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moufflon

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  1. Hi all, Here's a brief description of the court procedure - which is a full blown court procedure complete with oath, self representation and questioning. I was called into court half an hour before my case. I watched 2 defendants enter and leave the dock before me. They have solicitors/lawyers talking for them and are placed in the glass dock. The court room is a normal day to day magistrates court room with a justice of the peace up on her desk at the end of the room and several advisers and secretaries just below her. There is a scattering of solicitors and next-in-line people at the back. When doing a statutory declaration you have to speak for yourself. When called to stand I was led to the witness stand opposite the dock to make the oath then to explain myself to the court. This description of events and questioning took about 20 minutes including my signing of the stat dec and then reading it back out loud to the court. That's it. Very straight forward and easy. I suggest thinking through what you want to say and say it to yourself a few times beforehand then you don't have to think so much on the spot. I wrote it all out on two sheets of A4 just in case I had a court room melt down! Send a copy registered post to the original court and keep a copy for yourself in case the bailiffs are so stupid they ignore the courts decision. Then you can show it to them and video their expression for posterity! Thanks to all who gave me invaluable advice esp. Tomtubby. ps. Listen to her advice.
  2. hi all and thanks for the information. Yes, I will attend. I'll write later on Monday to say exactly what happened. I am disappointed that it won't be like the court scenes in the Wire tho!! Perhaps if I wear a tracksuit and tie? I have to say to anyone considering this - that all persons dealt with at the various courts have been especially helpful and considerate.
  3. Hello again! I've an appointment for Monday morning to make a stat dec at my local magistrates court ( initiated by bailiffs letters ) I'm wondering - should I do this even though I have learned from the original court that the offence is definitely mine - it was my car at the time and it was clamped by the police for the offence. We paid a release fee at the pound and thought that was the end of it as we didn't get any mail regarding the matter. All correspondence went to a previous address due to me not updating my registered keeper details. The bailiffs have put an extra £75 on each fine ( there were 2 for the same offence on different days - out of date tax disk ) Also, what exactly is the courtroom procedure like? I can't say I'm too fond of standing up in front of people and speaking publicly! Thanks for your thoughts.
  4. Hi, I'm in a very similar boat to you. Here's where I'm at: Called Enforcement Office for North West London which is at Uxbridge magistrates court Not sure which area you're under but locating the enforcement office should be easy. They liaise between court and bailiff They have given me a 21 day reprieve from the bailiffs. Now I've got enough time to chase the original court for details - however, I had the phone ringing for 3 hours yesterday and they didn't pick up. I've written my request for info in a letter which will go special delivery tomorrow. I got a fax number for the court listing office from the enforcement office so I'll also fax it tomorrow. I will ask to make a Stat Dec and go to court to sort it out. Spoken to three solicitors - first one said just pay it and be done with it (obviously £600 is peanuts to him) Another said you'll probably still be held responsible so don't bother. The last said get a stat dec and go to court or try negotiating for a reduction with bailiffs on basis that if they don't reduce it you'll get a stat dec. All good fun..... oh forgot to say - sent a prove it letter to bailiffs yesterday
  5. hi Fork-it, thanks for your suggestion, which I did. The police were happy to talk about it all at length but their advice was to phone the bailiffs with 141 inserted in front of number and ask for more information. It was also implied that if bailiffs are knocking on your door you deserve all you get. Probably right in some cases but these letters are something new and quite sinister in terms of subtle bullying - a lack of information leaves you with no sense of control and makes you crack eventually just to be done with it. anyway thanks for your advice.
  6. A quick update for anyone following this thread: Here's how things are right now - I contacted the enforcement office at Uxbridge magistrates court who deal with the North West London area who kindly put the bailiffs action on hold for 21 days whilst I look into whether I can get the amounts reduced on the basis that I knew nothing about them until Saturday. They are in direct communication with Philips the bailiffs. The two actions relate to two fines dating back to Oct 2007 for not displaying a tax disc. I'm not querying those fines because I remember our car being clamped by the police and I had to get it back from the pound. However we never received any subsequent communication and no fines were sent to us until this weekend. The reason why they couldn't get the fines to me is because I didn't update a new change of address with the DVLA. The fines and all subsequent communication went to an old address. I wonder if its worth doing a stat dec and trying to get the amounts reduced. I suspect that I will be held fully accountable because I didn't let the DVLA know of change of address? Any scope for reduction or should I jut pay the bailiffs? (horrible thought!) Probably worth mentioning that a call to Philips although dealt with in a polite manner by them (and me!) did not provide me with any more detail than what was on the original bailiffs letters (ie nothing) It is definitely not in their interests to help you at all so they don't. Thanks for your thoughts and thank you to TomTubby for your help.
  7. Good morning, Would anyone have an idea as to how I go about locating the issuing court ? My 2 letters received from Philips yesterday simply say 'we have been instructed by 'North West London' Is there a phone number that might help? Just to reiterate - I have no idea what these debts are, or where from so I'm completely clueless at the moment. Thanks for any advice
  8. Hi Tomhubby, just read your reply (above) to a similar post to mine. My undated and uninformative threat letters refer to 'North West London' Would you have any idea who I should be phoning on Monday morning? Thanks for your suggestions!
  9. I was asked to start a new thread so I've copied and pasted my comments from this thread: 'Notice of Distress Warrant - Philips Debt Recovery / Bailiffs' - to this one, in case anyone needs to read more. I've never seen such threatening letters completely out of the blue. Been mulling it over for the last couple of hours now I've got over the initial shock. Can this sort of thing be entirely legal? No date on letter & 7 days to respond or else - Threats of breaking into my house. I'm amazed that our legal system allows this kind of thing. All this with absolutely no previous communication. Never mind Egypt and Libya the **** will hit the fan here if this sort of thing starts happening regularly. This whole thing is truly repulsive!
  10. Re: Notice of Distress Warrant - Philips Debt Recovery / Bailiffs Hello, I received two of these Philips distress Warrant letters today - different reference numbers - different amounts - £300 and £317.09 With the same '7 days or we'll force entry to your home' threat. Neither letter is dated. I have NO prior knowledge of either of these alleged debts. From 'North West London' I will contact the magistrates court if I can find a number on Monday morning and follow your advice above. I will post again to explain how things unfold for anyone else in my boat. These letters are extremely intimidating.
  11. ps Could this be indicative of a council desperate for money trying anything to get more resources? For whatever reason - it is VILE BEHAVIOUR
  12. Hello, I received two of these Philips Distress Warrant letters today - different reference numbers - different amounts - £300 and £317.09 With the same '7 days or we'll force entry to your home' threat. Neither letter is dated. I have NO prior knowledge of either of these alleged debts. From 'North West London' I will contact the magistrates court if I can find a number on Monday morning and follow your advice above. I will post again to explain how things unfold for anyone else in my boat. These letters are extremely intimidating.
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