Marstons, PLEASE HELP!

[nat]

Hello,

 

I received a fine for not surrendering a tax disc form Enfield court. I was paying but lost my job. I got a letter from Marstons on 18th March telling me to pay them £260.00. I wrote back to them on 20th March telling them I cannot afford to pay all at once and offering to pay £65 a month. I didn't hear anything from them, so I paid them online £65 on the 4th April and got a receipt through the post a couple of days later. I was planning to pay a further £65 tomorrow.

 

Anyway, just now a chap came to my door with a clipboard. I didn't answer the door and hel left me a red notice, half sticking out of my letterbox with a final notice and the fine has now gone up to £370!!!!!

 

How has it gone up this much???

And what shoud I do, the letter says they are coming back one evening this week?

[lisadp1970]

Hi Natalie

Take a look at my thread about Marstons from a couple of days ago -

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bailiffs-sheriff-officers/196514-bailiff-just-visited-fine.html

My husband wrote to them on Monday stating that the charges are fraudulent and that he has also writtem to the chief clark of the Magistrates court and spoken to the Judicial Complaints office, who also agreed the charges were excessive.

anyway he got a letter back from Marstons only today stating they are investigating it blah blah blah, seems to me they might be pooping themselves a bit as they've answered very quickly indeed and know they must be in the worng!

 

Good luck

Lisa

[nat]

I am going to send this leter in the morning, any thoughts?

 

Dear Sirs,

Please find attached a copy of the letter I sent you on 20th April.

I have today had a visit from one of your bailiffs, despite never receiving a reply to my first letter. I would like to know why this has happened and why you have added more charges?

I have proof of delivery of the letter and have today visited my local CAB and I have also had the help of Consumer Action Group. Both have advised me to make a complaint to the court about your unlawful actions and extortionate fees added to the account, which may amount to fraud.

I require you to remove these latest charges and send me a breakdown of the account. I also require you to deal with my first letter and offer of payment, the first instalment of which you have received.

Please respond to this letter within 7 days.

Yours Sincerley

[diddydicky]

nat- my reply might not warm the cockles of your heart but this is the situation,

 

by the time matters get to a bailiff- all opportunities have long passed for making /offering staged payments

 

the reason that bailiffs leave the letters poking slightly out of the letterbox is so that they will return a few hours later to see if it is still there- if not then they know someone is in!

 

sending them a payment along with your offer was a good move- it shows that it was not am empty gesture but unfortuneately you do not have the right to impose an offer of instalments on them

 

many people are unaware that bailiffs have to take out a bond (100,000 pounds) and have to agree when applying for a certificate to obey the orders of the court - the orders of the court on the warrant specifically state that they must collect the debt in full.

 

In the real world a last chance payment arrangement is sometimes made but naturally they are wary of offers of payment which only come about due to their visit so you have to be persistent with them and the original creditor or the court to try and persuade them that your intentions are serious and not just designed to get them off your back for a little longer

 

you started off right- just persist

 

 

however the warrant is for the FULL amount and the more work the bailiff has to do the higher the charges (to a limit)and so your part payment did not satisfy the warrant which is why the bailiff is entitled to continue with his actions

 

contact the clerk of the court which issued the warrant and tell them that you have already paid 65 and can you make payments direct to them and call the bailiff off

 

if you can go to the court in person to speak to the clerk it is always better than a phone call

 

also write to the bailiff company again recorded delivery ( with a copy of the original letter) as you have outlined above explaining your actions and ask for a breakdown of the costs that have been added and re visiting your request to continue with regular payments

 

 

i would strongly suggest that you remove the reference to possible fraud from your letter - you are asking these people to help you !

 

for the same reason i would also refrain from references to extortionate charges and unlawful actions until you have found out what the charges are for

 

i know i may make myself unpopular with some posters but contrary to popular opinion the charges are very tightly regulated by the court AND often the bailiff also has to adhere to strict guidlines from the creditors (especially councils) regarding how they act and what charges they make

 

i would be surprised if they have acted unlwafully, or commited fraud

 

i might agree with the charges being extortionate but these are laid doen by legislation

 

otherwise keep the door locked and talk to the bailiff through the letterbox or a window

 

my advice is intended to try and secure what you want (the bailiff off your back and the acceptance of your offer of payments)

 

softleee softlee chatchee monkee

[lisadp1970]

Sorry do not agree with what Diddydicky says - not a Bailiff by any chance are you?.

 

For one a Bailiff should conceal any notice they put through you letterbox in an envelope due to data protection, and not sticking out of your letterbox for your neighbours to see your business, tell them you intend to report the Bailliff for that offence too!

 

Secondly as advised by Contrails the contract is between the court and the Bailiffs, unless there is a court order for you to pay the bailiffs set fees etc then they cannot force you to.

 

Stick to your guns and contact the Office for Judiciary complaints, also speak to the Ministry of Justice, once these ****** Bailiffs know you mean business you'll be surprised how quick a response you'll get!

 

Oh and do add the word Fraud to the letter it's one word a Bailiff understands well enough as they commit it most days of their sad little lives!

 

Right on a rant now so gonna end there!

 

Good luck

[nat]

Thanks. I am going to send the letter recored today and also fill in a form 4 complaint with the court.

[hallowitch]

tomtubby always recommends asking for a screen shot of you account from bailiffs so i would ask for this instead of a breakdown of your account

[diddydicky]

with regards to the letter in the letterbox - I told you why it was done- i didn't say i agreed with it such information surely is useful to people reading the posts

 

it is not an "offence" as you say and with respect- it tends to lower the value of your advice if you resort to doing exactly what you accuse the bailiffs of doing (making up alleged offences when no such offence exists)

 

you are correct it should be in an envelope but even if it is not and it is folded with the plain side out - how can anyone read it without removing it?

 

the fees that bailiffs charge are laid down and set out by negotiation and agreement with the courts and are very strictly policied ( contrary to what some posters may suggest) it is simple matter to ask for a copy of them or a print out of how they have been applied BEFORE resorting to threats of fraud and reporting people- of course some bailiffs (just like some bakers policemen, electricians, bankers, etc will be bad apples and break the rules you need to have the facts at hand before you make the accusations otherwise any other argument you put forward is diminished

 

On some of these threads some posters are sinking to the level that they accuse the bailiffs of- that of making unsubstantiated accusations and threats before obtaining the facts

 

my advice (yes i am a ex bailiff and ex policeman ) is exactly that-and hopefully some advice from the "other side" of the fence balances up some of the more "excitable" language and misinformed advice contained in some threads - if the original poster does not want my advice they only have to say and i will gladly get off the thread

[nat]

Right, I am fuming!!!!!

I have got one of the **** sitting outside my house now, despite them having received my letter yesterday. He has been banging on my front door for 30 minutes and also banging on the window making the dogs bark!

 

What do I send them now, help please, this is making me a nervous wreck!

[lisadp1970]

Phone the police and tell them that someone is trying to break into your house.

[Guest Happy Contrails]

And your door stays locked shut until police and bailiff are a safe distance from your property. Do not be persuaded by police to open a door.

 

Get everything on video.

[nat]

The police are here, he caled them saying that there was a baby crying in the house!

He is now saying that my boyfriend threatened him!

[Guest Happy Contrails]

Take down in writing everything the police officer says.

 

The door stays locked shut!.

 

Ask the bailiff to quietly leave the property and ask the police officer to go with them.

 

There is no law requiring you to do business with a bailiff.

 

If anyone threatens you with a locksmith they commit an offence under S25 of the Theft Act 1968 and you will expect the police to investigate. Get everything on video when you ask them to leave your property.

[lisadp1970]

Remember that the police are there to keep the peace and this guy is causing a disturbance.

[nat]

They have all left now, but the police say that they will be investigating. What does anyone suggest I send Marstons now???

 

He was knocking on my door for over an hour!

[Guest Happy Contrails]

Nothing.

[nat]

He has left me with a distress warrant saying that he can get in with a lock smith.

[Guest Happy Contrails]

Make copies of the document and report it to police for committing an offence under Section 25 of the Theft Act 1968. Bailiffs cannot threaten anyone with locksmiths. Example:

 

Contact the IPCC if the police fob you off with excuses or say its a civil matter, The police then commit an offence under Section 4 of the Criminal Law Act 1967.

 

Get your MP involved.

[nat]

I have filled in a form 4 complaint and have put the following:

 

I sent a letter to marstons on 30/03/2009 with an offer of payment, which they ignored. I paid the first instalment of the money I offered on 14/04/2009. They then sent a baliff round on 29/04/2009 and added £110 charges. He left a red letter poking out of my door and sat ouside my house for half an hour. I then sent another letter on 29/04/2009 by recorded delivery with a copy of the first letter asking them to deal with the first letter and remove the charges.

On 02 May 2009 at 9.25am another baliff started knocking on my door and proceeded to knock on the door, ring my doorbell and knock on the window for over an hour. When my friend asked him to leave as it was harrasment, he called the police saying that there was a baby in the house on its own and that my boyfriend threatened him, which he absolutley DID NOT. He then tried to get the police to let him in the house and get payment from me.

Both baliffs wrote the same name on the form but it was different people both times.

The second baliff left me with a distress warrant threatening me with a locksmith which if he does is an offence under Section 25 of the Theft act 1968.

 

 

How do I find out where the baliff got his certificate so I can send it to the right court?

[lisadp1970]

The name they have written on the form sounds phoney anyway. Another attempted fraud.

[Guest Happy Contrails]

How do I find out where the baliff got his certificate so I can send it to the right court?

 

Phone the Ministry of Justice Public Register of Bailiffs on 020 3334 6355 and ask which court issued his certificate, then download the complaint form http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/form4_0606.pdf and send the form to the certificating court enclosing supporting evidence such as the bailiffs document showing the unlawful fees and any amounts paid.

 

Be very brief and factual in the wording of your complaint.

[lisadp1970]

you read something like this thread and then you read these bailiffs defending each others actions on these boards and have to come to the conclusion that they a scourge on society.

[nat]

you read something like this thread and then you read these bailiffs defending each others actions on these boards and have to come to the conclusion that they a scourge on society.

 

You are not wrong there!

[diddydicky]

liaspd - you have a VERY bad attitude- some of the bailiffs that come on here try to help you out with inside information- but you are so bloody rude that you cannot see the wood for the trees

[chris600uk]

It's difficult to be calm under stress, and feelings always run high on this subject, I should know I've been through it.

 

And after reading all the threads carefully, I think dd's posts were very useful because it's good to have the inside view.

 

I don't think he was defending the OP's bailiff either.

 

Oh and just for the record, if you want someone to blame for all this, start with your MP - unless they vote for it bad laws won't be passed.

 

If they can manage to vote themselves a smoking room at work..................