My wife is our company secretary. However, as it was me riding, she gave me the Notice to deal with. I read online I should ignore it, so I did. However, my wife has now been summoned to Court for failing to give information personally as the ‘company secretary’. She has done her nut and I am in the doghouse.
I have told her she has done nothing wrong, not to worry about it and to ignore it (that is what loads of people said online). However, she is having none of it and reckons she will have to go to Court. Who’s right?
Answer
Short answer. Your wife is right. Get ready to eat some humble pie I’m afraid. Whatever you have read online is wrong.
If a person or a company ignores a Notice they can expect a summons for failing to give information. As the motorbike was owned by the ‘company’, the Court can summon your wife as the applicable ‘company secretary’. However, she will be at Court as the ‘company’, i.e., a separate legal entity from herself.
The knock on of this is the ‘company’ should be punished, not her personally. My advice is your wife is correct and she will have to go to Court to sort out the mess caused by you ignoring the Notice.
Andrew ‘Chef’ Prendergast
More Bikes March 2020
In his situation where he is the Director and his wife company secretary, then he should have completed the form. Surely, if it’s that you are working for a company, and someone hands you a NIP, “because you was driving”, then you should tell them that they should complete it naming you as the suspected driver/rider. As the driver/rider you have no legal obligation to reply on the initial NIP, as it wasn’t addressed to you?