Sorry I am lost here. I sent a stat dec in, bailiff who has power to call a locksmiths and force entry comes, informed that sta dec sent to court, I am advised by court that marstons has been informed not to enforce.

 

Yet the link tells me that an apperance in court is needed. Other half hasent been to court.

 

if bailiff has the right to enter then why didnt he? Unless of course the stat dec has been infront of a judge and they are trying it on. All will be revealed when I call the court tomorrow and find out when Marstons were informed.

Because the info in the link is wrong. You do not need to make an appointment and you can serve a SD by post. The bailiff got the hump as he'd lost out on his fee.

ok what is it Option

1. Make an appointment at a court? Is it my local court or the court where the speeding charge was heard?

2. I wait till paperwork comes through. Had none yet. Take what the person told me at the court that stat dec was correct etc etc

3. Wait till bailiff turns up again and gets a locksmith.

And only a troll would know which posts were removed. You really are a sad little man.

Have you found the rule or legislation that agrees with your version yet? I'm not sure how providing the legal position is being a troll.

ok what is it Option

 

1. Make an appointment at a court? Is it my local court or the court where the speeding charge was heard?

 

2. I wait till paperwork comes through. Had none yet. Take what the person told me at the court that stat dec was correct etc etc

 

3. Wait till bailiff turns up again and gets a locksmith.

An appointment for what? The court has confirmed that your SD has been served - you now need to await the new notice of prosection. There's nothing more you can do.

The woman on the phone mentioned that Marston had been emailed and so had the prosecutors office, one would then assume that the stat dec was valid.

The woman on the phone mentioned that Marston had been emailed and so had the prosecutors office, one would then assume that the stat dec was valid.

Indeed. I cannot fathom why some on here don't accept that.

ok what is it Option

 

1. Make an appointment at a court? Is it my local court or the court where the speeding charge was heard?

If you read the following thread it does explain more clearly, but for the avoidance of doubt, the Statutory Declaration appointment should be made at your local Magistrates Court. However, as the court appear to have already 'accepted' your Statutory Declaration, there is no need for you to make a duplicate application

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?485349-Magistrates-Court-fines...Section-14-Statutory-Declaration...do-I-need-to-attend-court-in-person

As the conviction in your case had been one of speeding, you should be able to obtain details by viewing your driving licence online.

If you read the following thread it does explain more clearly but for the avoidance of doubt, the Statutory Declaration appointment should be made at your local Magistrates Court.

 

An appointment for what?

The woman on the phone mentioned that Marston had been emailed and so had the prosecutors office, one would then assume that the stat dec was valid.

It may be valid in the process you need to have it heard but the question is has it been accepted or rejected.

And I think admin have just been in to tidy tho thread up. It needed it

ok what is it Option

When sending a Statutory Declaration to the court by post, it is commonplace for the court to send a letter such as the one below.

The following was taken from an internet site where a debtor had sought advice after being encouraged to send a Section 14 Statutory Declaration to the court by Recorded Delivery. His sworn forms were returned to him and he received the following letter. From enquiries that I receive, these letters are now becoming very common indeed.

Dear Mr X

 

If you were unaware of the court proceedings and did not receive the court summons/ single justice procedure, you may be entitled to make a Statutory Declaration. However, please note that you only have 21 days from the date you first became aware of the proceedings to make a Statutory Declaration. If the court decides that it was not reasonable to expect you to make the declaration within this period, it may accept a late declaration made ‘Out of time’.

 

You can make a declaration at your local Magistrates’ Court and must attend in person to make the declaration. It cannot be done in your absence. Please contact your local Magistrates’ Court to make a prior appointment.

 

If you make a declaration which you know or believe to be untrue, you could be convicted of perjury, a criminal offence punished with imprisonment of up to two years.

 

Any financial impositions and penalty points remain valid and enforcement of financial impositions will continue until a declaration has been made.

 

Please be advised that in order to apply for a valid Statutory Declaration, this has to be booked at your local Magistrates Court or at a Solicitor’s.

 

The attached form does not have a Magistrates’ Court stamp or a new case number and is not signed by a Magistrate.

 

Kind regards

 

xxxxx xxxxxx

Can we please stop peddling this myth? A stat dec served within 21 days does not need to be 'accepted' or 'validated' or put before a judge. It is served, a new hearing or SJP notice is arranged and enforcement stops. That is it.

This is not a myth. We have seen SDs returned because they were not considered as being served, section 14.3 says. "The court may accept service of such a declaration by the accused ". I would think it is clear that the court can also not accept. This makes this stage of the procedure an application.

It seems plain to most that it is within the courts power to reject an application if it us incomplete or not made in accordance with the legislation.

Indeed. I cannot fathom why some on here don't accept that.

I find it hard to fathom why a letter written by the court on several occasions is so difficult also.

Although you've clarified this several times, some on here still don't understand that you sent the N245 in error, was told the correct procedure and then served the stat dec.

 

Sgtbush - please understand that the N245 was not used to serve the stat dec.

The point here, is that sending and awaiting a reply for the erroneous 245 takes time, this will cut down the time available for a valid SD(21 days)' It will also most likely use up the compliance period, permitting the bailiff to commence enforcement and charge the accompanying fee.

I have only just come off the phone to a person who on Sunday, was made aware that he has acquired 6 points on his driving licence. He was made aware when he was checking his driving licence online in preparation to renew his insurance.

The online search directed him to the relevant court (in this case; Cannock) which made his enquiries that much easier. As I have said very often, an appointment for a Statutory Declaration should be made to the person's local Magistrates Court (and not to the court that convicted him). Fortunately in this particular case, the court that convicted him is his local court.

The offence related to speeding and failure to provide driver identification. The fine was £600 and the conviction date was April 2017. He moved in November 2016. He previous address had been in Cannock and the new property is also in the same area.

He emailed the court for details and yesterday morning received the following:

If your address is in the Cannock, Telford or North Staffordshire area you will need to telephone the court on xxxxx to book a Statutory Declaration appointment.

 

This will mean you attending your local court to swear on oath before a magistrate that you were not aware of the hearing. Once the declaration has been made, you will then be given a chance to plead to the original offence against you etc etc .

ok , letter this morning with a new court date, not our local court, but one 80 miles away. She doesnt want to contest it, wants to plead guilty take the fine and the points.

Letter states the defendant MUST come to court or a warrant will be issued.

Suggestions?

ok , letter this morning with a new court date, not our local court, but one 80 miles away. She doesnt want to contest it, wants to plead guilty take the fine and the points.

 

Letter states the defendant MUST come to court or a warrant will be issued.

 

Suggestions?

The link below outlines how courts are now trying to deal with Statutory Declarations.

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.u...ourt-in-person

As I have explained on another post, I have extensive experience with these applications and receive enquiries on this subject many times a week.

From meetings and discussions that I have had regarding this subject, it is the case that most courts are now aware that Statutory Declarations submitted by post are not to be accepted and instead, an appointment should be made for the defendant to appear in person for the Statutory Declaration to be considered and wherever possible, for the case against the person to be re-heard straight afterwards.

The case can only be re-heard, if the defendant indicates that he wishes to enter a 'guilty' plea (which in most case is the correct decision and almost always the case with a TV licence court fine).

In addition, the case can only be re-heard if the court hearing the Statutory Declaration have been made aware beforehand which court had issued the conviction etc. This will enable to court to apply for the case records. Where both courts are in the same local justice area, the position is much simpler (as in the case that I outlined above in Cannock Magistrates). Problems tend to arise in courts that deal with Statutory Declarations on a very infrequent basis.

In your particular case, you had sent a Statutory Declaration by post and unusually, it had been accepted. Because you had not entered a 'plea', the case against you (or your partner) has now been listed for trial and that trial is to take place 80 miles away.

This is also not at all uncommon and by way of example, only a couple of weeks back I assisted a gentlemen who did make an appointment but he had not made any enquiries beforehand at to the court fine. He contacted me after the hearing (unfortunately, not before) and he was shocked to hear that he had 3 court fines and the court hearing his statutory declaration, arranged for three separate trials to take place (one at Manchester, one at Lavender Hill and the last one at Bexley).

Why has a new trial been listed at a different court?

Courts jurisdictions have a part to play but the other issue is that when a new trial is set, witnesses and the prosecution would be notified of the new hearing and their attendance would be required. So for instance, if a speeding convicted has taken place in Manchester, a representative from that Police force would be required to provided his evidence and the case listed for hearing in that Justice area.

I would prefer not to attend. Can I please guilty by post?

The letter that you receive from the court with your new trial date will advise you that your attendance is required and that non attendance could lead to a warrant being issued. It is very expensive to list a case for trial and the prosecution and witnesses would be put to expense if the defendant failed to attend. Each case is on a case by case basis, and if you decide not to attend (and enter a guilty please instead), the court may consider your application and abandon the trial.

More often that not, if the case against you had started with a summons, the court will be more willing to accept a guilty please by post.

In your particular case, your partner must call the court that will be holding the trial to explain that she would like to enter a guilty plea in writing instead of appearing in court in person.

Would you please update the forum with their response.

This may well be out of date now, and I've no wish to pour any more petrol on any fires, but, if it is the case that the courts are now saying that SD's must or should be made in person at the court. Perhaps the confusion is being caused by the MoJ themselves.

A quick search for SD's on justice.gov.uk returns several results (last updated in Feb 2014). However, every single version of the form, downloaded directly from justice.gov.uk clearly states that the SD can be sworn in front of a solicitor or commissioner for oaths and then can be delivered or sent to the court.

The actual wording on the SD form is...

How to use this form

1. Complete the case details box and the declaration above.

2. Make the declaration before a magistrate, a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts), or a solicitor or Commissioner for Oaths. You can ask for help at any magistrates’ court office. See also the notes for guidance beneath.

4. Send or deliver the completed declaration to the court office for the magistrates’ court where the trial took place. They must receive it not more than 21 days after you found out about the case. The court may extend that time limit, but if your declaration is late you must explain why in the box above.

If they have changed the rules, they really need to get their fingers out and get their own forms updated to reflect them. No wonder there are arguments & confusion.

I quite agree with you DF that online gov sites should be updated but this is always a problem with any government agency and that it why sites such as this are a vital source of information for the public.

A client sent the following to me a couple of moments ago.

In this particular case, the client received notification from an enforcement agent seeking payment of approx £700. After speaking with him, I was able to direct him to various sources so that he could make enquiries about the fine.

Enquiries established that his vehicle had been detected speeding and the Single Justice Procedure notice (which had been sent to his previous address) stated that the charge against him had been for speeding and failure to provide driver identity (a very common offence indeed).

He has received the following from the court this morning.

Dear Mr xxxx

 

Further to our conversation, please accept this email as a confirmation of your Statutory Declaration Hearing which will take place on Wednesday, the 28th March 2018 @ 1.30 PM in Court Room 7 at xxxx Magistrates Court.

 

As promised, please find attached original paperwork for your review prior to the hearing.

 

Should you need any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact the Court.

 

XXXX

The original paperwork provided includes the following:

Copy of the Charge Sheet

Copy of the Witness Statement from the Camera Technician and Enforcement Officer

Copy of the Notice of Intended Prosecution

Copy of the Statement of Means

Copy of the Section 20 Certificate.

Copy of the Single Justice Procedure notice.