Blindly Paid Marstons HCEO on Ltd Company debt - now want my moneyback!!

[lewis94]

In Jan 2008 I received a letter from Marstons saying they were enforcing a High Court Writ for a debt owed.

 

The debt owed was in the region of £1300 and was against a company I was a director of.

The company never legally traded as the other director disappered with the stock.

The other director vanished and refused to pay anything, and to date has not been seen.

 

They demanded payment of £50 per month from me,

not having seen this site before now, which I paid for over 12months.

 

 

After numerous threatening letters etc I went to the Citizens Advice Beurea and they were really helpful.

I notified Marstons that the address they were sending letters was in fact my parents

and I had a signed letter to inform them it was not the company address nor did I have any assests. I

 

 

also informed them that as a director I was not liable for the payment of the fines directly and it was to be held against the company.

They accepted this and wrote back in January 2009 saying that in this case they would write back to the issuing solicitors confirming that was the case and that they would not issue any more letters etc to myself.

 

I have written to them on two occassions asking for them to return the monies paid to them (over £600) as the debt they enforced against me was wrong and that I should of not paid any of the money.

 

Is there any way I can expedite this situation as clearly they and the issuing solicitors have accepted I am personally not liable for the monies owed.

 

Thanks

[BlurredFX]

What documentation do you have?

 

Have you spoke to the Court that issued the Writ?

[lewis94]

I have all the 'threatening' you havent paid we are coming to collect letters plus ones saying they are investigating my account and then another saying that they have reviewed my case and they arent pursuing it anymore.

 

One other thing all this was put through Northampton CC without myself or the other (missing) director so we were not able to defend or comment on the case.

 

Can I request information from the court regarding the case. I normally wouldnt bother with chasing for £600+ but as you can see from my other threads I am struggling financially (as a result of the company setup) and am trying to remedy the situation the best I can

[Guest Happy Contrails]

Contact the solicitors and ask they refund you the money they owe and add 8% interest from the date they have held the funds. Its 0.00022% per day on the debt amount. If the solicitor is uncoopereative then report the Firm to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

[lewis94]

Would the court have the details of the issuing solicitor and if so can I ask for them? The only correspondance I have is from Marstons

[Guest Happy Contrails]

Marstons are not solicitors, they are bailiffs and the firm does not need to be regulated.

Anybody can set up a Ltd company and trade as a bailiff.

To collect unpaid council tax & parking tickets the person making contact with the debtor and handling public money must be certificated with the Ministry of Justice.

 

If you are complaing about a bailiff then phone the Ministry of Justice Public Register of Bailiffs on 020 3334 6355 and ask which court issued his certificate.

 

If Marstons are impersonating a solicitor or working without a valid Practice Certificate then you need to contact the Solicitors Regulation Authority because they commit an offence under Section 1 of the Solicitors Act 1974.

[gdhfs]

You mention that you were a Director of the company. Was the Company Limited?

If the company was Ltd then unless you have signed a personal guarantee then you are not liable for the company debt.

 

However if you were acting as a sole trader or partnership then you are liable for the debt. In the case of a partnership then you actually have a joint and several liability to the debt with your partner - ie you are both responsible for the debt in it's entirity - not just a portion of it.

[lewis94]

The company was a limited company and it had been explained to me by a judge in a small claims court that I was not liable for the outstanding monies, hence why I chased this up

[gdhfs]

Have a look on the HMCS website and download form EX345 - about bailiffs and enforcement officers. This provides the details of who to complain to with regard to HCEO's.

 

Write to Marsdens and give them 7 days to return your money - if not you will put them into small claims. If they dont pay you once you have a judgement then you can send in the bailiff!!!

[Guest Happy Contrails]

To set a thief to catch a thief.

 

Instructing Martons to recover a debt from themselves is a new one for me. In a case like this, I would probably go for a charging order, it attracts 8% interest.

[gdhfs]

It would be the County Court Bailiff -no Marsdens!

[humbleman]

lewis

 

we you named as one of the parties in the claim form

[lewis94]

No the claim was against the company and didnt not refer to me. It only started having my name against the post sent to the address when the other director went missing.

 

I sent a letter to Marstons on 18 June 2009 asking for information on the issuing solicitor, a breakdown of the costs and charges against the account and a copy of the last correspondance saying the matter had been closed. To date, 5 July 2009, I have had no correspondance and they fail to return any of my telephone calls.

 

Any ideas on how to proceed?

[Guest Happy Contrails]

Write to them.

 

The Omnipotent Bailiff Co, Plc

Their Address 1

Their Address 2

Their Address 3

Postcode

 

BY POST AND BY EMAIL

 

DATE

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Re: [YOUR NAME + REF]: Your fees.

 

I write following visits by your bailiff however there appears to an irregularity with your fees and I am writing to ask you to provide me the following within seven (7) days:

 

1) The name of the court that issued the certificate for the bailiff in charge

 

2) Written confirmation of a) your fees, and b) the original debt

 

3) The name and address of the organisation that instructed you

 

4) a) Truthfully confirm in writing your fees are lawful and comply with legislation or b) refund me the unlawful fees plus reasonable compensation for being cheated by your certificated bailiff with his fees by midday the seventh day from the date of this letter.

 

A bailiff or any other person who dishonestly charges for work that has not been done will be committing an offence under the Fraud Act 2006. Section 2 of the Act specifically describes a person dishonestly makes a false representation and intends, by making the representation, to make a gain for himself or another, or cause a loss to another, or expose another to a risk of loss therefore, if no satisfactory refund is made to me by 12.00 midday seven (7) days from the date of this letter I will automatically file a complaint to police under the 2006 Fraud Act and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. If you have charged VAT on unlawful fees then you may be reported for VAT fraud and your documents will be given in evidence. If your bailiff is certificated, a Form 4 will be filed.

 

This letter is delivered by Royal Mail and deem it good service upon you by the ordinary course of post under Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978. It now is your responsibility and in your best interests this letter is handed to the relevant person within your organisation.

 

Yours Sincerely

 

YOUR NAME

 

[lewis94]

As an update I now have all the solicitors details who issued the writ to Marstons. Marstons wrote back giving me all the details plus a breakdown of costs Ive paid (£735) and saying that they only enforce what they are told and they have not broken any laws (which is probably true) but added at the bottom 'We hope you are successful in obtaining a refund'

 

Would anyone have an idea of what to write in a letter to the solictors asking for all the money back?

 

Thanks