Help with debt and Marston Group **Success**

[nuttyburd]

Hi I am really, shaking whilst trying to type this so please excuse spelling.

 

I have an outstanding debt with Anglian water, which has been passed to Marston Group, first I knew of thier involvement was a visit from a baliff.

 

I was out, my son ansewred the door after a phonecall from her asking him why he didnt open the door. she was at the wrong door.

 

when he spoke to her at the correct door she gave him all the details of the debt and told him to get me to call as soon aas I got home.

 

She then left him a Strictly confidential letter that waas not in an envelope.

 

This was back in April,

 

when I got home I called the Marston office and discussed the fact that I thought this was a breach of data protection. and eventually I agreed to pay £50 per month.

 

The debt at this time was £600.

 

I have been paying £50 a month since although I have been a few days late on a couple of occasions due to receiving benefits 4 weekly

and not always having money on the right date each month.

 

I then get phonecalls from the Lewis group who say they are chasing £1600. on behalf of Anglian water

so I told them I was already paying Marston Group.

 

After checking I have been told by Lewis that Marston have not been paying the money to Anglian.

So today I phoned Marston to check whats going on.

 

Firstly they told me the debt is now £800 due to interest even though I have paid £350 over the last 7 months

and they will not discuss how much is being paid to Anglian water.

 

As of today I am now late again with the paayment to Marston

but do not want to pay them anymore as its not clearing the debt anyway, its just getting higher, and Im not sure they are paaying off Anglian Water.

 

I cant afford to pay Lewis group too and am worried that Marston will now send a van to take goods as Ive refused to pay them anymore till I know whatss going on.

 

Help where do I stand and what can I do.

[Leakie]

Hi Nuttyburd

 

Sounds like you are being played by Marstons

I would contact Anglian Water and find out how much is owed

let them know how much you have paid,

They may even take it back from Marstons

 

Leakie

[dx100uk]

woe hold on.

 

did anglia take you to court

 

if not

 

why are marstons involved

 

as for paying any spoofing DCA, no

 

and stay off the phone too!!

 

tell us the full story

 

martsons are bailiffs, not a DCA - if its not been to court, why are they involved?

 

lewis are a dca with no powers atall.

 

dx

[i hate bailiffs]

i am assuming you have a CCJ for this debt???

 

did you know about it? or it the first you heard of it was when bailiffs turned up?

[nuttyburd]

I cannot recall this ever going to court, (I have been to court for another water rates with Essex and Sufolk water). I also have not been notified by Anglian waater that the dabt was being passed to Marston Group or to Lewis group.

 

I do owe Anglian water and thats why I agreed to pay Marston after the baliffs visit, but I am paying all I can afford and was never notified of any interest. I am really concerned that the amount is going up and not down. Im now behind again with paayments to Martson but Im scared to pay them anymore.

[i hate bailiffs]

I cannot recall this ever going to court, (I have been to court for another water rates with Essex and Sufolk water). I also have not been notified by Anglian waater that the dabt was being passed to Marston Group or to Lewis group.

 

I do owe Anglian water and thats why I agreed to pay Marston after the baliffs visit, but I am paying all I can afford and was never notified of any interest. I am really concerned that the amount is going up and not down. Im now behind again with paayments to Martson but Im scared to pay them anymore.

 

I cant see how and why marstons are collecting if it has not been to court

[nuttyburd]

If I had received anything from the court I would have replied to it, with a breakdown of income etc. as I did with the Essex and Suffolk debt. And offered a payment direct to Anglian.

Im sure the first I knew of it was when the balliff turned up telling my son about the debt (and scaring him). I phoned them because I was very angry with what she had done, but as I knew I owed it I agreed a payment, I wish I hadnt now.

[ploddertom]

Marstons do have a debt collection arm.

 

Did the person from Marstons claim at any time to be a Bailiff or High Court Enforcement Officer? Have you checked your credit files to see if this is the result of a CCJ whether or not you knew about it? Have you spoken to Anglian about it?

[nuttyburd]

Yes they said they were High Court enforcement officers when I phoned and they kept quoting a court writ, which apparently gives them the right to add loads of fees and the interest, Ive asked them to send me a statement of payments and breakdown of charges.

 

I havnt spoken to Anglian yet as I wanted to ask for advice from this site first, I dont know which way to turn for the best.

[brassnecked]

Would a stay of execution on the writ still be an option for nuttyburd at this stage, as she cannot afford the fees, being potentially vulnerable due to living on benefits?

Edited November 20, 2012 by brassnecked

[ploddertom]

Did they leave you a Form 55 when they originally called? How old is your son?

[nuttyburd]

No they did not leave anything apart from a letter with the figures owing scribbled on it.

My Son is 17.

[ploddertom]

It appears that Anglian Water took you to Court for an unpaid bill(s). For whatever reason it also appears you did not receive the paperwork and Judgment has been entered against you - because no acknowledgement, defence etc was entered. Following Judgment no monies were paid and the debt has been transferred to the High Court for enforcement which is where you find yourself now. It appears that the first you knew about this was when the HCEO knocked on the door.

 

I can't explain why you never received the paperwork but would suggest you try and check your credit file or check with the Court to see what address everything was sent to. In a lot of cases like this you are able to apply for Set Aside but I assume you do not have the funds to be able to pay this in full. Therefore you would only be swapping one CCJ for another as any defence would fail.

 

I would imagine if you had received the documentation you would no doubt have come to an arrangement to pay and for this reason would suggest you apply for a Variation Order. This includes filling in a comprehensive I&E to submit to the Court and if on Benefits the amount you will be asked to pay may be small. You apply for this on Form N245 available from http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/n245-eng.pdf cost of the application is £45 but if on a low wage or certain Benefits then the fee may be waived - see Form EX160 http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex160a_eng.pdf . The form must be returned to the Court where the CCJ was awarded.

 

Next message will help to sort out Marstons.

Edited November 20, 2012 by ploddertom

[nuttyburd]

I have just been and checked my credit report and can find no ccj for this judgement. although I did get a number off Marstons toda,y when they mentioned the wrti, which is a court judgement number.

I will look into filling out the forms you suggest to get this sorted.

 

Its not as though I am being akward or unwilling to pay, I know I owe the money and am willing to come to an arragement but its got to be affordable.

 

I thought I was paying the debt but instead have just got deeper into it.

 

Thabkyou.

[ploddertom]

The number you will have received from Marston is the Writ No., which is very different from the CCJ No.

[ploddertom]

When Marstons first attended they should have left you with some documentation - most usually a Form 55. Although they may have carte blanche from the Creditor, the normal practice to accept instalments is for them to check it is OK first. The chances are that of each £50 you pay them they may be being as little as £20 to Anglian Water as it usually paid on a pro rata basis. There are 2 things I would do:

 

1 - submit a Subject Access Request on them. Costs £10 and they have 40 days in which to reply. This should show each stage of the enforcement process - when charges etc are applied and payments made.

2 - apply to the Court for a Stay of Execution against the HCEO. If granted this halts all further enforcement action & charges. This is applied for on Form N244 http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/n244_eng.pdf , I have a guide to help fill this if needed. Your grounds for applying for this are:

a - you cannot afford the fees demanded

b - pending determination of a Variation Order

[dx100uk]

www.trustonline.org.uk

 

this smells!!

 

dx

[nuttyburd]

Thank you dx100uk I have been on Trust online there is one ccj against me for £650 which is the one in question it was dated Feb 2007

 

I just feel so silly to have started paying Marstons in the first place. I have had dealings with ballifs in the past and have sorted all my debts bar this one without being sucked into their lies.

 

Thank you PLODDERTOM for your help with all this, I will be downloading forms and sending the subject access request tomorrow.

 

In the meantime I had another phonecall from the Lewis group tonight I 'politley' told them not to phone hear again, if they want to they can write to me but unless I have notification from Anglian water to say Lewis group are dealing with it I will not talk to them or respond to their mail.

 

 

My question now is how does the subject acess request help, what will I be able to do if and when I receive it. and what do I do if they turn up with a van in the meantime, do they have any rights of access to levy or seize goods. Is there anything I can do about the £350 theyve already had off me and what do I do about the fact the debt is now £800 before daily charges Im now apparently encruing.

[dx100uk]

urm...

 

i wonder when the warrant was issued?

 

out of time if not recent - ask PT.

 

if lewis are chasing this too something smells.

 

dx

[nuttyburd]

I think Lewis may be chasing the amount from after the ccj was issued.

 

I hadnt realised it was from so long ago.

 

I will check this tomorrow with Anglian water to find out how much I owe now and see if I can deal directly with them.

 

As I said I was in alot of debt and this is the only one I havnt yet sorted.

 

I still owe Essex and Suffolf water too but they have been very helpful and I am paying them direct to clear debt without intrest.

Edited November 20, 2012 by nuttyburd
missing information.

[nuttyburd]

I have just had a quick look on CAB site, it would seem that the writ is only valid for one year. as it was issued in 2007 and Marston did not contact me untill they sent their balliff in April, were they acting unlawfully. can I claim back any of my money???

[dx100uk]

really?

 

ploddertom might confirm

 

but i think you are entitled to everything back.

 

dx

[dx100uk]

I think Lewis may be chasing the amount from after the ccj was issued.

 

I hadnt realised it was from so long ago.

 

I will check this tomorrow with Anglian water to find out how much I owe now and see if I can deal directly with them.

 

As I said I was in alot of debt and this is the only one I havnt yet sorted.

 

I still owe Essex and Suffolf water too but they have been very helpful and I am paying them direct to clear debt without intrest.

 

well def dont pay lewis

 

me thinks marstons have spoofed you here.

 

that why what you hve paid has not gone to AW?

 

dx

[nuttyburd]

I hope your are right and I may be able to get it back, its made me feel sick that Im paying more than I can afford to them each month and have only today found out that its not even paying off the debt.

 

I will hold off send the court forms untill someone can confirm what to do, and anyway I need help filling them in. lol

[ploddertom]

As regards the age of the Writ, it is indeed only valid for a year but it may be renewed on request. If you are going to ring Anglian tomorrow then this is one of the questions to ask.

 

As for the SAR, this should produce a lot of information including when the Writ was received by them, the visits they have made, the charges they have applied, the payments they have made, comms with AW possibly.

 

Is it possible you can scan & post what you were left initially - removing personal info or type verbatim what it says.