Last week a Glasgow car owner had his car clamped for failure to pay a police antisocial behaviour fixed penalty ticket, in the first case of its kind in Scotland.
The original fine of £60 was imposed for urinating in a city centre street. The offender was warned on a number of occasions to pay the fine but failed to do so. He then had to pay the original fine plus additional costs to reclaim his Mercedes.
If those costs had not been paid within 24 hours the Scottish Court Service (SCS) could have uplifted it, ultimately selling or scrapping it in the face of continuing failures to pay.
This is only one of a number of enforcement powers possessed by SCS to collect outstanding fines. Others include: arresting wages; freezing bank accounts and deducting sums from benefits.
"We will take decisive enforcement action if you fail to pay a fine including clamping, seizing and even selling or scrapping your car,” cautioned Interim SCS Executive Director Cliff Binning. “We pursue all unpaid fines, from road violations to court penalties.”
According to SCS, by January 2013, 433,000 enforcement orders had been granted, with the amount collected through deductions from benefits reaching £1.67 million.