i was late paying a fine, marstons want fees - but it was paid in full before 1st letter - help

[patman]

hi there i hope some one can help me

 

i received a £85 fine for speeding stupid !!

 

i agreed to pay the court 2 installments of £30 and 1 £25

i was late paying one month

so they sent me a letter which i called them and explained why i Had missed the paymen,

we came to an agreement and i paided £30 and i said i would pay the £25 at the end of November ,

 

i paided the £25 on the Saturday the 19 11 2011

then on the Th November this year i received a letter saying they have received the £25 leaving the account clear

but they have issued a enforcement with marston group and because they have issued it they is nothing they can do

and the £25 will clear the fine

but if marston bailiff call i will AFT pay ther charges,

 

i rang the court and the first lady was great and said there was problem a mistake and refired me to a fines support man,

after a long chat he abrubly said there is nothing i can do as if he dose return the enforcement he would AFTo do it for everyone,

 

i explained my circumstances

i am a full time carer for my disabled wife recovering from a stroke and bedridden

and very poorly

we receive Dal and carers and income support

,but he said there is nothing i can do,

 

what is the law on this

i was not told they would be sending a bailiff

i had paid the fine in full before receiving a letter stating that

 

my wife is at her wits end

please help thanks

 

patty

[Jamberson]

we came to an agreement and i paided £30 and i said i would pay the £25 at the end of November ,

 

Was that agreed in writing?

[patman]

Was that agreed in writing?

no that was over the phone the chap oat the court said i said 4 th november but i sad it would at the end of november, i had already paid the balace of £25 on the saturday over the phone and i received the letter today thursday,i have not had a letter or call yet from marston group only the letter from the court today. thanks patman

[wonkeydonkey]

This is appalling, you must make a complaint to the Court Manager intially by phone and if you can record the conversation with your mobile phone do so, follow that with a complaint in writing...I suggest you also involve your MP.

 

Wd

[brassnecked]

Follow WD on this Formal Complaints, what may happen as has on a couple of threads is the court admins refund your payments, to allow marstons to collect the fine and their fees.

[dx100uk]

2 threads merged

 

dx

[patman]

hi thanks for all your replys

 

the letter says

 

" your recent payment has been credited to your fine and the authorised enforcemen tagent informed,

they will deduct the amount you have paid from the amount outstanting on the warrant,

how ever once the warrant has been issued the authorised enforcement agent are entitled to collect thier fees assosociated with the exccution of the warrent.

 

payment of the order itsself to hm courts and tribuna lservive will not change this situation and they will continue to enforce agsainst you for the collection of their fees

once the amount due to the court has been paid,"

 

i have not recived a letter or a call from marston yet,

 

im just concerned about them calling and their fees geting higher and higher

when i have already paid the fine to the courts,

 

my wife is very poorly and this is making her worse,

 

thanks for everyones help

 

patman

[dx100uk]

who was this letter from to clarify things please?

 

dx

[brassnecked]

I think HMCS have signed up to the National association of Enforcement Agencies 2002 guidelines, and due to your wife's condition she would be classed as vulnerable, which also means you are vulnerable, and as marstons are stressing her, bailiff action is regarded as inappropriate, i would inform the court manager of this and provide proof of vulnerability, viz your wife's condition

 

National Standards for Enforcement Agents align May 2002Vulnerable situations

 

 

• Enforcement agents/agencies and creditors must recognise that they each have a role in ensuring that the vulnerable and socially excluded are protected and that the recovery process includes procedures agreed between the agent/agency and creditor about how such situations should be dealt with. The appropriate use of discretion is essential in every case and no amount of guidance could cover every situation, therefore the agent has a duty to contact the creditor and report the circumstances in situations where there is potential cause for concern. If necessary, the enforcement agent will advise the creditor if further action is appropriate. The exercise of appropriate discretion is needed, not only to protect the debtor, but also the enforcement agent who should avoid taking action which could lead to accusations of inappropriate behaviour.
  
• Enforcement agents must withdraw from domestic premises if the only person present is, or appears to be, under the age of 18; they can ask when the debtor will be home - if appropriate.
  
• Enforcement agents must withdraw without making enquiries if the only persons present are children who appear to be under the age of 12.
  
• Wherever possible, enforcement agents should have arrangements in place for rapidly accessing translation services when these are needed, and provide on request information in large print or in Braille for debtors with impaired sight.
  
• Those who might be potentially vulnerable include:
  
  • 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
    

[patman]

hi the letter was from hm courts & tribunals services ( greater manchester accounts & enforcement unit) signed *** designated fines officer, thanks patman

[tomtubby]

Would you be able to resubmit your question as there are typo problems with the dates. You have said that you paid the court on 19th November and that you then received a letter on Te November.

 

[EDIT]. frankly, the administration of these court fines BY THE MAGISTRATES COURTS is a cause of great concern. You would be surprised to know that EVERY DAY we received an IDENTICAL query as yours. If many case, payment has been made to the court using their own online payment facility and it is found that their own payment facility does not credit the payment for 7 days !!!

 

If you are in arrears with repayment of a court FINE, then there is a legal requirement that the Court MUST sent to you a Further Steps Notice which is to advise you that UNLESS the arrears or fine are paid that ANY of the Further Steps as outlined in the FSN will taken if the the arrears are not paid within 14 days of the date of the FSN.

 

I have seen many cases where the payment was made a day or two late and yet, the court are refusing to stop the process and instead, "claim" that there is nothing that can be done.

 

From so many cases that I have seen, the likes of Philips, Swift, Marston and Excel ( the 4 companies with Contracts to enforce these unpaid Magistrates Court fines) do not even receive the Distress Warrants until around 2 weeks AFTER the court are claiming that a Distress Warrant has been issued.

 

Where I have concerns is that the court SHOULD he able to have some degree of discretion. This is UTTER nonsense. The FINE has been paid in Full.

 

Another point is that this scenario will ultimately lead to people like you, making complaints against the ENFORCEMENT COMPANY , which in your case is Marston Group. So far, the bailiff company have done nothing wrong but they would not know that you had paid and neither would they be aware that your circumstances are clearly classed as "vulnerable" in accordance with the National Standards for Enforcement Agents.

 

You certainly have grounds for complaint but this should NOT be against the bailiff firm but should be directed to the Court Manager at the Magistrates Court.

If an initial letter is sent to you, then Marston Group will request administration fees of just £75. I am sure that Marston Group would see that there has been some injustice on the part of the Court and if the background to this query was given to them, they would very likely return the warrant back to the court. A letter needs to be sent to Marston's first thing on the morning.

 

Please try not to worry. I will post back in the morning.

[patman]

thanks very much for your help .patman

[patman]

hi there i hope some one can help me i received a £85 fine for speeding stupid !! anyway i agreed to pay the court 2 installment's of £30 and 1 £25, i was late paying one month so they sent me a letter which i called them and explained why i Had missed the payment, we came to an agreement and i paided £30 and i said i would pay the £25 at the end of November , i paided the £25 on the Saturday the 19 11 2011 then on the 25th November 2011 this year i received a letter saying they have received the £25 leaving the account clear but they have issued a enforcement with marston group and because they have issued it they is nothing they can do and the £25 will clear the fine but if marston bailiffs call i will afto pay their charges, i rang the court and the first lady was great and said there was proberly a mistake and revered me to a fines support man, after a long chat he abruptly said there is nothing i can do, as if he returns the enforcement he would after do it for everyone, i explained my circumstances, i am a full time carer for my disabled wife recovering from a stroke and bedridden and very poorly but he said there is nothing i can do, what is the law on this i was not told they would be sending a bailiff i had paid the fine in full before receiving a letter stating that my wife is at her wits end please help thanks patty

[brassnecked]

Thanks patman, I think as tomtubby has alluded to you have paid in full, but have fallen victim to a 7 day clearence, I would follow tomtubby on this and contact the court manager, and send an email, and a hard copy by post to marstons asap.

 

Don't worry, you are in safe hands with tomtubby on the case.

[tomtubby]

Brassnecked.....thank you for your kind words....they are much appreciated.

 

A letter of complaint to the Magistrates Court is certainly needed and a further one to Marston Group. I will put something together later today.

[brassnecked]

No problem TT, where there is blatant incompetence/unlawful application of fees, the authorities must feel the full rigour of complaints in the hope that one day they will get it right.

 

Debts should be paid, but not with the addition of spurious, and/or unlawful fees

 

BN

[tomtubby]

Patman,

 

I have sent you a message.

[patman]

hi i have sent you a reply at bailiffs, sorry for the delay thanks patman

[Conniff]

Patman,

 

I have sent you a message.

 

hi i have sent you a reply at bailiffs, sorry for the delay thanks patman

 

Tomtubby, Why have you sent a message, what is so secret about this that it cannot be said in the open forum ?

[DeeDee401]

I have plenty of experience here!

 

I just finished going through this exact experience which nearly ruined my life, my marriage and my mental health.

 

It's a nightmare I wish upon noone.

Don't worry.

If you have paid the fine to the court then you do not owe bailiff anything. Not a sausage.

They ARE entitled to collect fees and entitled to keep it if you give it to them they are NOT entitled to enforce any action to get you to pay it.

You legally do not owe it. Make sense?

 

It's in the HMCS guidline/handbook (its online, although I don't know where exactly) to encourage you to pay the bailiff

and to allow the bailiff to take any steps necessary within the law or not to retrieve their "fees" even though the the person owing is not resposible for fees.

 

It's beyond belief, but its there in black and white!!

My jaw hit the floor when I saw that!

Basically it keeps the bailiffs sweet and gives them incentive to continue working for the HMCS. True!

 

So the bailiff will show up huff, puff and do whatever.

He'll lie, say he's going to take your belongings, tell you a removal truck is "on its way", even say he's going to arrest you himself with a warrant he's gotten from the courts.

 

Ours even went so far as to removed the air from my car tyre and claim it was "immobilized" until we paid up!!!

 

I cannot say this strongly enough....DON'T BELIEVE THEM!

They have no powers to do anything whatsoever, providing you have given them no money and have not let them into your home.

Let him huff and puff, stay strong.

Keep your vehicles safe.

They may not have powers to seize goods but they WILL tamper with them or try and clamp them to persuade you to pay.

 

If they do, just call the police. They clear off pretty quick when you do that!

 

I wrote a letter of complaint to the court manager and recieved a reply a week later telling me swiftly where i could sod off to.

I copied my complaint to Marstons, so told me the Bailiff denied everything and they believe them.

The were however no longer persuing me for the fines.

Gee thanks.

 

Unfortunately, all you can do is stay strong.

Eventually, he will give up when he realizes your not paying even if he may make your life hell in the interim.

 

I'm writing a letter to my MP to strongly suggest that such appalling and illegal behaviour (sactioned by our own HMCS no less) be stopped!!!

 

Phone Debtline or Citizen's Advice. They'll back you up and also put your mind at ease that you're in the right.

 

Hang in there!!

Edited November 29, 2011 by DeeDee401

[dx100uk]

well done

 

dx