Help with bailiffs - police fines

[athenajm]

Hi, I'm posting on here on behalf of a friend who stupidly has ignored a couple of police fines.

 

One of them has been passed to the bailiff company (swift), the other hasn't gone over yet so he's hoping he can arrange a payment plan with them.

 

Basically, he's set up as S/E and at the moment isn't making much money which is why he ignored the fines. He is a mobile mechanic so is reliant on his vehicle in order to work.

 

The bailiff went to his house today (he did try to come to an agreement over the phone but they said tough, it's gone to a bailiff so he has to sort it out with him) and saw that he has nothing worth taking, so he said he'll give him until Friday to come up with £400 otherwise the choice is either they take his car or he'll go to prison.

 

I was under the impression that they couldn't take anything that you require for your business? There's no way he can come up with £400 by Friday, maybe £50 but that would probably be the max he could get. If he loses his car then he wouldn't be able to afford to get another one so he'd end up out of work, even less chance of being able to pay the debt. He would obviously prefer not to go to prison (although he already has a criminal record - bad choices when he was younger, part of why he went S/E as it was easier to do that than find someone who would take him on) but if he did 'choose' the prison option, would the fines be wiped out?

 

Basically, does anyone have any suggestions about how to deal with this, and whether they can take his car?

 

Thanks for your help

[i hate bailiffs]

how much is the car worth in relation to the fine is it on finance

 

HIDE THE CAR from them

 

bailiffs lie the prison trick trying to scare him into paying

[athenajm]

The car is a beat up old Merc (N reg), probably worth about £150 max if he sold it privately so I don't think it would be worth much towards the fine.

 

So if the prison thing is just to scare him, what should his next step be? Just refuse to let them take the car and see what they do next?

[i hate bailiffs]

a car worth £150 take off towing fees,auction,bailiff and storage fees it would gain nothing towards the debt

 

has this fine gone through the court?? if so you will need to make arrangements with the court

[athenajm]

Yes, it's the court appointed bailiff. How does my friend find out what court it is in order to try to contact them? All he's had (allegedly!) is the letter from the bailiffs saying when they're coming round. Thanks for all your help

[ploddertom]

Did he receive a Further Steps Notice from the Court asking him to bring his account up to date? This is a legal requirement.

[athenajm]

Not as far as I know. I've told him to bring everything he has relating to the debt to my house today so I can go through it. I'm pretty sure though that he had the original fine, then nothing until a letter from Swift saying pay us in 7 days or we're sending the bailiffs round, then a letter saying we called and will be back on monday to take your stuff.

 

He has let them in (he thought you had to as they were court bailiffs, not the 'normal' ones) but hasn't signed anything.

[athenajm]

If they can't take the car as he needs it for his work as a mechanic, is there a law/legislation etc that my friend can quote at him? I've googled and googled but can't find anything, I can find lots saying that they can't take his car but nothing stating where in legislation this is covered.

[ploddertom]

To claim his vehicle as a tool of the trade he needs to:

1 - be the sole driver

2 - have it insured for business purposes, it can be argued if on SDP but is more awkward

3 - preferably be signwritten

[sgtbush]

the car/van wouldnt be taken

needs to prove that it is essential for work as mobile mechanic

if its in the hands of the bailiffs then their is a warrant of distress issued bty the court dealing with it.

if it not paid/arrangement set up or goods seized to the value, it will be returned to the courts as unenforcable and the courts make a decision on what to do

A warrant of commital is the next stage up im afraid

i would advise if he cant pay a bit off the fine and come to an arrangement then make voluantery payments of what he can afford but do this weekly without fail and when the courts have it back in their hands

they will see that the debtor is bothered about the fine and is trying, they will more than likely give more time to pay instead if issuing a warrant of commital

hope your friend gets it sorted