Marstons bailiffs- help and advice needed

[elsie1001]

Hi,

 

Need some advice on a matter involving marstons bailiffs please.

 

I received a letter around 6 weeks ago out of the blue from marstons bailiffs demanding that i owe £425.00,

i had no idea what this amount was for and it states on the letter its a warrant on behalf on hmcs.

 

I went down to my local court who looked it up for me and told me it was for an unpaid bus ticket fine from 3 years ago,

i didn't have sufficient amount on my oyster card on a bendy bus and got caught by the ticket inspectors who then issued a fine.

 

I never received this fine as i moved home

but they found out my new adress

and by this time it had been passed down the courts

who i set up a payment plan with,

 

i payed £20.00 on the spot that day,

i then had to fill out an expenditure form which they sent me

a letter back stating they'd take £5.00 per week from job seekers allowance i was on,

they started taking the money so i thought it was the end of it.

 

However 6 weeks ago i received this from marstons,

according to the courts they managed to take 4 payments from my job seekers allowance

but suddenly they stopped taking the re payments as i was not on benefits anymore, this is not true,

 

i have been on benefits from since the time they was taking the repayments up until present,

so i don't understand why they did not take the payments when they could of.

 

Also, I received no letters from the courts to say the repayments have been stopped

please find another way to pay etc, nothing, that's why i was very surprised to receive the letter from marstons and hear this from the court.

 

The court advised me to contact the London compliance and collection center and complain that it is not my fault

and could they take it back to court so i could start the repayments up again,

 

i rang them they said to send in a letter so they have it in writing,

 

i sent a letter recorded delivery and also one to marstons to explain the situation,

i never heard anything back so

 

2 weeks ago i sent another later just re stating the facts and asking what their response is.

Still have not heard anything back and

 

a few days ago a marston baillif turned up at my door,

put a removal notice through the letter box and thats that.

 

I haven't been listened to by anybody,

 

i rang marstons who wont accept a payment plan they want the total amount of now £565.00

(they added on more because they made a home visit).

 

I speak to the London compliance and collection center who keep telling me to send letters, which i have,

 

i do not have £565.00 to pay marstons and the court keeps referring me to the London compliance and collection center,

i feel like im going round in circles.

 

I want this matter solved, but im not happy that it has been referred to marstons

after i didnt even know they had stopped taking re payments from myself,

 

i havent heard nothing for 3 years, and im not happy about all these charges they keep adding on to which was origionally a £150.00 fine.

 

Any advise what my next steps should be?

 

I want to get these charges off by marstons and just pay back the original amount weekly how i was doing so before, but i don't know how to do this.

 

I was speaking to someone who has been through similar but for different reasons, and they did an n245 form to suspend the bailiffs warrant but don't know if i can do this in my case?

 

Any help greatly appreciated

Edited January 20, 2013 by honeybee13
Spacing.

[renegadeimp]

Sounds like marstons are doing their usual trick of adding on unlawful fee's.

[dx100uk]

well certainly DONT entertain any bailiff.

 

there is obv something a miss with the system

 

not your fault

 

the bailiffs should never have been involved

 

as you can PROVe you are on benefits

 

you will be classed as vunerable i'm sure.

 

that should killl the bailiffs action dead.

 

Department for Constitutional Affairs - Enforcement - National Standards for Enforcement Agents

.

Vulnerable 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 evidence of a 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.

 

this applies to the whole HOUSEHOLD 'a' vunerable person resides there.

 

dx

[ploddertom]

Has the Compliance Centre admitted they have received your letters?

[RaeUK]

... a letter back stating they'd take £5.00 per week from job seekers allowance i was on ... according to the courts they managed to take 4 payments from my job seekers allowance but suddenly they stopped taking the re payments as i was not on benefits anymore, this is not true ...

 

It doesn't have to be true, it can just happen! I'm not saying this is the case here as, obviously, I don't know. However, on very rare occasions, there can be a hiccup with the payment of deductions from benefit which would produce the scenario of them halting because the claimant was no longer receiving benefits - even though they are. Sometimes when your file has been updated it can trigger a 'change of circumstances' even though there hasn't been one. You might even have had a letter or two over the years saying 'due to a change in your circumstances ... etc' and then detailing your benefits payments exactly as they always have been. This is the computer sending out an automatic letter due to a file update of something else unconnected. It is just one more small hiccup to the computer saying it can no longer make payments due to a change in circumstances etc. It is rare but it does happen. And has happened to me.

If you are still in receipt of benefits and nothing has changed then you just need to get the payments reinstated. Depending how long ago they stopped you just might - and this is a long shot - be able to phone up your BDC (the number will be on any correspondence re your benefits) and let them know you've noticed payments have inexplicably stopped, could they restart them please.

In the (likely) event you can't do it that way (but it is worth a punt nonetheless) you need to contact the court and ask them to restart the payments. This is where your knowledge of 'the deductions glitch' might be handy...

[brassnecked]

Rae has identified the most likely problem, this is one that has a domino effect, as when the JSA is stopped, and restarted, a notification goes out to the Council Tax annd Housing Benefit sections of councils, and that is stopped also. Unfortunately the council often doesn't see the benefit has restarted and cancels everything also.