Marston

[maxpdaddy]

Hey All,

 

Today i received a letter from Marston Group regarding a Parking Fine from September 2006 !!

I don’t recall receiving a parking fine that i didn’t pay in 2006 but it was so long ago,

 

I was homeless between 2007 and 2010 i had no fixed address so i would not have received any letters

 

The letter doesn't tell me anything about where the fine was for, what the car reg was, who issued it... what the actual offence was. it doesn't have a return address, its not signed

 

it says the total is £245.42 that i have 7 days to make the payment in full and that they are in possession of a Magistrates Court Order so failure to pay means bailiffs.. no reminders will be issued

 

there is one line that says:

 

For: HM Courts & Tribunals Service Ref: 09006654N

 

I have already written and sent them a snotty letter stating that i do not acknowledge it, its the first i've heard of it and that i want evidence and proof of the debt and the court order etc but my questions are:

 

are they serious people ? or just the usual idiots pretending to be bigger then they actually are ?

 

if a court order has been issued can i actually still dispute the debt since its the first i've known about it?

 

i currently live with parent in laws and haven't really got much they can take... so what would happen in that case ? also... can they try to take anything of theirs or even come in as its not my house ??

 

i have a old car which is only worth about £300 at most but i need a car for my job... no car... no job, can i stop them taking it based on that ?

 

any help would be fantastic and greatly appreciated

 

many thanks

 

mark

[Ocelot0411]

The first thing you actually need to establish is if it is in fact a parking fine. Parking fines are usually (but not always) council tickets, council tickets are not dealt with at magistrates court so its either a police parking ticket or some other kind of motoring offence. I would suggest the best way to do this is actually get in touch with the court and see what they say. I know you have said that you have written to Marston's already but drop them an email saying that you had no knowledge of this and as such you are going to fill in a statutory declaration (you can't be prosecuted for an offence you didn't know about and the stat dec will set it aside). Marston's should be OK with this and are very unlikely to cause you any trouble in the meantime. I have dealt with them extensively in the past and I must say they have always been pretty easy to deal with, so I wouldn't worry. Once you know exactly what the offence is come back and we will tell you what to do from there.

 

This really isn't a big problem though so please don't worry about it.

[dx100uk]

contact the named court and findout what this is all about.

 

once you have the details post back

 

if its a council ticket then phne that council and enquire why its take sooooooo long.

 

something smells here

 

unless you've been off the radar for all those years.

 

dx

[tomtubby]

On the letter it SHOULD say something like: HMCS Manchester, HMCS Northwest etc. Can you pot back with details.

 

It is very likely that this is a parking ticket for an area of the country that operated criminalised parking in 2006. This is where a police officer issued a ticket as opposed to a parking warden.

 

This is actually VERY simple indeed to resolve and you now have 21 days in which to file a Statutory Declaration. There is a particular Stat Dec for this offence but before giving details of it could you please post back about the court. You say that you have written a letter. Is this to Marston Group or to the Court?

[friendlybailiff]

It is very rare, after this amount of time a statutory declaration or out of time appeal will be withheld, most councils now apply to the magistrates court for a distress warrant for the outstanding amount and in turn, we are sent to implement it, oh and we are not all that bad, Once a Stat Dec has been applied for at the issuing court, the court will notify Marstons and in turn inform the bailiff to place the warrant on hold for a set time, so the court can get all evidence together before making a decision. If upheld all problems go away, however, it can be turned down and the warrant will then be live once again

[friendlybailiff]

Just a quick pointer to maxpdaddy, the law says, that if you lodge, rent a room from someone, then yes access is allowed but only to view the debtors room, the only time further investigation is allowed by the bailiff is if he has good cause to believe that your belongings are held elsewhere in the house. Under no circumstances is he allowed to seize other peoples belongings, this only gets misty when you co-habit or married. With regards to your car, unfortunately it is up for seizure, as unless it is mobility, remote location contract or financed then yes, the bailiff can seize it, as the law sees it as an asset, and although sometimes not practical, the debtor can use the bus or other forms of public transport to get to work, hope this helps

[simonf1975]

As you currently live with parent in-laws get them to make a stat declaration and get it witnessed / signed by a solicitors usually cost £5-10 my partners cost a fiver...as below

 

 

STATUTORY DECLARATION

 

I, name

 

Address

 

Make the following declaration under the Statutory Declarations Act 1835:

 

All items contained within the property at the above address and within its boundaries, are owned by Mr/Mrs xxxxxxx. There are no items within the property or its boundaries belonging to any other person.

 

I understand that a person who intentionally makes a false statement in a statutory declaration is guilty of an offence under section 11 of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835, and I believe that the statements in this declaration are true in every particular.

 

Signed:

 

 

Declared at: on: of 2011

Before me,

 

Signature:

 

Full Name: Qualification:

 

 

Address:

[maxpdaddy]

hey guys,

 

thank you for all the replies so far...

 

On the letter it SHOULD say something like: HMCS Manchester, HMCS Northwest etc. Can you pot back with details.

 

 

there is nothing like that on this letter.. no named court how could i find out which court dealt with with it ?

 

here is a scan of it....

 

i am happy to pay for this fine if i did indeed receive one, but im not forking out £245 with no proof that it even exists....

Edited November 10, 2011 by maxpdaddy

[maxpdaddy]

well apparently the images get shrinked and i can't external link yet, so if anyone would like to see it pm me

 

thank you again

 

mark

[dx100uk]

attach it as a pdf via the go advanced button

 

dx

[maxpdaddy]

marston_letter_1.pdfmarston_letter_1.pdf

 

here is a pdf copy of the letter... hope this works !

[friendlybailiff]

Ok what you have is the standard letter Marstons send out, bearing in mind this is a courtesy letter and not a legal requirement, They indeed will have a magistrates Distress warrant ready to issue if the fine is not paid within the seven days. Also the £200 will be added to your fine after that date. You need to contact your nearest magistrates court quoting the number on the letter asking for information relating to the offence, they should be able to tell you where when and the vehicle involved, they also should be able to help with a statutory declaration. However, when a stat dec is made you are signing a legal, court stamped document acknowledging you have no idea what is going on, should you tell a few porkies and your liable to a perjury hearing as stated on the stat dec

[maxpdaddy]

Ok what you have is the standard letter Marstons send out, bearing in mind this is a courtesy letter and not a legal requirement, They indeed will have a magistrates Distress warrant ready to issue if the fine is not paid within the seven days. Also the £200 will be added to your fine after that date. You need to contact your nearest magistrates court quoting the number on the letter asking for information relating to the offence, they should be able to tell you where when and the vehicle involved, they also should be able to help with a statutory declaration. However, when a stat dec is made you are signing a legal, court stamped document acknowledging you have no idea what is going on, should you tell a few porkies and your liable to a perjury hearing as stated on the stat dec

 

firstly thankyou for the help... its nice to be able to speak to a bailiff about how they would deal with this and what can happen... it calms a lot of fears...

 

what concerns me is that the 7 days runs out this coming monday which is not enough time to get the court details and statuatory declaration done. if a bailiff comes before all that can i not just tell them that the debt is in dispute?

 

also

 

it may be that i did get a ticket... it may be that i took it off and then forgot about it... i just REALLY cant remember, i had a lot going on at the time... the things that led to me becoming homeless for 3 years mainly. But if i do the declaration and marston come forth with evidence and yes i definately had one could that be seen as perjury ? also if it does then turn out to be guilty as charged and the debt is valid as it were ... then surely having done the declaration and all that would just up the costs of going back through courts etc...

 

i wonder whether to just pay it and be done with... but im reluctant to pay something that i cant remember and dont have any information about

[friendlybailiff]

Hi and your welcome. Time is obviously of the essence, as of Monday there will be another £200 placed on the bill and the warrant will be assigned to a bailiff, usually about three weeks after, however, 1) if you pay before the bailiff attends, the fine as stated on your letter will still be applicable as the charge can only be made once he has attended, if this is the course you wish to take, phone Marstons and pay them direct. If you approach the court, looking for a stat dec and or an out of time appeal, make sure the bailiff knows this as he can hold the warrant for a few days to allow time for the court to issue or not as the case may be. Ensure the court, Enforcement Section, contact Marstons to place the warrant on hold, as they are the only ones that can do this, Bearing in mind a court stat dec costs nothing, if it is granted. Marstons as a company will listen and try and help if you contact them, but if you remain quiet and not do anything about it they can lawfully insist on the full amount being made, as to put a fine point on it, as its a magistrates distress warrant it falls into a criminal matter NOT a civil one. In your case I would contact the court as soon as is possible

[maxpdaddy]

i just tried calling the court... "if you are enquiring about a fine or bailliffs letter... please call the marston group on blah blah blah... ":???:

Edited November 11, 2011 by maxpdaddy
extra info

[friendlybailiff]

That sounds like a typical court answer machine, the problem is some courts still use this service, as when the distress warrant is passed to the bailiffs the court will not intervene, if this is the case, my advice would be to have a good weekend, hopefully you can be there should the bailiff call on Monday, explain to him exactly what you have written here and ask if he can get information for you regarding fine, location and vehicle, this is something he can do with ease, however the courts are not instantaneous with answers so it may take from 10 mins to several hours to get that info. if you can take the letter to the magistrates court personally where the enquiry desk should help you.

 

Bearing in mind the bailiff will first want to establish residence, and who's the belongings are, if no response is made from the door then a first letter is left, if in 24 hours no response is made a second letter is left, if still no response a third, after that they will drop a card stating they believe you are deliberately evading payment and can legally enter your premises through the services of a locksmith seeking to remove goods, the only permission needed is from their manager as the court have already sanctioned this as part of the distress warrant.

 

If the property is not yours and none of the goods in the house are, then there is no excuse for not contacting the bailiff before it gets to that stage. Bailiffs cannot look through the windows and seize what they see as this is blanket seizure and is now against the law. However, the law now states that " seizure to ascertain" can be utilised, so if the bailiff believes the goods are yours, and no documentation is available, he can seize to ascertain ownership. The goods are then held at the auctioneers for 6 days for the owner to prove the goods are theirs. Most bailiffs will try and help, as its not in their interest to keep visiting a property with no outcome, the problem you have is the further £200 that will be added. The only other form of recourse is to phone marston direct, tell them you are seeking a stat dec from the court and explain your reasons for doing so, they should be able to temporarily put the warrant on hold until you can sort it out.