Bailiff fees for parking fines and magistrates court fines

[stressed2009]

Hi

 

My other half has an outstanding magistrates fine for keeping a vehicle on a public road without road tax. Someone attended his previous address as he has not paid this. They were from Marstons and seemed to be quoting a much higher sum than the court paperwork we have states. Would they have been certified bailiffs or CEOs?

 

He now lives in our house, although much of the possessions were bought by me or for me by my family. The person who attended was given our address but they have not visited yet, this was some weeks ago now. Do they have the power to force the front door and take things? What can I do to avoid this? I really need advice I am pregnant and its another in the long line of things stressing me out causing me sleepless nights We have no money so I cant just pay it outright and have little spare money.

 

Thanks

 

x

[tomtubby]

Hi

 

My other half has an outstanding magistrates fine for keeping a vehicle on a public road without road tax. Someone attended his previous address as he has not paid this. They were from Marstons and seemed to be quoting a much higher sum than the court paperwork we have states. Would they have been certified bailiffs or CEOs?

 

He now lives in our house, although much of the possessions were bought by me or for me by my family. The person who attended was given our address but they have not visited yet, this was some weeks ago now. Do they have the power to force the front door and take things? What can I do to avoid this? I really need advice I am pregnant and its another in the long line of things stressing me out causing me sleepless nights We have no money so I cant just pay it outright and have little spare money.

 

Thanks

 

x

 

If your partner had not received a summons concerning this fine then it is a simple matter for him to complete a Statutory Declaration which needs to be sent to the court that imposed the fine. He has a strict time limit of 21 days to file this !!

 

This will CANCEL the fine and all bailiff charges are removed.

 

The Marston Group bailiff has a contract with HMCS that provides that he can charge a letter fee of £50 and a visit fee of £175 !!!

[stressed2009]

I dont think he would have ever received the summons as the van was seen outside the front of my house with no road tax as he has just moved ther

e and hadnt had a chance to change the registered address.

 

 

He got rid of the van about 2 weeks after and thought no more of it.

His previous address was his mums house and they were not speaking so he would not have got any post sent there.

 

 

This was all in June 2008 the van was caught with no tax.

I would assume the summons and court date were some time after that.

We only know about the letter from Marstons because his brother got it before his mother had time to.

 

 

The same for the bailiff visit, his brother spoke to them through a window after his mother told them to do one but they would not say who they were.

He had to prove he was not my other half as they did not believe him.

 

Do they have to apply to the court for anything to go to a different address?

 

Also, one more thing..

.. i have just found out is he did not actually get rid of the van he parked it off road in his mates yard.

 

 

His mate needed to move some of his trucks and parked it on the road for a couple of hours (great) in which time it was towed.

 

 

Other half was told his van had been crushed,

I have just looked on DVLA Vehicle checker and the damn thing is taxed until 01/12/09

so how is this

 

 

He was not given sufficient opportunity to claim it back!?

Where has the money gone as they obv sold it?!

[stressed2009]

Hi

 

I am currently off work on maternity leave and today a notice came through the letter box titled "Removal Notice" and requesting my OH contact them urgently. We have no money to pay the sum they are demanding and I dont know what to do. I am heavily pregnant and am scared they will come back when I am in the house alone. The fine is a magistrates court fine for motor offences I believe.

 

Is there anything that can be done? What should I get him to do?

 

Thanks

 

stressed

[Scorpion666]

Please hang on in there, one of the excellent people on here will advise you very soon I'm sure. Have a look at other threads on here for advice too. The caggers on here have helped us a great deal with the Marston bully bailiff problem we are going through .

We are by no means experts although there is one bit of advice we can give DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR TO THEM and if you have a car, park it away from your property for the time being.

[hallowitch]

The fine is a magistrates court fine for motor offences I believe.

 

did you have any information about this fine before the bailiff called

[stressed2009]

I think OH went to court i thought he had paid it but doesnt look like he did waiting for him to come home. do they have to take into account vunerable catagories with magistrates fines?

[tomtubby]

I think OH went to court i thought he had paid it but doesnt look like he did waiting for him to come home. do they have to take into account vunerable catagories with magistrates fines?

 

I do not want to appear to be critical but this information is also aimed at others that may be reading this post.

 

When a fine is imposed by the Magistrates Court, unlike council tax arrears and unpaid parking tickets, the Court will accept payment arrangements on a nominal basis. Despite this, nearly one million such fines have been passed to Marston Group & Philips to enforce. This is such a shame because as long as you keep the court aware of your circumstances they are fine.

 

If the fine remains unpaid, then a Distress Warrant is issued and this will involve a letter fee of £75 together with a visit fee of £175 !!!

 

If the debtor had not received a summons ( this is very common indeed) then he can file a simple Statutory Declaration and the debt and bailiff fees will be cancelled.

 

If the debtor has already had to pay the bailiff, then he has 21 days in which to file a Statutory Declaration and the court will refund the amount of the fine and the bailiff company must refund the fees.

 

It is almost impossible to get the court to recall the Distress Warrant. HOWEVER...the contract does provide for "vulnerable cases" such as yours and I am fairly confident that Marston will return the Warrant on these grounds. If, not they should be able to agree to accept payments spread over a maximum of 6 months.

 

I have sent you a PM.

[RaeUK]

Just passing by, glad to see you've had good help here stressed2009. And best wishes to the forthcoming Little Stressed...

Rae.

[stressed2009]

I have sent you a PM back explaining a little more

 

He went to court, but lost his job soon afterwards and buried his head in the sand. I am trying to sort things out for him.

 

Thanks

 

Stressed

[stressed2009]

Just to keep you updated

got home yesterday to find 2 notices,

 

 

one was a "Final Notice" and

the other an A5 leaflet completed which told me if payment was not made within 7 day

s he would be re-attending with a locksmith to force entry.

 

 

Being very heavily pregnant and suffering a number of health problems since a car accident in December which I am now seeing a neurologist for

I really dont need this.

Am barely able to read or use computers at the mo so please accept my apologies for the delay responding

AND no this is not an excuse.

 

The majority of the possessions in the house were bought for ME by my family or bought by me.

It is my other half whos fine it is but it seems if they do as they threaten it will be me that loses out when they take my things!

Edited February 5, 2010 by stressed2009

[ploddertom]

Just to keep you updated got home yesterday to find 2 notices, one was a "Final Notice" and the other an A5 leaflet completed which told me if payment was not made within 7 days he would be re-attending with a locksmith to force entry. Being very heavily pregnant and suffering a number of health problems since a car accident in December which I am now seeing a neurologist for I really dont need this. Am barely able to read or use computers at the mo so please accept my apologies for the delay responding AND no this is not an excuse.

 

The majority of the possessions in the house were bought for ME by my family or bought by me. It is my other half whos fine it is but it seems if they do as they threaten it will be me that loses out when they take my things!

 

I gather you have not seen the said "gentleman" in person - if that is the case then he will have no idea of your present situation. It will probably pay you to sent an email pointing out your present situation to the Company concerned and ask that in view of this they should hold off any further action and return the case to Court. However it may be because the fine is in your OH name they may disregard this and wait for him to inform them - in this case it may be better for you both to do it.

 

Normal vulnerable situations need some form of proof but as you cannot hide yours it should be plain enough for them. He cannot however just turn up and break in. Possibly the Court should be appraised of your circumstances.

 

PT

[stressed2009]

I am going to give him a call in a minute to explain the circumstances and have already spoken to their main office to get an email address so I can put it in writing as well. My OH is going to call them as soon as he gets a chance to confirm things.

 

I did try speaking to the fines and enforcement unit but they refused to have anything to do with it despite the circumstances and insisted I must speak to the CEO as they have passed it on and will not have anything to do with it.

[ploddertom]

I am going to give him a call in a minute to explain the circumstances and have already spoken to their main office to get an email address so I can put it in writing as well. My OH is going to call them as soon as he gets a chance to confirm things.

 

Only call tem if you can record the call, strangely they have selective memory when it boils down to he said you said. Email addresses should be available from their website.

 

I did try speaking to the fines and enforcement unit but they refused to have anything to do with it despite the circumstances and insisted I must speak to the CEO as they have passed it on and will not have anything to do with it.

 

Could well be it is the Court manager you need to speak to, preferably in person.

 

 

PT

[stressed2009]

Hi

I need some advice, a note has been posted through our door for my partner.

 

 

It appears to be from HMCS and says "A warrant exists for your immediate arrest. To avoid being held in custody you should contact...

... If you do not contact this officer the warrant will be passed to the police"

 

I know my partner has missed a payment as he did not have the money to pay.

 

 

What should we do now?

 

 

Is this a bailiff company on behalf of the court?

Thanks

Stressed2009

[borisbeaver]

You need to get some serious advice from a solicitor now.

[green_and_mean]

Contacting the person by phone would seem like a good idea, it certainly won't make it worse.

[wackyone]

might also be worth contacting hmcs or the courts to clarify if it is a genuine warrant and not a ploy to put the frighteners on your partner

was the missed payment a court order/fine or ccj???

if so they dont normally go straight for a warrant. speaking from personal experience, i have a fine that i didnt pay for 12 months firstly because the courts changed how they handled continual payments but then cos i didnt want to pay/have the money to pay, they sent a couple of reminders then sent a final notice of issueing a warrant.

i contacted them and set up the payments again and have not heard from them since

Edited February 14, 2011 by wackyone

[stressed2009]

The fine is a court fine for a motoring offence he has so far paid off almost half of original balance.

 

 

It is a genuine warrant, they say my partner has to pay half and rest within 4 weeks or surrender himself to court.

 

 

They will not reset up payment plan they say installments would have to be agreed by the court once he surrenders himself.

Are the police really going to come arrest him for the 200odd that's outstanding?

[mightymouse_69]

Has there been any communication regarding this matter before?

[green_and_mean]

The fine is a court fine for a motoring offence he has so far paid off almost half of original balance. It is a genuine warrant, they say my partner has to pay half and rest within 4 weeks or surrender himself to court. They will not reset up payment plan they say installments would have to be agreed by the court once he surrenders himself. Are the police really going to come arrest him for the 200odd that's outstanding?

 

Yes he we be arrested and probably just bailed to appear before the magistrates again, they are unlikely to hold him overnight.

[tomtubby]

The fine is a court fine for a motoring offence he has so far paid off almost half of original balance. It is a genuine warrant, they say my partner has to pay half and rest within 4 weeks or surrender himself to court. They will not reset up payment plan they say installments would have to be agreed by the court once he surrenders himself. Are the police really going to come arrest him for the 200odd that's outstanding?

 

There are two companies under Contract with HMCS to enforce unapid magistrate court fines. These are Marston Group and Philips Ltd (sorry there is also Swift and Excel in Wales).

 

Is the letter that you received from either of these companies or is it from the court itself?

 

It is vital that you do not "keep your head in the sand" and that you pick up the phone to speak to the person responsible for this letter.

 

I do not want to frighten you but, courts do arrest people for missing a payment of a fine. This is to send a strict warning that unpaid fines are a very serious matter.

[stressed2009]

I think the letter was from the court as it was on HMCS headed paper although hand delivered. Before my OH had a chance to phone the person named on the letter this morning, he actually contacted him so OH has now agreed to pay half Friday and the rest within 4 weeks. We cant really afford that but OH cant afford to take time off to go to court either as he is self employed he would lose out on a days wages.

[alistair.long]

Hi, the fine which is made up can be made to go out your bank via standing order, less hassle if you know you can get arrested if you miss a payment.

The other thing you can do is to phone your local court and arrange a payment plan, they should inform you what times they are open from. You will then need to gis o in and show them you havent got the cash and what you are willing to pay and if need be that you need longer.

You will then be taken to the Judge who will slam his hammer and that will be the new order. Doesnt take to long, can be done on your own.

[mightymouse_69]

I wouldn't bother phoning.

 

Write to the fines and fees office of the magistrates court. You should tell them your difficulties and include some statement of your budget. You do not always have to attend a hearing at the court.