A MAN from Poole has received a fine from a London court for a car he has never owned – in an area he has never lived – nor in fact ever driven in!

David Shaw, 27, got a letter in July, which has been seen by Daily Echo, telling him that he has failed to pay a court fine of £135 for ‘driving without a licence’ and ‘driving a vehicle otherwise within accordance’.

The problem is that the ‘Dave Shaw’ who the letter is addressed to is not the same one who received the letter.

For a start, David says, tere is a different date of birth and previous address and a vehicle registration for a car he has never been in anyway involved with.

He said: “The offence was committed in 2003, when I was still living with my parents. I had never owned a car at the time and hadn’t even got my licence, because I’d only had three or four driving lessons.”

He added: “I’ve never lived in London, driven in London and every detail of these papers is incorrect.”

“If they looked at my passport, they would have taken down David Leon Shaw. They’ve got a ‘Dave Shaw’ but not the correct one.

“Plus the car registration given on the court papers is one I don’t recognise since I’ve only owned one car.”

David says he has contacted Haringey Magistrates Court in London and was told that he should go to Poole Magistrates Court and to swear an affidavit to say that this is the first time he has heard of this offence. He added: “This is designed for people that have done it and it’s not for a Poole Court to deal with anyway.”

“I’ve contacted the bailiffs and they have been polite but they say there’s nothing they can do about it because they just act on behalf of the court.

“The original fine of £155 had been reduced by £20, because the person that committed the offence paid off the first part.

“I don’t know if it is a court error or if someone has looked for my name because it’s a popular one and passed on my address to the court.

“I just want to know who did this and why it has happened.”

Haringey Magistrates Court was unavailable to comment.