. The Magistrate reduced the outstanding amount to $40,000 and ordered that the client pay off the balance by going on a further payment plan.
