final notice letter from marston for £505 ..TV licence fine

[sweetkitten]

hi

 

my daughter received a final notice letter from marston for £505 .. i believe its from a TV licence fine, She has lost/thrown out all other letters as she buried her head in the sand thinking it would go away..

 

I'm trying to get it sorted so she can afford a monthly payment .. Is it worth contacting the courts first to see if we can pay them?

 

She has tried talking to Marstons who are giving an unrealistic sum for monthly payments .

 

Thanks

[lookinforinfo]

The Court will refer you back to Marstons. However as your daughter did not go to Court to defend herself she presumably did not complete a means form. If that

is the case your daughter can complete an N245 [downloadable on line] and send it off asap. This has the effect of advising the Court of your daughter's financial situation which might lead to a reduced fine and/or at least a reasonable repayment plan. The other advantage is that once accepted by the Court it stops the

Warrant of Control being enforced.

 

It could be important to know when the Letter of Enforcement arrived at your duaghters, the date on the letter and when the bailiff will call. When they do come

that will increase the debt by £235 so it is in her best interest to get the N245 off quickly. As an aside if your daughter is on benefits for example she may not have

to pay the full cost of the N245-but it will be explained on the Courts website.

[sweetkitten]

Thanks , i will get that form sent off asap .. the final notice date was 5/03/15, and the box after 7pm today was ticked .. we wouldnt know if he actually came back after 7pm, as my daughter had preemie twins 7 weeks ago and spend every day until late at the intensive care baby unit

[Bailiff Advice]

The Court will refer you back to Marstons. However as your daughter did not go to Court to defend herself she presumably did not complete a means form. If that is the case your daughter can complete an N245 [downloadable on line] and send it off asap.

 

This has the effect of advising the Court of your daughter's financial situation which might lead to a reduced fine and/or at least a reasonable repayment plan. The other advantage is that once accepted by the Court it stops the Warrant of Control being enforced.

 

It could be important to know when the Letter of Enforcement arrived at your daughters, the date on the letter and when the bailiff will call. When they do come that will increase the debt by £235 so it is in her best interest to get the N245 off quickly. As an aside if your daughter is on benefits for example she may not have to pay the full cost of the N245-but it will be explained on the Courts website.

 

As this debt is for a Magistrate Court fine then unfortunately, an N245 cannot be accepted. The N245 is only applicable in cases where a County Court judgment has been obtained.

 

There is so much misunderstanding about 'means hearing's in the Magistrate Courts.

 

The correct position is as follows:

 

When a summons is sent to the debtor they will find included with the summons a Means Enquiry Form (MC100). It is the debtors responsibility to complete this form and return it to the Magistrates Court together with their form indicating whether the debtor wishes to plead guilty or not guilty.

 

If the debtor does not attend the hearing (but confirms a guilty plea) then at the hearing the court will give the debtor 'credit' for their guilty plea and in setting the 'level' of fine....will take into consideration the information provided by the debtor in his or her Means Form .

[sweetkitten]

So we are wasting our time doing a N245 form ? If she hasnt done a Means Enquiry form in the first place , is it too late to do one ?

[lookinforinfo]

Thank you for correcting me BA and my apologies to Sweetkitten for building up her hopes.

[Bailiff Advice]

So we are wasting our time doing a N245 form ? If she hasnt done a Means Enquiry form in the first place , is it too late to do one ?

 

There is a further point to consider as well about a Means Enquiry when the debt is one for TV Licensing.

 

A TV licence fine will start 'life' with a personal visit to the property by a TV Licence Enquiry Agent. If the homeowner agrees that they were watching TV without licence they will be required to sign a Statement and this form will also have details as to whether the person had been working, unemployed, on benefits etc.

 

When the case is considered at court a TV Licence Court Presenter will present details to the court of all people being prosecuted that day (normally around 30-50 per day) and will advise the court of the personal circumstances according obtained by the debtor at the interview.

 

If a Means Enquiry Form (MC100) has not been sent to the court by the debtor then the court will instead consider the information presented to the court by the TV Licence Court Presenter. Accordingly, the court has very likely set the LEVEL of fine at around the right level.

[sweetkitten]

im not really contesting the amount of fine , her own fault for leaving it .. just they are demanding the all the money in one go now .. I just want to know what i can do to get her a payment plan in action of an affordable amount

[Bailiff Advice]

im not really contesting the amount of fine , her own fault for leaving it .. just they are demanding the all the money in one go now .. I just want to know what i can do to get her a payment plan in action of an affordable amount

 

Yesterday was a very busy day and I appear to have overlooked your earlier post about your daughter having premature twins 7 weeks ago. I do apologise.

 

Are we talking about the same daughter? If so, then I am sure that should would be considered as 'vulnerable' and Marston's would be more willing to accept a payment proposal.

 

If you could respond asap that would help.

 

PS: Are the twins still in hospital or at home. If at home when were they released?

[sweetkitten]

the twins are still in hospital The only benefits she gets is child tax credits and working tax credits for her partner if thats of any help