so there is nobody out there with a reply for me? if my understanding is correct then, staututes are not law. acts are not law. so if neither acts nor staute have a force of law over me, i do not stand under them...unless i give consent. unless i give consent? so if i do not stand under, or under-stand a stautute, it has no legal/lawful power over me? unlesss i have allowed that to happen. for many of the court processes to have legality, surely one has to acknowledge their legitimacy? has this forum been so perverted that free speech is dishonoured while the debunkers roam free? whatever happened to freethinking? or is this a truly barren subject?

golly, what a lot of venom directed at an interesting question and topic. so is this whole 'freeman on the land' complete rubbish then? that would be a bit of a shame, no? also, i was under the impression that a statute was a legislative rule of society given the force of law by consent of the governed. if a statute is a law, why then is it not called a law? if an act is a law, again, why is it not called a law? i dont wish to poke a sleeping bear or anything, just curious.

i dont know if this will be of use to anyone...my partner has been having a LONG dispute with CPW which i shant bore everyone with, but he had a very interesting conversation with one of their help desk earlier. she let out that they had a major server break down early last year and lost ALL customer records (recordings of calls etc) from nov '07 til april '08. of course this could have been an excuse because records would prove partner to be in the right, but thats another story. this particular help-desk person was the 1st to have actually called back and he has spoken to 8 different people, including a manager! carphone warehouse, in our opinion are the absolute pits.

hi all, i would be very grateful for any advise on my current situation, which im sure will be a growing problem over the next few years. my mother died in june of last year, leaving her house in cheltenham jointly to my sister and i (both of us live well outside the county). the house is empty and has been on the market ever since, with nary a purchaser in sight despite dropping the asking price considerably. we did have a period of 6 months after mothers death when we didnt have to pay the full amount of council tax, but that time has passed. there is a small (well smallish but growing!) mortgage on the property by way of an equity release scheme with northern rock, the terms of which do not allow us to rent the property out. changing to a buy to let mortgage might be a possibility, but my sister is retired and i am in receipt of disability benefits, so that might become an even stickier problem. i have been in touch with cheltenham council and explained that finding an extra £635 (my share of the council tax bill) on benefits is simply not possible, but they are just not interested. nor can i claim any benefits against the tax as im not resident in the property. i simply dont know where to turn. i can't afford to pay the bill and im well aware of the 'determination' with which councils chase unpaid bills! does anybody have any ideas at all? i have also this afternoon written to my local MP. many thanks for any suggestions.

just got off the phone to the enforcement officer at the court, and it was nowhere near as bad as i had imagined it would be; in fact i spoke to a very nice chap who was calm and helpful. he explained that the minimum they can accept is £5 per week and the debt needs to be cleared within 12 months, which i simply cant do. so he has arranged for me to go to the court in 2 weeks time for a means hearing (thanks again tomtubby!), though i will have to travel the 50 miles as these things may not be transferred. so, while its not quite 'over', i feel so much more in control of the situation and have stopped feeling quite so panic'd. this site and you guys deserve medals for the help you give! i shall let you know the final (i hope) installment in 2 weeks.

thank you so much for the marvelous advice tomtubby, i feel much better able to deal with this now and shall call the courts first thing tomorrow. i wonder, do you know if its possible to transfer this to a court closer to me? the fines came from a magistrates court that is 50 miles from where i live. i had no idea that the magistrate could possibly 'write off' part of the debt, i have to say the possibility has cheered me up a bit! once again, many thanks

hi tomtubby, and thankyou ever so much guys for replying! 2 are for no road tax 2003. no mot 2002 prohibited waiting 2002. it doesn't seem to be an enforcement agency, both letters on court headed paper (tho one magistrates court, other HMCS) from a clerk to the justices. i dont really want to stop paying other bills just to pay this one..im not quite sure what that would achieve. surely then i would just have mor epeople after me? again, thanks for the help

thankyou for the reply kermit2482, but it does seem very cold comfort..while im not trying to play a sympathy card, i am already on a very tight budget, what would you consider non-essential? does anyone know if its possible to get some sort of crisis loan maybe?

hi all, i do hope im putting this in the correct forum! to precis my situation, some unpaid parking/motoring fines have caught up with me. mea culpe, i should have sorted it out at the time, but i didnt; and as time went on, i guess i buried my head in the sand and hoped it would just go away. i have been at my current address for 4 years and had heard nothing, until recently i received a letter from the district magistrates court 'reminder of unpaid fines'. there are four fines totalling £420. the letter states: 'if the total amount outstanding shown above is not paid within 14 days the court may: -order bailiffs to take and sell your property. you may also have to pay expenses if the court does this. -order your arrest. you may then be held in custody until you appear in court.' i immeadiately wrote back explaining that i am in receipt of incapacity benefit and was in no position to pay the full amount within 14 days, and that for the same reason i can only afford to pay £10 per month- any more would cause me considerable financial hardship. today i received this letter, this time from HMCS: 'unfortunately, your application for time to pay has been refused because the offer of £10 per month is insufficient. to increase your offer or arrange a court date please contact the enforcement office on (tel. number). failure to do this will result in the issue of a distress warrant. i really do hate to admit to vulnerability, but this couldnt have come at a worse time, death and illness in the family etc, my GP is treating me for stress and i am in a constant state of tearfulness...just the thought of having to talk to an enforcement officer after such a letter has me in floods. i really cant afford to pay any more than i have offered and am at my wits end, expecting to be arrested at any moment. i have read much on this marvelous site about bailiffs etc (its very addicitive reading) but i cant seem to find anything specific for the collection of unpaid court fines, so i do apologise if this is covered somewhere else. do i write another letter restating that i can afford no more than the £10 per month offered? do i have to call, i would much rather do this in writing. can they really just arrest me even though i am attempting to pay? what happens if i do get arrested-i am in rented accomodation, no car, no money just an overdraft-does a stay in jail wipe out a debt? any help very gratefully received.