Apologies for my arguably over detailed 1st time rant !!

Around 3 months ago (Oct 2017) I received a Notice of Enforcement (Compliance Stage) informing me that on the 4th Dec 2016 I had allegedly make a Dartford crossing that I had not paid the £2.50 charge for.

Fees at that point were £190.50 (£115.50 Debt and £75 Compliance Fee).

At this point I must point out that we had moved house and DVLA would have had our previous address details on file.

I spoke with my wife and neither of us could account for the trip,

I contacted Marstons and after numerous +40 min on-hold calls,

eventually spoke to their "customer service".

I explained the situation and requested further information relating to the alleged incident and any associated proof that we indeed made the journey in question.

I also asked that NFA would take place until this was received.

Less than 2 weeks later I was literally about to leave my house to catch a flight for a business trip (suitcase by the door) when one of Marstons finest knocked on my door.

After the customary pleasantries he revealed,

to my surprise,

that he was attending for this very matter.

As the vehicles registered owner was not I but my wife,

he said that he could not discuss any details with me,

yet still aggressively pushed the message that he was here to collect payment or issue distraint upon our goods.

I explained that I had spoken with their office and was awaiting a response and re-iterated the doubt that we had even made the journey in the first place

(we live 70 miles away and have no reason to ever make that trip).

He then EXPRESSLY STATED that they had records of us making payment for one way and not the other!!

Now this was new information to me and whilst I was sure that I still had not made this journey, maybe my wife had....

She was unavailable at the time as she was in regional meetings and I had a flight to catch,

we should really have been at an impasse at this point.

Unfortunately

I had told the Enforcement Officer to wait outside whilst I retrieved the original Notice of Enforcement,

to try and get him to deal with me in my wife's absence.

Yep... you guessed it, when I returned he was in my living room

(which I admit I did not respond to very well!!).

This now changed matters as he had (in his words) gained peaceful entry (despite my request for him to remain outside).

I of course should have known better,

especially as I have advised many before me.

Unable to speak with my wife to present this new "evidence" of us making payment for one crossing and not the other

(and also running the risk of missing my flight)

I was forced to make payment of just under £450 GBP to get him out of my house.

Yes, that's £450 for an alleged missed payment of £2.50!!!

Bear with me because the best part is yet to come....

Suffice to say,

this payment was only considered and then made,

due to the time restraints I was under,

the fact I could neither confirm nor deny my wife's involvement given the new statement made by the Marstons officer that

"they had proof that we had paid for one crossing but not the other and so we were definitely in that place at that time",

despite neither of us having any recollection,

and lastly due to the fact that he had "gained entry" and was not leaving until settlement was made.

Here is the best bit.......

I have now just had through (28th Nov 2017 & received on 2nd Dec) a 2nd Notice of Enforcement for the very same day!!!!!

This is surely impossible,

given the statement by the EO that

"Marstons had proof that we had paid for one crossing already"

and that a few weeks previously we had paid under duress nearly £450 for a missed payment for one trip on that day?

Given that the statement made on my doorstep was the only reason I had even considered our potential liability in the first place,

I will be damned if I fork out for a 2nd fraudulent claim.

I immediately rang their "Customer Care" number,

which strangely enough returns a "number not recognised" at the weekend?

When I rang it again on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I was met with 40+ minutes of hold and

"we are experiencing a larger than usual number of calls" (unsurprising given their "invention" of offences).

I requested automated call backs,

only for the phone to ring a day later and then the line go dead when I answer.

Eventually I spoke to one of their "Customer Care" reps who told me to submit my response in an email.

I then sent 5 emails,

all of them resulting in a bounceback from Marstons servers.

I eventually saved my initial email as a word doc and attached it to a basic email header that would fool their filters.

This resulted in an automated "thank you for your email" response and that is all I have had to date.

On the 2nd letter it stated that unless payment was received by 23.59 hrs on 11th Dec 2017,

additional fees (£235) would be added to the existing £190.25

and a visit by an EO will be made to make claim upon my property.

The automated response to my email also stated that proceedings would not be put on hold should I contact them.

Advice?

I have requested in my initial email a copy of the bodycam video from the first officers visit which will show them claiming to have evidence of us making payment for one of the crossings on the day in question.

I have also requested any and all evidence used to obtain the initial warrant and a copy of the original CCJ and subsequent warrant served by the court.

The first instance I was made aware of any alleged infraction was via the 1st Notice of enforcement from Marstons,

received in Oct 2017 and relating to a penalty incurred in December 2016 (the previous year).

I am dissapointed in myself that due to circumstances at the time I was effectively bullied into making the first payment but I CANNOT and WILL NOT in all good conscience make the second...

Quick question....

In the course of enforcement for the original penalty,

the EO claimed to have gained "peaceful entry" to my home.

That fine was settled in full (albeit under duress).

Does that now count for the second warrant,

in the sense they can claim to have entered the property peacefully on a previous occasion, or did that right end when I paid the notice?

FACT

- Due to incorrect address details (we had moved house)

I never received any notifications from either Dart Charge,

the courts or any third party company involved,

up until Marstons made contact at my current address by means of a Notice of Enforcement for the first incident in October 2017.

Circumstances detailed in my opening post resulted in an "under duress" settlement of this initial charge

(although this has now riled me up sufficiently to consider re-compensatory action against Marstons).

They then made contact 28th Nov 2017 for the 2nd alleged infraction which occurred on the same day, 4th Dec 2016 , for which they had already stated I had paid.

As far as I am aware, a "Warrant of Execution" can only be issued to enforce an existing CCJ, correct?

It can also only be issued where willful ignorance of the original CCJ notification can be proved?

In turn, the CCJ itself can only be issued when the court is satisfied that willful ignorance of the initial penalty notice has occurred?

As I never received any communications prior to Marstons involvement,

for the reason explained above,

surely the Warrant of Execution is unlawfully issued,

as they cannot possibly have proved to a court my receipt of the notification and subsequent ignorance,

both of which are required in order to issue said warrant?

In addition the CCJ was therefore unlawfully issued, for the exact same reasons?

Given the above, should I now submit the TE7 & TE9 (Dart Charge) pdf's to transfer ownership of this claim away from Marstons and into the care of the TEC?

If you made it this far my heartfelt thanks and appreciation!

All advice gratefully received....

R

nothing to do with any CCJ they are a penalty.

Apologies for my arguably over detailed 1st time rant !!

 

Around 3 months ago (Oct 2017) I received a Notice of Enforcement (Compliance Stage) informing me that on the 4th Dec 2016 I had allegedly make a Dartford crossing that I had not paid the £2.50 charge for. Fees at that point were £190.50 (£115.50 Debt and £75 Compliance Fee).

 

At this point I must point out that we had moved house and DVLA would have had our previous address details on file.

 

I spoke with my wife and neither of us could account for the trip.

 

Less than 2 weeks later I was literally about to leave my house to catch a flight for a business trip (suitcase by the door) when one of Marstons finest knocked on my door.

 

As the vehicles registered owner was not I but my wife, he said that he could not discuss any details with me. I explained that I had spoken with their office and was awaiting a response and re-iterated the doubt that we had even made the journey in the first place (we live 70 miles away and have no reason to ever make that trip).

 

I was forced to make payment of just under £450 GBP to get him out of my house.

 

Bear with me because the best part is yet to come....

 

Here is the best bit.......

 

I have now just had through (28th Nov 2017 & received on 2nd Dec) a 2nd Notice of Enforcement for the very same day!!!!! This is surely impossible,

 

On the 2nd letter it stated that unless payment was received by 23.59 hrs on 11th Dec 2017, additional fees (£235) would be added to the existing £190.25 and a visit by an EO will be made to make claim upon my property.

 

Given the above, should I now submit the TE7 & TE9 (Dart Charge) pdf's to transfer ownership of this claim away from Marstons and into the care of the TEC?

Having read your lengthly question twice, I am surprised to note that in all this time you, (or more accurately your wife) has not called Dart Charge to make enquiries into these charges. Instead, you appear to have wasted an astonishing amount of time making enquiries with Marston's. For the avoidance of doubt, an enforcement company cannot 'go behind' a warrant. In other words, unless instructed by Highways England, their role is merely to enforce the warrant....not to question it.

Both you and you wife appear to be adamant that neither of you made a return trip using the Dartford Crossing. In the first instance, you must call Dart Charge on the following number. Their phones lines answer very quickly so you should not experience any delay. When speaking with the operator, ask them to confirm the address where all notices had been sent and the make, model and colour of the vehicle that incurred the charge. Request to view the contraventions.

Dart Charge enquiries: 0300 300 0120 (5am to midnight)

The operator will instruct you to file a witness statement and to contact the Traffic Enforcement Centre. They will provide you with their number. PLEASE....DO NOT CALL THEM !!! Even for experienced advisors such as myself, it is almost impossible to get through to TEC because of the huge volume of calls regarding Dart Charge penalties. The forms (Out of Time witness statements) are available from TEC's website.

Not only should you have submitted an Out of Time witness statement for the first ticket a few months ago.....you should have done the same with the 2nd penalty. Your delay will almost certainly lead to another visit any day now.

 

Around 3 months ago (Oct 2017) I received a Notice of Enforcement (Compliance Stage) informing me that on the 4th Dec 2016 I had allegedly make a Dartford crossing that I had not paid the £2.50 charge for. Fees at that point were £190.50 (£115.50 Debt and £75 Compliance Fee).

 

At this point I must point out that we had moved house and DVLA would have had our previous address details on file.

Before considering submitting an Out of Time witness statement, it will be important to ascertain the following:

It would seem that your wife's car was identified as making a return journey on the Dartford Crossing on 4th December 2016. Have either of you checked your diaries for that day to see whether any of you had been in that area (close to the M25?).

You mention that you had moved address. When did you move from the previous address and most importantly, what date did you update your V5C (Log Book) with DVLA?

PS: Many people confuse updating their driving licence with updating their log book. You must update DVLA with both your licence and V5C when moving.

PS: It is very important that an Out of Time witness statement for this 2nd crossing is submitted TODAY. Your completed forms (TE7 and TE9) must be received at the Traffic Enforcement Centre by 4pm this afternoon. Please ignore internet myths that enforcement of the warrant ceases in 'real time' It doesn't.

After 4pm, the Traffic Enforcement Centre will email Highways England to inform them that they have received an application for an Out of Time witness statement and informing them of their duty to notify their enforcement company to cease enforcement of the warrant. It is usual for Highways England to process these applications by mid morning the next working day (which in your case, will mean Monday). I would suggest that you keep your vehicle out of the way until then.

Any update?