Marston HCEO Notice of Seizure

[kateetak]

Hello

 

I returned home and found several pieces of wet paper left on the doorstep. The first being a rather threatening letter signed by Marston Group Limited, no actual name and the next two sheets were a notice of seizure.

 

It appears that the debt is from a landlord who I've had no communication with since i moved out two years ago so I was unaware that I owed them any rent. Having spoken to some friends who lived with them they are now recouping rent they believe is owed to them. My rent was paid by Standing order (i have the statements) and when I missed a rent I called up to pay it over the phone. I have emails where i requested proof of payment but these were never sent to me. I also asked for my deposit back which was never returned to me so I assumed it covered any missing rent. They were so unorganised and slapdash but it seems there trying to get themselves running more efficiently now hence the visit from marstons.

 

I have had no correspondence regarding any outstanding rent arrears from my landlord even though they have my email and phone number and still have me on their mailing list. They have not tried to contact me once. The only contact has been from marstons yesterday.

 

The letter says that if I don't contact the office immediately that they will return with a locksmith and force entry to the premises.

 

They've also added on nearly £900 in officers fee's. The rent they claim I owe is for £1400.

 

I'm currently on JSA and HB. I don't own a car or property or anything of real value.

 

Many thanks in advance for any advice and help.

[twelveoclock]

Hi, I have an issue with Marstons too. I received a phone call today from a man talking about a high court writ. I asked him what he was referring to and he said he had left all the information at my house. I said I hadn't received anything and could he confirm the address; it turns out he had an address that I left about 18 months ago.

 

So I called Marstons office to update my details and they said I owe £1170 and that this had gone through Northampton county court (he gave me a reference, but I don't know what to do with it). Presumably any notifications of this were going to my old address, but I had definitely given my new address to the company that the debt originally came from; I know this because they sent me some other correspondance at the new address. So, as far as I can tell, they have issued me an invoice which they managed to send to an old address despite me giving them my new one, which I didn't receive so didn't pay and this has escalated through a court and now Marstons and has somehow ended up at well over £1000 - the original amount owed could never have been anything like that much!!

 

I don't feel I should have been charged fees because I didn't receive this information until it had come to this stage. Is there anything I can do?

[gstanny]

you need to do a set-aside on the grounds that you never received the paper work, due to you moving house. this will revert the debt to what it was before any bailiff fees or costs were added

[brassnecked]

Hi, I have an issue with Marstons too. I received a phone call today from a man talking about a high court writ. I asked him what he was referring to and he said he had left all the information at my house. I said I hadn't received anything and could he confirm the address; it turns out he had an address that I left about 18 months ago.

 

So I called Marstons office to update my details and they said I owe £1170 and that this had gone through Northampton county court (he gave me a reference, but I don't know what to do with it). Presumably any notifications of this were going to my old address, but I had definitely given my new address to the company that the debt originally came from; I know this because they sent me some other correspondance at the new address. So, as far as I can tell, they have issued me an invoice which they managed to send to an old address despite me giving them my new one, which I didn't receive so didn't pay and this has escalated through a court and now Marstons and has somehow ended up at well over £1000 - the original amount owed could never have been anything like that much!!

 

I don't feel I should have been charged fees because I didn't receive this information until it had come to this stage. Is there anything I can do?

 

Hi twelveoclock it would be better to have your own thread, to target the advice to your exact situationyou can use this one I have opened for you here:

 

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=168

 

I think you will be able to challenge this, and the regulars will be along soon no doubt

[twelveoclock]

Thank you, sorry I didn't mean to hijack another thread but I'm new here and this seemed to be related!

[kateetak]

Hello. not sure if the advice was directed to me or not. I've been on the phone to the national debtline and they've said that I could apply for a set aside which could potentially incur me more costs in fee's or apply for a stay of execution. I also advised them of my credit card debts and I'm seriously considering applying for a DRO which would also take into account these rent arrears.

 

I'm not sure if it was a good idea or not but I phoned my old landlord and explained that the first I knew of the debt was the contact from Marstons yesterday! Ironically, i received an email from my landlord earlier today as it appears I'm still on their mailing list. There going to discuss it and get back to me tomorrow.

[robbie2009]

To succeed in a set aside you will need to demonstrate that you have a reasonable prospect in defending the case. Simply not receiving the original court paperwork is NOT usually a sufficient ground for set aside if:

 

a) the claim was sent to your last known or usual address

b) has not been returned by the Post Office as undelivered

 

So the crux is to try and find out where the paperwork was served as clearly the landlord would have known you have moved.

[gstanny]

i disagree with that robbie. a well known tactic of creditors is to send the court summons to a previouse address and win judgment by default. i have in the past won set aside on that ground.

[tomtubby]

Only yesterday, I came across two similar cases where the claimant had given WRONG addresses when completing an on claim claim form with the Northampton Bulk Centre. In one case, the summons had been addressed to the PREVIOUS address which the claimant knew the debtor had moved from and in the other case, the claimant had put the wrong Unit number on a trading estate and had also MISSED OFF THE POSTCODE !!!

 

Many times, the courts etc will try to "claim" that people are deliberatly failing to pay their debts. As the above will show, the claimants are at fault for providing the wrong information!!

 

Whether this is Marsons or any other High Court Enforcement Company they are merely given the task of enforcing the writ and any of these companies would not want to waste their time pursuing debts that are clearly disputed.

[robbie2009]

i disagree with that robbie. a well known tactic of creditors is to send the court summons to a previouse address and win judgment by default. i have in the past won set aside on that ground.

 

If the creditor was aware that the adress had changed then it would be an automatic set aside, authority for this is Akram v Adam [2004] EWCA Civ 1601. If the creditor had sent the claim to their last known address then a set aside is unlikely without a reasonable prospect to succeed - it's not automatic, you would need to convince the court. This thinking that a judgment will be automatically be set aside just because the original claim wasn't seen by the debtor simply isn't right. See CPR Part 13.

[wonkeydonkey]

Set aside application for a debt you were unaware existed, due to all communications being sent to an address the claimant knew to be incorrect, will be viable.

 

WD

[twelveoclock]

Thanks all for responses. Creditor was aware of change of address - or at least, somebody in their office was, as they have sent me other correspondance to the new address. What I suspect happened is that they didn't update their system (I prefer to think this than that they deliberately sent it to an incorrect address - it doesn't seem in the interest of the creditor to let it get to this stage?). I should note also that I have not lived in the address that the summons was delivered to for 18 months now, so I had no reason to check at this stage if any mail was being sent there in error (according to Marstons, the court summons were issued in November, so it's very recent). I did leave a forwarding address with the landlord when I moved.

 

I have spoken to Marstons and the only thing I am debating now is whether to give an interim payment to them while the set aside is pending to prevent any bailiff action. The thing that concerns me is that the lady at Marstons said that I "wouldn't necessarily" get any payment back if the set-aside were granted.

 

I don't dispute the original amount owed, but that is half the sum that Marstons are now demanding!

 

Does anybody have any idea how long the set-aside application might take to be processed? Would it be likely that I would need to attend a hearing in this circumstance?

[wonkeydonkey]

lady at Marstons said that I "wouldn't necessarily" get any payment back if the set-aside were granted.

 

Bullsh*t you will get every penny back that has been paid if set aside is gained......been there and done it...... as I said in earlier posts you must without delay get your application to set aside/stay execution into the Court asap as time is limited once you become aware of the debt.

 

WD

[robbie2009]

Set aside application for a debt you were unaware existed, due to all communications being sent to an address the claimant knew to be incorrect, will be viable.

 

WD

 

Yup, that's what I said

[wonkeydonkey]

Set aside can take 4-8 weeks to get a hearing BUT stay of execution is often done on the same day if they have a "spare" Judge to put it before, you must stress to the court office the urgency of the matter, which is why it is always best to take your application to the Court in person. Some on here will tell you they have attended for a stay pending set aside and come away with the stay granted in principle followed by the order a few days later. Once the stay is granted it becomes effective forthwith...straight away.

 

WD

[kateetak]

no offence to you twelve o'clock but can't you start your own thread? I posted here for advice on my specific situation and now I'm confused as to whether the advice is directed at me or you! I wish you all the best with marstons.

[twelveoclock]

Thanks, I couldn't get a copy of the writ but eventually got the details I need to complete the set aside form from Marstons so am taking it to the court first thing tomorrow. I hope they can deal with it quickly

 

Thank you (all) for the advice, I literally had no idea about any of this stuff so it has been very very helpful.

[wonkeydonkey]

Twelveoclock can you use your own thread please High-court-writ-with-no-notificationotherwise you will get lost and peeps can't help you.:wink:

[kateetak]

I'm totally confused now. Should i start a new thread since this ones been hijacked?

[wonkeydonkey]

No you should be ok kateetak, as often happens a new cagger never had any dealings with enforcement just needed a bit of guidance.

As it happens your thread is exactly the same as the other cagger therefore the same advice applies,.

 

Set aside is on form N244 and stay can be incorporated, fee is approx £50 but not 100% certain, as you are on JSA etc you also need to complete form ex 160 as you will be exempt from the Court fee.

 

If you need any help filling in the forms please don't hestitate to ask.

 

WD

[kateetak]

Thanks for the reply. I've had no contact with Marstons or any courts regarding this. I did contact my ex landlord yesterday regarding the amount owed as I know they've been trying to get money out of other friends who lived with them. I'm waiting on a call back from them.

 

Should i still go ahead with the set aside?

 

Also, I'm seriously considering a DRO as i have credit card debts i've defaulted on and it seems to make sense as my finances are in such a mess and i can't afford any repayments. According to national debtline this debt will be included in with the others too.

[kateetak]

Thanks for the reply. I've had no contact with Marstons or any courts regarding this. I did contact my ex landlord yesterday regarding the amount owed as I know they've been trying to get money out of other friends who lived with them. I'm waiting on a call back from them.

 

Should i still go ahead with the set aside?

 

Also, I'm seriously considering a DRO as i have credit card debts i've defaulted on and it seems to make sense as my finances are in such a mess and i can't afford any repayments. According to national debtline this debt will be included in with the others too.

[wonkeydonkey]

If you do owe the debt and would still not be able to pay following a successful set aside then DRO might be a way forward for you. Take a look in the cag banks and CC forums there might be some good advice regarding your CC problems in there especially if you had PPI.

 

WD

[ploddertom]

 

Set aside is on form N244 and stay can be incorporated, fee is approx £50 but not 100% certain, as you are on JSA etc you also need to complete form ex 160 as you will be exempt from the Court fee.

 

WD

 

Current Fee is £80

[tomtubby]

This debt is a civil one and can of course be included in a DRO.

 

The likes of Payplan or National Debt Line can assist you.

 

However, you will see on the Marston Group website that they have a link up with CCCS who could also assist you. It would be worth making a call to them first.

 

From reading back on your posts, a DRO is probably your best option.