Driving Ban And Marstons **Resolved**

[lillymoon]

Hello and thank you in advance for any advice you can give me.

 

Last year my son recieved a driving ban with a fine of £475.

He was ask to wait to make a statement of means.

This never happend and after asking several different people was told to go home, Which he did.

 

Because of personal problems ie splitting from partner and spending time on different cousins sofa's the paper work never got to him.

 

On Thursday 1st August a letter for my son came to my address, He has always told me to open his letters incase they are urgent.

It was a Further Steps Notice dated 16th July giving him 10 days to reply.

As you can see from the date that time ran out on the 26th so the letter did not reach us in time to act.

 

I rang the number on the letter and was told it was to late to pay as it was already sent to a bailiff.

I would have to deal with the bailiff, Whose number she gave me.

I should put here it was Marstons.

 

I rang Marston's who said it was not yet in their system and to ring back on Monday.

They said when it did show they would want the money in full.

 

It has now occured to me that because the letter came here the bailiffs will come to my home to get the money.

I own the house and all it's contents, My son has no belongings here because it was all left at his former partners house when he left there, All he had was his clothes.

 

I have two questions ,

1st What can I do if they come to my house? apart from not letting them in.

 

2nd Can my son still apply to the courts to have a means hearing or make a statment of means so he can clear this debt.

 

We do not have the money to pay this in full, So I can't pay it either otherwise I would and he could pay me back

 

Hope you can advise me Lilly.

[renegadeimp]

If you are worried about them coming to your home, head to the court first thing in the morning and get a statutory declaration done. Give the bailiff that and tell them to bugger off. The stat dec is the most important thing you can do as it is a legal document that you sign under oath that he doesnt live there or that everything in the house is yours.

 

If you are found to be lying, you would be held in contempt.

[lillymoon]

Can I go to a solicitor and make a statutory declaration , And send that to them, My nearest court is 20 miles away and I have no transport.

Maybe I should add I am a pensioner but not to old and rickety.

[unclebulgaria67]

Yes you can go to a Solicitor to make the stat dec. Whether a bailiff would take any notice of it, I am not sure, but you should do it anyway.

[brassnecked]

Contact the court, only they can call Marstons off.

[lillymoon]

The court said they couldn't do anything.

Can my son make a statement of means although a distress warrant is about to be issued and somehow get it put on hold so he can get payments sorted out.

Thank you.

[renegadeimp]

Your primary concern should be to get that stat dec done and file it with the courts and baliff. If you don't then they will continue to enforce the warrant on your house. If you get the stat dec done, and the bailiff ignores it, then they would be in deep trouble.

[lillymoon]

I will get the Stat Dec done tomorrow if the solicitor can fit me in.

I assume I send one to the court and one to Marstons.

The court that my son attended is 150 miles away from me, So would I send it there and by recorded delivery.

[renegadeimp]

Solicitor may charge you for it. Normally between £10-20. It is a simple form that takes 5 mins or so to fill in. For future reference, the courts do it for free. Im not sure, but i think you could have the case moved to a different court. If the case had to stay at a specific one, then if someone who lived in ayrshire or sunderland ( somewhere up north), and committed an offense in london, it would be pointless to demand they travel all the way down and back at their own cost.

[lillymoon]

My son still lives down there near the original court, He doesn't have a permanent place at the moment.

Because of costs he has been staying a with different family members who have been good enough to put him up.

Thats one reason his mail stills comes to my address.

He has manage to get a job after a very long time of signing on, There are no jobs where I live so he wants to stay there and get himself on his feet.

Hopefully he will find his own place soon now he has a job.

[Sir Vere Brayne d'Emmidge]

You can make a Statutory Declaration in any Court, but the reason you are getting nowhere is because of the Data Protection Act, unless the Court and Marston have a written declaration from your son that allows you to speak on his behalf you stand less chances of being heard than an unattended sausage visible by my dog.

[lillymoon]

Thank you Sir Vere for that information, Can't do much till tomorrow.

Does anyone know how many times a bailiffs can call on you and how long a distress warrant lasts.

[renegadeimp]

A warrant lasts until the bailiff hands it back or the court recalls it. remember, this isnt a civil matter, it is a criminal matter. If a bailiff cant contact you or gain peaceful entry, they have the option of going back tot he court for further orders. Thats why it is in your best interests to arrange a payment plan with the bailiff or contact the court.

 

Just remember, the file isnt on the bailiffs system yet, so you still have a short period of time to get one step ahead of them.

[brassnecked]

You can make a Statutory Declaration in any Court' date=' but the reason you are getting nowhere is because of the Data Protection Act, unless the Court and Marston have a written declaration from your son that allows you to speak on his behalf you stand less chances of being heard than an unattended sausage visible by my dog.[/quote']

 

Not entirely correct, as in a Stat Dec that the named debtor is non resident, and uses the address as a postal address fior correspondence, and further that all goods and chattels including motior vehicles on the premises do not belong to the named debtor, should carry weight with the court and would be a valid option due to DPA issues preventing the court dealing with you. Your son must then confirm this and sort payments out.

 

Wonder how Marstons or another bailiff would enforce against a homeless person? Would they levy the park bench ?

[lillymoon]

Thank you brassnecked, I have just been talking to the court and been told a Stat Dec to say I own everything on the property is useless and not worth having. But they are emailing Marstons to tell them I own everthing, That surprised me.

[brassnecked]

Thank you brassnecked, I have just been talking to the court and been told a Stat Dec to say I own everything on the property is useless and not worth having. But they are emailing Marstons to tell them I own everthing, That surprised me.

The court are fully aware of Marstons abysmal record in enforcing against non debtors, maybe they are nipping things in the bud

[lillymoon]

I have taken legal advice, And have been advised to send a copy of my Council Tax and include I own everything on the property to the court and to Marstons. Would this be to the Enforcment unit dealing with it or just post to the court and hope it gets to the right people. Also does anyone know which address I use to send to Marstons . I have yet to hear anything from them. Thank you .

[Sir Vere Brayne d'Emmidge]

I have taken legal advice, And have been advised to send a copy of my Council Tax and include I own everything on the property to the court and to Marstons. Would this be to the Enforcment unit dealing with it or just post to the court and hope it gets to the right people. Also does anyone know which address I use to send to Marstons . I have yet to hear anything from them. Thank you .

The address should be on the letter you received from them, it's a POBOX in Essex, unfortunately there are people who will write to bailiff companies saying that who they are looking for does not reside, but the opposite is true, so a visit from a field officer it's still very likely. And as I wrote in my previous post, have a Council Tax bill ready to prove that your son is not a resident....but again, that is no definite proof.

 

Best course of action, also bearing in mind that the fine will not disappear, no matter how much fairy dust you use, tell your son to get hold of marstons, he needs to speak to them to get you off the embarassment of a bailiff knocking on your door, and he needs to make a sensible offer of payment, at least this way the warrant will stay at the fine cost plus £85 compliance fee and will avoid the £215 visit fee.

 

Tell your son to do it NOW!

[lillymoon]

An update. I have received a letter from Marstons today stating they are no longer going to pursue this matter. Thank you all for your help.

[tomtubby]

Excellent outcome and thank you for letting us know.