Hi All,

I have recently received a letter from the HMCTS historical debt team about a fine from 9 years ago.

they informed me that I had a fine for having no TV licence.

I knew nothing about it.

About a month later I received a letter from Marstons Group Bailiffs asking the payment of the fine which was £250.00 and also a £75 compliance stage fee.

A The letter which was dated 23rd October gave me until 5th November to arrange a payment plan or make a payment.

I received the letter on 4th November (a saturday) and when I called to discuss they were closed.

I contacted them by phone and was told that as I missed my chance to come to an arrangement I had to pay it in full and that as it had not yet been passed to an enforcement agent then I only have to pay £325 ( 250 fine plus 75 compliance fee).

I wasn't happy and made a complaint to which I received a an email advising me to go online and pay.

I went online and paid the £325 in full as thats what it said I have to pay

(you can't change the amount you pay online as its preset).

I got me receipt.

today which is a week later I get a knock on the door from an enforcement agent asking me for £235 enforcement fee and that he will use a locksmith to enter to retrieve goods.

I explained that i had paid it but he says that on the same day i paid online they sent the account to him.

Can he force me to pay this when I already paid the amount requested by their office and online.

I have a disabled child to which I am the carer but should that make any difference?

He is coming back tonight to force his way in apparently.

thank you and appreciate any feedback.

Thread moved tot he appropriate forum.

Regards

Andy

No he won't return

Complain to the office

It is such a shame that you ignored the letter from the HMCTS Historic Debt Team. If you had not know about the fine then it really is a simple matter of calling your local magistrates court and getting an appointment for a Statutory Declaration.

You mention that you made a complaint to Marstons and that they responsed to advise you to go online to make payment. DId you make payment immediately? Did the letter stress that payment should be must by a specific date?

On the question as to whether or not you are liable to pay the £235 enforcement fee, that will depend very much on your answer to the above two questions. What is clear from the regulations is that the enforcement fee only applies AT THE TIME of the actual visit and if the debt is paid in full ( including any bailiff fees due at that specific time) BEFORE that visit, then the enforcement fee cannot be charged.

Hi,

Spoke to Marstons office who advised that when I made the payment on the friday it didn't get allocated to my account until the Monday and the account was passed over to the enforcement agent over the weekend so the fee still applies.

I mentioned that as no attendance had been made before I paid the account then I should not be required to pay.

I called the enforcement agent but he has not called me back and has not returned either.

Hopefully that will be the end of it.

what time did you pay Friday?

 

You mention that you made a complaint to Marstons and that they responsed to advise you to go online to make payment. DId you make payment immediately? Did the letter stress that payment should be must by a specific date?

Would you mind responding to the above query.

When a case is allocated to an Enforcement agent they add the fee even though a visit hasnt taken place.

Call their call centre and remind them of this and ask it gets removed.

They are sneaky so and so’s for doing this

It was about 4pm

so after the banking cut off time if that makes difference

thought they might be lying there..

Update,

I have spoken to Marston Office again and argued the point that as their system only requested the compliance fee in addition to the balance of the fine and that they were charging me a fee for a visit that hadn't happened until a week after

they reluctantly agreed to drop the fee as a good will gesture.

I was so shocked by this that I nearly fell off my chair.

I don't think it was a goodwill gesture, more like i was kicking up a huge stink perhaps as i believe that if they were correctly entitled to the £235 visit fee then they would have continued to chase it.

Well hopefully that will be the end of it.

To be fair to the telephone agent i spoke to at marstons today, she was quite pleasant and helpful.

hey well done..