Hi Guys, A few months ago I had an issue with a bailiff who clamped my car for an outstanding fine of £550. She explained to me it was a TV license fine and that because I did not attend a court hearing, I was issued the fine. I explained I never had a TV License inspector visit (i previously rented the property) and never got a letter from the court but she insisted. I ended up paying £300 that day and was advised on this forum to submit a statutory declaration as I wasn't aware of the letters. I submitted a Stat Dec and the fine was put on hold. Last week I received a Notice of fine and collection order from the courts of £275. The letter did not explain why I was fined but just said it was regarding the TV license. The letter also said I had till the 29th of October to pay up or contact them. So today at about 7am, I received loud banging on my door followed by the Bailiff clamping my car. I showed her the letter and she is insisting its not the same case, when it clearly is. So my question is, is it a mix up by the courts or have I be fined seperately by the courts? and if I was fined by the courts, Why? Please will appreciate a reply, Thanks.

Hi Guys, This is my first time on here, and i was wondering if someone could help me!! I received a letter from the commonly know Marston Group bailiffs demanding £883.34 Offence: Keep a vehicle without a valid vehicle Licence 14/06/2011 letter reads: 'we are in possession of a Magistrates Court Order as a consequence of non payment of the above amount. We are instructed to demand immediate payment in FULL from you. We must inform you that unless the TOTAL sum due is paid into out office within 7 days of the date of this letter;our bailiffs will attend to levy distress and remove your goods for the sale by PUBLIC AUCTION. This action will involve a minimum further cost of £215!!' Now i understand that i was in the wrong for my offence hence pleading guilty at the time in the magistrates court. At the time i agreed to pay a sum of £50 per month to clear this debt which then decreased to £30 per month with the help of the fines officer at the court. i had made payments until i think 3 months ago. i had not received any notice or letter about missed payments at the time. I also became unemployed and i was and still continuing to look for work so the £30 per month payment slipped my mind and secondly i could not have able to afford it in the first place. so im guessing its my fault not informing the court of my change of circumstances but like i said that completely slipped my mind as i was on frantic search for new work. As it stands i am currently staying in my friends house for which i am lucky enough not to pay rent, she is of the opposite sex (female). most of belongings are in the second bedroom which actually looks like an office. i also own a vehicle which is parked outside of the property. i am afraid if i loose the vehicle then i will be doomed as my line of work (when i get a job) requires me to travel i would say its the most valuable thing i have in my possession apart from my clothes. I am not sure what to do next , what if they come to the door demanding payment?? there is no way i can pay for this at all. should i contact the court or call the bailiffs so that they do not come to the house. i am also afraid that they will things in the house that do not belong to me ( how do i prove that?) IF THERE IS ANYONE OUT THERE WHO IS WILLING TO GIVE ME SOME ADVICE PLEASE HELP AS I AM VERY AFRAID AND CLUELESS AS TO WHAT I DO NEXT. Thank you in advance

My brother is in some bother with these bailiffs & I'd like to be able to help as best I can. Background (what I know): He had a £200 fine from the courts which he has obviously failed to pay. I am assuming he has chosen to ignore several reminders of said bil & it has now been passed onto the bailiffs. I am unsure how many times they have written to him. They knocked last week but he was out however he now has a final notice advising their plans to sieze goods. He called them to ask if he could do a payment plan (too little to late!!!) but this was not an option. He asked if he could go to jail to pay it off (don't ask!!!) Or if it can be taken back to court. That too is not an option. He really has no funds at all to pay. I hear the man on the phone saying 'so we'll call round & remove your property then, take it to auction, is that what you want? My brother rents privately, owns very little of the furniture in his home. I am worried for him but financially I simply cannot help. Can they walk into his home? Any advice is much appreciated.

Hi I would appreciate any advice A bailiff from Marston came to my house this morning regarding an unpaid debt of £550, i was fined £250 by magistrates for no tv licence. I paid £50 and presumed the rest was being taken from JSA. I pay £5 a week but it only states fines, not a particular reference. I explained this and asked for time to pay/check it out and was told that was impossible. I asked for it to be referred back to court - again no. The bailiff then came in and filled in a Notice of Distress. He listed two sofas, a coffee table, 1 alba tv, 1 xbox 360 and 1 excercise bike. He has given me days to pay. I have no money to spare so wont be able to but after finding this forum I am hoping i can appeal against the validity of the Notice of Distress?? My coffee table only cost 60 new, tv 250, xbox belongs to my 18 year old son, leather sofas are both ripped and have no fire tags? and the exercise bike is actually a cross trainer - does this make it invalid? Also i phoned them asking for a cost breakdown and was told 85 admin and 215 for the visit, is this acceptable? I am trying to get hold of the court but not having much luck, if i dont pay can the bailiff take these items and what can i do in the meantime to prevent him taking them and give me time to pay. I hope i have included enough info but will happily post anything else that might help. Thanks

Hi, I received a letter posted by hand 13 days ago regarding two unpaid court fine from marston group.My fine was originally £110 and the other one was £125 but i was paying it off using hmcs card payment service,£5 a week.I was in full time education living on a tightest budget.ALG (adult learnign grant) my passport had to go to homeoffice for a visa renewal.it normally takes 12 weeks or more but in my case it took 6 months and when my visa was about to run nobody wanted to give me a job if in case i dont get a new vise and the money they spent goes down the drain. I finally finished college.I couldnt pay the fine no more because i had no income.I received a text from court fine department with a contact number which i rang straight away and explained my situation.they were very understandable and they said they would wait.well i just found out that they didnt.they passed on the details to marston and i think they have been visiting my previous addresss.i didnt recieve any post from my old address. Long story short somebody hand posted a letter through demanding £450 or they will remove goods from my property.4 days ago somebody knocked i answered ,he asked me who i was and i told him honestly.he then pulled a badge out with an angry look on his face,he demanded money i didnt have.he said he has a warrant of some sorts when i kindly requested if i can see it, he refused i asked him again and he got angry and said he doesnt need to show nothing and got in my face.I didnt react or threatened him as i am not that type and pleaded him to give me some time.he said he will return in 2 days.he said he is dealing with both fines.he wants £400 for one(original court fine£110 of £85 left ) and for the second one £450 ( £125 and still the same left) PLEASE HELP ME.

Hi there, I've just spent the last half hour looking through the forum and while I've gained valuable information, I still need some things clearing up. I received a fine in May for £250 from hmrc. For one reason or another the fine didn't get paid & I received the further action notice. I had full intention of paying it but again, it went unpaid. Today, I had a letter put through the door from Marstons (yellow one) saying that it was a removal notice and I need to pay £550 in full otherwise they'll be another visit to remove my goods for sale at public auction. Seeing this drastic increase in charge prompted me to call the HMRC payment line & pay the £250 that I owe.... Providing the payment does not get refunded, what happens with the (£300) bailiff fees? Thanks in advance.

Hi I'm in serious need of help as I have just returned from travelling to find a string of communications from certified bailiffs Marston Group. They say I owe an outstanding amount of £866.10 for a rail ticket fine I apparently hadn't paid dating back to 27/12/2011 on from what I can tell (although absolutely no specifics are shown but which I have deduced because on the final 'hand delivered removal notice' it states which magistrates court has sent the warrant: Sussex) is from the London to Brighton route which i sometimes frequent. Firstly although my memory is patchy, I am sure that I may fine I may have had I would have paid on the spot as I've had this before and I've paid the £20 for not having my Young Person's travel card on me at the time whilst in possession of an YP ticket. I have a vague memory of the said offence happening but I'm almost certain I paid the fine, that aside the original alleged fine has spiralled from what I can imagine would have been £20 to now almost £900. A terrifying escalation and one that I have literally no way of paying, more to the point a fine that I believe I've already paid! I have no idea what to do , the balliffs arrival is seemingly imminent and me being a twenty something living with similar aged friends am now panicked that I've put them all at risk etc even though I believe I've done nothing wrong. I can't get in touch with Marston as the only contact number I have for them on which I can talk to someone (the operator assisted payment line) rings three times then hangs up. I can't get throughout to HMCTS Sussex as what I believe to be the correct number, of a few contact numbers I can see listed, is constantly busy. I'm terrified and have no idea what to do and upon my recent return home now find myself worried about who's knocking at the door etc. If anyone has any experience or advice or anything man I would really appreciate it as like I say I'm at my wits' end. From the extensive research I've done these Marston Group bullies have little sympathy and even less scruples. Many thanks in advance, Oliver

I would really appreciate it if someone could give me some advice as a bailiff from MARSTON GROUP turned up at my front door out of the blue on tuesday whilst i was at work and spoke to my partner and gave him the letter to give to me, no sealed envelope or anything . I did however contact the lady and asked what it was for as the letter didnt state anything apart from a fee and that she will be back after 7pm to collect possesions from my home if paymaent wasnt made. She told me it was for a fixed penalty notice i received back in 2008, for the sum of £45! However the letter she left for me was for a fee of £345. She also said there is a warrent issued for me and that they have previously sent me a letter on the 15th june 2012. I explained that i havent recieived this letter to which she said they sent it, i didnt reply so that is why she came to my home. told her that i dont have that sort of money and that i dont get paid untill friday. Even then i wouldnt have the full amount. asked for a copy of the letter thay said they sent me in june, was told to email the company which i have done on wednesday, but still havent recieved a reply from them. I was told by somebody to go onto the direct gov website and pay my £45 which i have done and print the reciept. They payments office have confirmed to me that they have the payment but Have told me that the bailiffs will still want their fee. And confirmed on the phone that a warrant was issued in march from the courts but I still have not seen a copy of this. I've phoned the bailiff and she has said that if that is the case then there is still a £300 fee still outstanding... And that she will come back with a locksmith as I don't have the money to pay her. Where do i go from here??? They say that they have sent me a letter back on the 15th june which i havent received and said they have proof of postage also. looking onto their website at their fees and charges ive come across this... Marston Group's fees and charges are set at reasonable and fair rates to cover the costs of our services. Please note that: all distress warrants issued on behalf of Her Majesty's Courts Service will incur an administration fee an attendance fee will apply once an enforcement agent has attended the premises - even if no enforcement or contact was made the cost of recovering the debt is payable by the debtor Schedule of HMCTS Fees, Charges & Costs Our fees for the enforcement of a distress warrant from 1st Jan 2012: £ Compliance fee applied to every case. £85 Attendance fee applied once an enforcement agent has attended the premises, including where no action is taken or no contact is made. £215 Total £300 And then this... The Process On receiving a warrant, we send a letter to the debtor explaining that the debt has been passed to Marston Group for collection and inviting payment with seven days. The fee for sending this letter (£11.20 + VAT) is added to the debt outstanding to be paid by the debtor. If no payment is received or contact made, the case is assigned to an enforcement agent (bailiff) who, in order to execute the warrant, will Attend the property to Remove Goods (Attendance to Remove - ATR) to the value of the debt and outstanding fees and charges. This action will incur a levy (visit) fee and an ATR charge - whether goods are removed or not. If no contact is made, the enforcement agent (bailiff) will leave a letter to say he/she has called, with details of the outstanding amount (including the fees and charges incurred on that visit) and a contact number. If the debtor fails to contact the enforcement agent, the agent will call again until he/she is able to execute the warrant/collect the outstanding debt and charges/seize goods/confirm that it is not possible to recover the debt. (The fees and charges for each Attendance and any action taken are added to the letter fee and to the original debt. VAT is calculated on the total charges incurred.) If no contact is made, Marston Group will then attempt to trace the debtor in order to execute the warrant. As the debtor has clearly failed to notify the authorities of their change of address, any reasonable costs incurred in tracing the debtor will be charged to the debtor and added to the debt. Marston Group may also use further legal remedies if enforcement action is unsuccessful. If goods are seized and/or removed the cost of doing this will be added to the debt and fees and charges already incurred. If i havent recieved there 1st letter in the first place and they havent replied or sent me a copy of anything... Do i really have to pay the £300 fee for them coming to my house??? Or just the £12.50 the say they charge for sending me a letter (Which vanished in the post!) They also told me that the letter was sent over the phone and that if i havnt recieved it i need to take it up with my local post office as to why i havnt got it...??? As you can probably guess i am very confussed at the moment and heavely pregnant n all this stress really isnt helping me Any advice you can give me would be a great help... Thank-you in advance Kayleigh.

This a a weird one for me, hope someone can help. Came home today to a letter pushed through the door (no envelope - DPA breach as anyone in house could see it?). The letter is titled NOTICE OF SEIZURE, IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE Action No. xxxxxx Starts off : A formal seizure of goods at the above address has been made under a Writ of execution directed to an Enforcement Officer by the High court. Ill post scans of the 2 pages later, but I wasn't in and nothing has been taken. There is no address on the letter, no date and no signature. Now I actually know about the CCJ and have written to the court requesting a copy of the judgement late last week as I didn't know who it was for, just it was a judgement at my previous address, entered by default almost a year after I sold the house.. This is where it gets complicated. The debt was for a home energy report I needed when the house was put on the market. It was due to be paid either when the house was sold or 12 months after the contract date, whichever was sooner. 6 months after signing the contract, they tried to take the payment by direct debit which bounced, cost me bank fees, and they added around £80 fees on for a failed payment. They then tried to take payment a couple of more times by debit card (all within 24 hours) which resulted in another £160 in fees being added. When I queried this I was told the contract stated 6 months, and they didn't do 12 month contracts, even though I had a copy in front of me clearly stating the 12 month payment period. I asked them to put the account into dispute as I would pay the £468 I owed at the correct time, but only when I had it in writing the fees had been removed. They refused, so I just told them to contact me when they had sorted it out. This was a good 6 months before I sold my house. The above is from memory so the figures may be slightly wrong, but they are close if not to the penny. Since then I have heard nothing from them, despite them having my email address, them knowing I had moved and my estate agent & solicitors details, so if they wanted to find me, it wouldn't have been too difficult. So as far as I can see, they have got a judgement in default knowing full well I wasn't at the address they sent the paperwork to, have possibly got a high court judgement allowing bailiffs to come in, and now they have all that, miraciously decide to serve it on my current address, albeit, unsigned, undated, unaddressed. Any idea what to do from here please? I'll upload the letter in an hour or so, but obviopusly need to blank some details out first Thanks for any help

My other received a letter from Marstons saying they are coming round to remove goods. Now, I know they can't without gaining peaceful entry....or can they? As far as the oh is aware this is for parking fines from 2001 but they state in the letter that they have the right to use a locksmith. I'm pretty sure they can't but I just need some clarification. Is it just one of their many scare tactics? They haven't been round to see us yet despite the letter (dated 18th May) that they would attend within 7 days. Trying to find out exactly what he owes the money for is nigh on impossible. The letter gives no clues other than HMRC Kent. They aren't particularly forthcoming through written communication and phoning them is a no go. I won't be letting them in, the oh does not own a car (it's in my name), they can't get in through open windows as we are in a flat (unless they are spiderman or bring ladders with them). However, they need to get through the main door to the block first before getting to my door and this seems to be a grey area. If they get through that main door can they then use any force to enter my flat as they have, I suppose, gained entry to the premises (even if I don't let them in, they can just buzz someone else). Not too worried as I have already seen them off for another matter by simply ignoring them. Also, my oh works 6 days a week so he wouldn't be here when they attend anyway, unless they are lucky. I will be alone, with a 10 month old baby and they will be very "frightening and intimidating" ().

Help and advice needed please. My daughter's partner was pulled over by the police in January for not wearing a seat belt, instead of paying the fine he attended a Road Safety Educational Presentation - as such his Fixed Penalty Notice was cancelled. He has written evidence from Essex Police to confirm this as indeed in this letter they quote "As such, I can confirm that no further action will be taken against you in relation to this offence". A letter from Marstons was received on 2nd May asking for £215 for non payment of this offence, stating that they had a Magistrates Court Order and if payment not met in full they would attend 7 days later. The police advised to send copy of letter from Essex Police to Marstons, which was done via e-mail and was told if they called again in the meantime to show them a copy of this letter. Now, today they have called again asking for just under £400 and have left another letter to this effect. Will obviously ring Police again but need to know if there is anything else to do.

MARSTON and the alleged bailiff Has anybody had any dealings with Marston baliffs and or their debt collectors and how do you prove the ID shown is real or a fake to scare you in to handing over goods. The one shown to me this morning had the photo on top of the court stamp, surely the stamp should be on top of the photo? FYI I phoned Marstons althought the guy was helpful to a point he would not confirm the "collectors" identity all he said was to speak to the "collector" and or his boss to confirm it mmmm not looking good for them. I haven't handed anything over yet!

I was charged for a phantom visit by Marston, enabling them to charge for a second visit and an attendance fee boosting the day's taking by about £280. I can prove that they didn't visit on the first date and have told them so. They claim to have fully investigated the case and conclude that the first visit did indeed occur (which we know didn't). Now I have asked them to provide evidence and guess what, it's gone silent! This is clearly a case of fraud by a thug with the clipboard. TfL have confirmed that once the debt is passed on to Marston it is no longer their responsibility. So, can any learned friends confirm that in spite of being contracted initially by the Government as collection of a fine (or buying the debt) that this is a criminal act of fraud and not civil complaint. I don't care about the fine as much as assisting in removing a criminal organisation from a lucrative gov't contract and telling them they're f***ing with the wrong people!

I have received a letter from the Marston Group High Court Enforcementdemanding full payment of money being £515.00 for bailiffs fees in relation to an ‘unpaid car insurance fine’, however and my wife are with a debt charity company called ‘Christians Against Poverty’ which made regular cheque payments to the Marston Group of a £100.00 each month, CAP have paid this since the 24th of March 2011 and so far paid £400.00 pounds, leaving £140.00 outstanding from the original £540.00 debt. Marston Group have cashed theses cheques’ from C.A.P obtaining £400.00; now 4 months later after happily accepting my money, have since decided to refuse to accept anymore payments but have neither contacted me, nor have CAP had any correspondence off them. Therefore having wilfully and unlawfully taken the matter back to court, in the effect to add on additional charges of attending fees, a distress warrant fee and more seriously, falsely misrepresenting the case for the debt of £140.00 to Manchester Magistrates Court, resulting in my debt now totalling £515.00 with the intent to fraudulently obtaining more money. WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS?

Hello all, I'd really appreciate some help as I dont know what to do. Apologies for the length but I want to be sure I fully explain the situation so you can help me / us. My flatmate has received a fine for criminal damage in 2008, due to moving house at that time he didnt have all of the details to pay it and forgot about it too. Since we have been living together we managed to get all the information required and have been making payment, to begin with he was not working and so agreed to a benefit deduction of £10 every 2 weeks, he received a letter 'Application for benefit deductions' which I notice states 'If this order fails, you must must pay the outstanding balance yourself as directed. You will be given notice when these terms come into effect' in the time it took the courts to get that together he started working and so he started paying £10 every week (more than agreed), we didnt hear anything from the courts / enforcement centre or this notice their letter states. He lost his job (he's a chef and the restuarant closed suddenly so received no redundancy pay) and had to put these payments on hold, he did write to the courts, but just sent the letter in the standard post (stupid man), surprise surprise the enforcement centre say they havent received his letter and so have now passed his fine onto Marston Group. The first we knew of it being passed on was after receiving a letter from Marston demanding the full payment (plus their £75 fee) within 7 days or they will send a bailiff out. I sent them an email on 8th June explaining that he does not own this property, nor is he on a tenancy agreement, nor does he own any of the goods in the house (the house is owned by a family member of mine and all the furnishings / goods are either hers or mine all he has here is clothes), revoking license under Common Law for them, or their representatives to visit at the property and using the template from consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?229873 Today we received a letter from Marston, where they have acknowledged receipt of our 'letter/enquiry', demanding the full payment (including their £75) within 28 days, but no mention or answers to the information we asked them to confirm (as in the template). Again they state they will send an enforcement agent out if its not paid and this will 'incur additional fees' and goods may be at risk. He is not in a position to pay the full amount, and cannot borrow off anyone, we are already struggling with the bills from when he was out of work. He is willing to pay the fine now that he is working again but there is no way he can do this in 28 days. We dont know what to do, as they have not answered our previous correspondance in confirming about their fees being lawful etc (although they have stated additional fees will be incurred) do I report them under the 2006 Fraud Act and the Proceeds of Crime Act? Is there any way we can get this back with the courts who were willing for him to make payment in installments? or can we make marston set up an affordable payment plan? Thank you in advance for your help, A worried and confused mess

Hello all, I have registered here to ask for advice regarding a letter I have received from Marston Group. It was sent 2nd class and dated 13th Dec, and I received it on the 21st Dec. Its stating I owe them for an outstanding fine on behalf of "HMCS: Avon and Somerset". I did owe a fine in May of this year which was paid in full, and I have written confirmation from the Enforcement officer stating that the matter has been settled and no further action will be taken. I have emailed Marston Group a copy of this letter, but am very worried as to why they would be chasing me for a fine which was paid 7 months ago? Having read of Marston Groups Bailiffs, I am worried as to what else I should do? Any advice greatly received. Thanks Thanks