Paying Fines in Legal Tender
Paying Fines With Coins FeatureBBC Headline:
Court Refuses Man's 4,000 Pennies
A man who wants to pay "every penny" of his fine for careless
driving in one penny pieces has been banned from paying the 40 GBP
instalments in copper.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/wales/south_east/5239962.stm
From the Royal Mint Website:
Q: What is the legal tender amounts acceptable for the United
Kingdom coins?
A:Legal tender has a very narrow and technical meaning in the
settlement of debts. It means that a debtor cannot successfully be
sued for non-payment if he pays into court in legal tender. It
does not mean that any ordinary transaction has to take place in
legal tender or only within the amount denominated by the
legislation. Both parties are free to agree to accept any form of
payment whether legal tender or otherwise according to their
wishes. In order to comply with the very strict rules governing an
actual legal tender it is necessary, for example, actually to
offer the exact amount due because no change can be demanded.
The amounts for legal tender are stated below.
BANK OF ENGLAND NOTES:
In England and Wales the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes are legal
tender for payment of any amount. However, they are not legal
tender in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
COINS:
Coins are legal tender throughout the United Kingdom for the
following amounts:
£5 - for any amount
£2 - for any amount
£1 - for any amount
50p - for any amount not exceeding £10
25p (Crown) - for any amount not exceeding £10
20p - for any amount not exceeding £10
10p - for any amount not exceeding £5
5p - for any amount not exceeding £5
2p - for any amount not exceeding 20p
So you could still pay a £40 fine with 288 coins!