A grieving woman from Garston said she is appalled at the court system after her partner was banned from driving – four months after he died.
Claire Tiffen said she contacted the courts several times after her partner Anthony Cutmore died in January to tell them what had happened but still received a number of notices saying he would be prosecuted.
In April, she received a letter saying Mr Cutmore had been found guilty in his absence. The letter said Mr Cutmore had been banned from driving for six months and had also been fined.
Claire told GarstonNews she had been expecting to hear from the courts.
She commented: “We knew it was coming as he had a few speeding offences through work. The hearing was scheduled for February 22 and he passed away before then. I hadn’t notified the court before then and it was adjourned.”
A few days after the original hearing date, Claire received notice of the new hearing date and phoned the court to tell them Mr Cutmore had passed away.
She explained: “They told me to email them with the reference number. I had an email to say they had received the information and sent it on so I thought nothing more of it.”
But three weeks later, Claire received another letter asking for Mr Cutmore’s plea – so she phoned them again.
She said: “I told them I had notified them what had happened and they said to email with the death certificate and they would call when the email had come through to confirm they had received it.”
But a final act of ignomy was still to follow – Claire received a letter from Stevenage Magistrates Court to say Mr Cutmore had been banned for driving for six months and fined in his absence.
She said: “It was absolutely ridiculous. I mean how many times do you have to be told the same thing? They asked if they could speak to him and I told them they couldn’t because he was dead. What sort of answers were they expecting?
“The family and I are already dealing with the consequences of him dying and trying to cope with everyday life. To have to repeat myself is so frustrating and upsetting especially when they just didn’t listen to me in the first place. It’s been a huge shock and we’ve all been badly affected.”
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