Court Fines Passed on to Bailiffs

[bravo123]

Hello,

 

My Mum incurred a magistrate's court change of £180, which she ignored. It has now been passed onto a bailiff and the cost has reached £410! Obviously the bailiffs have added their fees.

 

I rang the court and they were like the debt was £180 but the bailiffs may add their charges.

 

I was able to make payment of £50 via direct.gov.uk website but not through the bailiffs. now the bailiffs have called in saying i would have to pay the full £410 -£50 = £360 since the court has passed on the £50 payment made to them.

 

 

Now, is the bailiff allowed to charge me such fees(£230)?

NB: The Original Debt with the court - £180

Cost with Bailiffs £410, which means Bailiff Fees;

Fees £230

What is the maximum fee a bailiff can charge?

 

Can i ignore the bailiff letter and pay the remainder of the original £180 after paying £50 thro' direct.gov.uk site, which now stands at £130?

 

Thanks.

[Mr Worried]

Hello,

 

My Mum incurred a magistrate's court change of £180, which she ignored. It has now been passed onto a bailiff and the cost has reached £410! Obviously the bailiffs have added their fees.

 

I rang the court and they were like the debt was £180 but the bailiffs may add their charges.

 

I was able to make payment of £50 via direct.gov.uk website but not through the bailiffs. now the bailiffs have called in saying i would have to pay the full £410 -£50 = £360 since the court has passed on the £50 payment made to them.

 

 

Now, is the bailiff allowed to charge me such fees(£230)?

NB: The Original Debt with the court - £180

Cost with Bailiffs £410, which means Bailiff Fees;

Fees £230

 

What is the maximum fee a bailiff can charge?

 

Can i ignore the bailiff letter and pay the remainder of the original £180 after paying £50 thro' direct.gov.uk site, which now stands at £130?

 

Thanks.

 

Hi Bravo

 

How did the B's contact you? and what B company is it?

 

Mr W

Edited March 2, 2010 by Mr Worried
info

[bravo123]

Thanks "Mr Worried"

 

Actually they contacted my mum as i don't live in that house.

 

am not quite sure about the company(bailiffs). Which bailiffs deal with court(magistrate) fines? I would have to ask my mum.

[Mr Worried]

Thanks "Mr Worried"

 

Actually they contacted my mum as i don't live in that house.

 

am not quite sure about the company(bailiffs). Which bailiffs deal with court(magistrate) fines? I would have to ask my mum.

 

Bravo

 

Loads of B's deal on behalf of the courts, try to answer the following.

 

How did the B's make contact.

How are their charges made up

What is the name of the bailiff company

Can you confirm what the original debt value was.

 

Mr W

[bravo123]

Hello,

 

My mum said one bailiff came to the house. The said bailiff has phoned as well and has also left a card thro' the door.

 

They didn't break down how the charges were made up.

She said it's a company called Marstons.

The original debt was £180.

 

thnx.

Edited March 2, 2010 by bravo123

[Mr Worried]

Hello,

 

My mum said one bailiff came to the house. The said bailiff has phoned as well and has also left a card thro' the door.

 

They didn't break down how the charges were made up.

She said it's a company called Marstons.

The original debt was £180.

 

thnx.

 

Hi Bravo and Mum

 

Who is the debt with??

 

Can your mum afford to pay the original debt?

 

There is a limit to what the B can charge as regards their visits and that is nowhere near what they are requesting, we need to get a few things ironed out first, so give as much info on the original debt as you can, costs etc, how old debt is and how long the B's been in pursuit.

 

Mr W

[selinajayne]

mr w im on income support at the moment and have had a bailiffs letter for an unpaid fine also marstons no charges as of yet. do you know if its the same as council tax bailllifs where they cant deal with ppl on benefits as seen as vulnerable

[Mr Worried]

mr w im on income support at the moment and have had a bailiffs letter for an unpaid fine also marstons no charges as of yet. do you know if its the same as council tax bailllifs where they cant deal with ppl on benefits as seen as vulnerable

 

Hi Selina

 

Yes that would be the case, but you know as I do that they will ignore that scenario as it suits them, best thing to do is get the appropiate letter of to both parties asap.

 

Have a look in the template section, or even rummage around the forum as letters there too.

 

Mr w

Edited March 2, 2010 by Mr Worried
info

[selinajayne]

thanks mr w i will take a look

[RaeUK]

Hi selinajayne, if you start a seperate thread regarding your circumstances many people will advise.

 

Hi bravo123.

I understand this is for an unpaid fine. The bailiff charges are exceedingly higher for these than for the collection of council tax arrears. I think it is something like £75 letter fee and £150 visit fee. More knowledgeable caggers can confirm or amend my figures!

How is your Mum? Any special circumstances that may help her?

Best wishes.

Rae.

Edited March 2, 2010 by RaeUK
type o

[bravo123]

Hello Mr Worried,

 

The debt is with Marstons and it was court fine for TV license

The original debt was £180, but now Marstons are charging £410!

Mum has already paid £50 through "direct.gov.uk" website, so now the orginal debt stands at £130, but if it were to come from Marstons debt, it will stand at £360!

 

My mum can now afford to pay the original deb, which now stands at £130 (she has already paid £50 online) but not the one from Marstons with the charges of £230.

 

The B' has been in pursuit for only some few weeks, probably 8 weeks. The fine is a year old debt.

 

 

Hi Kelcou,

 

Mum is doing Ok. And i believe she doesn't fall into any 'special circumstances' group. She's not on benefits per se. The only benefit she gets is Child tax credit (benefit).

 

thnx.

[RaeUK]

No worries, bravo123, always like to enquire. Those who might fall into the vulnerable category includes the seriously ill, the disabled as well as the unemployed and the happily pregnant. It applies to the household as well as the individual.

I shall leave you in peace and the capable hands of others.

Best wishes to you both.

Rae.

Edited March 2, 2010 by RaeUK
type o

[bravo123]

No worries, bravo123, always like to enquire. Those who might fall into the vulnerable category includes the seriously ill, the disabled as well as the unemployed and the happily pregnant. It applies to the household as well as the individual.

I shall leave you in peace and the capable hands of others.

Best wishes to you both.

Rae.

 

Oh Kelcou, my mum is pregnant. What sort of help can she receive? Can that be helpful?

 

thnx.

[ploddertom]

Oh Kelcou, my mum is pregnant. What sort of help can she receive? Can that be helpful?

 

thnx.

 

Not being nosy or disrespectful but is she a single parent as well.

 

PT

[RaeUK]

Hi bravo,

 

Your Mum may fall into the vulnerable category as stated in the National Standards for Enforcement Agents:

 

Department for Constitutional Affairs - Enforcement - National Standards for Enforcement Agents

 

Those who might be considered vulnerable include the following:

the elderly;

people with a disability;

the seriously ill;

the recently bereaved;

single parent families;

pregnant women;

unemployed people; and,

those who have obvious difficulty in understanding, speaking or reading English.

 

 

I would certainly want to explore this route [along with any other advice you receive]. People tend to think of 'pregnant' as having to be massively obviously pregnant. But any stage of pregnancy brings its own risks and the expectant Mother needs to try and lead as stress-free a life as possible during the entire duration. And even the most cursory glance at this forum will tell you that 'bailiff action = very stressfull'.

 

'...Pre-term births and low birth weight are among the most recognized effects of maternal stress during pregnancy, established over nearly two decades of animal and human research...'

 

I've taken that qoute from quite an interesting American article on the subject:

 

Stress & Pregnancy, Fetal Affects, on MedicineNet.com

 

I would certainly wish to notify both bailiffs and Court in writing of the situation.

 

Best wishes

Rae.

Edited March 3, 2010 by RaeUK
typoo

[bravo123]

thnx Kelcou,

 

so what should be our next line of action?

[RaeUK]

Erm, I would certainly wish to notify both bailiffs and court in writing of the situation [sorry, I couldn't resist].

 

I don't know at what stage of pregnancy your Mum is at - my crystal ball isn't that good! This would have a bearing on any letter I would send in this situation. Early days, I would qoute the National Standards, add info about pregnancy and stress, maybe a weblink or two in support and request that the debt goes back to the initiator for the Mothers wellbeing. I can't stress enough [unintended pun] that the first trimester is actually very important. If she's a few months further down the line then I would expect that she is interacting with either a GP or a Midwife. In which case you will be able to provide better evidence from them in addition to what I've just stated.

I would copy the letter to the relevent courts Fines Office. All post by signed for.

I will qualify this advice by saying it is what I would do in this situation. It may work. It may not. But if it doesn't it at least gives you the moral high ground to protest further. Be this via your MP or the MOJ.

I am happy to produce a letter template if required. But, again, it would be the type of letter I would send.

I wish you both well.

Rae.

[bravo123]

Cheers Kelcou,

 

A template letter will be great and much appreciated. BTW, She's in early stages of her pregnancy - few weeks. thnx.

 

Erm, I would certainly wish to notify both bailiffs and court in writing of the situation [sorry, I couldn't resist].

 

I don't know at what stage of pregnancy your Mum is at - my crystal ball isn't that good! This would have a bearing on any letter I would send in this situation. Early days, I would qoute the National Standards, add info about pregnancy and stress, maybe a weblink or two in support and request that the debt goes back to the initiator for the Mothers wellbeing. I can't stress enough [unintended pun] that the first trimester is actually very important. If she's a few months further down the line then I would expect that she is interacting with either a GP or a Midwife. In which case you will be able to provide better evidence from them in addition to what I've just stated.

I would copy the letter to the relevent courts Fines Office. All post by signed for.

I will qualify this advice by saying it is what I would do in this situation. It may work. It may not. But if it doesn't it at least gives you the moral high ground to protest further. Be this via your MP or the MOJ.

I am happy to produce a letter template if required. But, again, it would be the type of letter I would send.

I wish you both well.

Rae.

Edited March 5, 2010 by bravo123

[RaeUK]

Hi,

Here is a template for you. Please adapt, use, ignore as you see fit. I have mentioned Midwives in the letter as your Mum should be under the care of her GP and an initial Midwife appointment is usually at the 6-8 week stage.

As always, I would ask any other Caggers to check the template and let me know of any glaring errors I've missed...

There is, obviously, every chance the bailiff will come back with a negative response. However, your Mum has fulfilled her obligations in notifying them and can then complain at a higher level.

Best wishes.

Rae.

vulnerable template - early pregnancy.doc

[bravo123]

Thanks Kelcou,

 

You're a STAR!

[RaeUK]

No worries bravo. If for any reason the link doesn't work or you don't have MS Word, I'm quite happy to copy and paste here.

 

Best wishes.

Rae