please help - threatening visit from MArston when already paid fine

[bartonski]

Hi,

i recently paid a speeding fine of £185 to a company called marston.

 

After making the payment over the phone i was told that the payment had been taken and but apparently there was a 'security issue' on my account possibly because some of the details i had just given were incorrect.

 

However the money had be debited from my account and would be held in a holding account and as far as i understood the fine would then be paid

 

. So.. i drew line under it and thinking it was done i forgot about it.

 

12 days later my friend, whom i used to live with, where i am still registered as living had court enforcement officers barge their way into his flat, telling him that i have a warrant out for my arrest and that i needed to pay them £400!

 

After phoing marston i found out that i should have called to make another payment as the money would be paid back to me from the holding account.

 

THis isnt what i was told and now with a massive fine of £400 and marston on the phone telling me ill be arrested and the fine will rise again soon....i just dont know what to do.

 

I told them when i initially madethe payment that i couldnt afford to pay £185 again when they first mentioned the Security check thing, thats when they said that i wouldnt have to.

 

So what do i do?

 

it seems they make tyhe rules and can do and say what ever they like..

 

.do i not have any rights at all?

does the fact that i paid the £185 in the first place make any difference whatsoever?

Edited November 11, 2015 by citizenB
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[citizenB]

Have you checked with your bank ? was the money paid back to you ?

[bartonski]

Hi, just checked my bank and i cant actually see that the money was taken out, i don't often check my account in detail so didnt notice!

[citizenB]

Hmm, not sure what you will need to do then. I will flag your thread for others on the team and hopefully there will be other caggers who might be able to advise.

[citizenB]

You say that some of the details you gave Marstons originally were incorrect. Was this in error or deliberate ?

[bartonski]

deliberate? why would try and pay with incorrect details?

why not just ignore them?

 

i paid over the phone,

like you would in any other situation, with my card details, name and address.

 

 

as they said the money had been withdrawn i really dont see how or why it would have showed up as debited on her side if the details i gave were incorrect.

 

 

Ill cntact the bank in a sec to get confirmation of any attempt to withdraw money.

 

ps...the bank details i gave were correct.

 

 

ive had the same account for years and never had this problem.

I had the money in the bank, ive never heard of a security check on incorrect details meaning the funds wold be held in a holding account... really sounds like a [problem] to me!

she didnt even let me give my details again as she said id be debited twice

 

ill get a transcript of the call and also details of any authorizations my bank made for this company but im starting to think the employee who took the payment at marston was possibly new or not very competent

 

 

i know i gave her the correct details, she said money had been withdrawn, but it hadnt been,

she possibly entered them incorrectly and probably informed me incorrectly about what a security check was and this garbage about a holding account.

 

 

i dont see why i should be financially buggered and threatened with arrest because of her mistake!

 

spoken to the bank who told me nothing was withdrawn,

no authorization was made or nothing was attempted which i guess means it was her error,

but i dont see how she could have got the info to tell me that money had been withdrawn

[citizenB]

In which case if the details you gave were correct, then IMHO, you really need a transcript of the call to see where things fell apart.

[bartonski]

they say they record all calls so will get a transcript as i seriously cant wait to prove them wrong!

 

just have a question about bailiffs.

..are they allowed to force their way in to someones property,

marston have my old address and they apparently pushed their way in.

 

 

now that ive moved to Gibraltar im a bit worried they will force their way into my partners home who is taking my redirected mail whilst im working abroad.

 

 

Are they allowed do to this and if so, will they take anything even if nothing there belongs to me?

i will give them my temp address but they said they do not have any way of getting there which means an arrest warrant will be issued.

is this true?

 

ive read on a government website that 'Bailiffs must usually give you at least 7 days’ notice of their first visit'

 

considering i paid the fine on the 29th october, was apparently given 10 days for the money to be debited back to my account,

which would bring me up to saturday 7th,

they visited on monday 9th

 

does this mean they werent following the rules?

 

would i be able t apply for a 'stay of execution'?

apparently this could stop bailiff action so i could be free to pay the court the fine

and be done with it.

[ploddertom]

If we can go back to the beginning then it may help.

 

How much was the actual fine?

Did you know about it?

Did you attend Court?

Did your friend receive any paperwork addressed to you?

[ploddertom]

would i be able t apply for a 'stay of execution'? apparently this could stop bailiff action so i could be free to pay the court the fine and be done with it.

 

This appears to be for a Magistrates Court fine so a Stay of Execution is not permissible in these circumstances.

[bartonski]

If we can go back to the beginning then it may help.

 

How much was the actual fine?

Did you know about it?

Did you attend Court?

Did your friend receive any paperwork addressed to you?

 

hi.

The initial fine was for speeding (59 in a 50 zone on the m25) £80 i think

 

i found out when i recieve the fine throught the post.

 

i missed the deadline to take the driving course so had to take 3 points and pay the £80

 

unfortunately the courts started to send letters to a really old address of mine

so having forgotten about the fine,

i had no idea it had gone to court until the court date had past

and i was given all the letters from the current tenant after a while.

the total fine was then 3 points plus £310

 

i was given the option of having another court hearing or just paying.

i opted to pay and get it out of the way

 

i set up a payment plan and paid the first £200 but then fell into some financial difficulty.

 

i defaulted and that is when it was passed onto the creditors.

 

work picked up so then i was able to pay and did so... or so i though

 

12 days or so later my friend had a couple bailiffs visit him (i had moved out a month ago)

 

the fine is now £400 - so after already paying £200 plus 3 points...i really am struggling

[Bailiff Advice]

It is important that you contact Marston this morning and ask them to explain what happened when you tried to make payment. At the same time give them your new address. On the subject about being arrested the simple answer is that NO this will NOT be happening.

 

Please post back once you have spoken with the company.

[unclebulgaria67]

It is important that you contact Marston this morning and ask them to explain what happened when you tried to make payment. At the same time give them your new address. On the subject about being arrested the simple answer is that NO this will NOT be happening.

 

Please post back once you have spoken with the company.

 

They now live in Gibraltar, so not much Marstons can do. Being that they cannot execute any control over goods, i wonder what needs to be paid ?

[Bailiff Advice]

By providing the address there should be no excuse for Marstone's to attend the other address that they have on their records.

[bartonski]

Hi.

 

just spoken to martsons.

 

I requested for the audio file for the conversation when i made the payment and if it turned out it was my mistake and was told to call in 10 days to make a payment then i would py but couldnt pay all in one go.

 

I was told that i need to pay £420 in one payment or my goods or car will be taken and sold.

 

I then said i dont have any goods of value and im staying at my girlfriends place until i move to gib. in 2 weeks.

 

I was then told that they could either just issue an arrest warrant, or block my passport to stop me leaving the country.

 

I asked if i could have a payment plan as i cant afford to pay £420 in one go and was told i dont have that option.

either pay now get arrested.

 

really worried now and just dont know what to do as stuff ive read on the internet all tells me i have the right to pay via installments if i cant afford to pay.

[dx100uk]

Block your passport

 

What ruddy planet iis this ctax bailliff on

 

Utter bowlarks to scare you into paying

 

I thought Marston's were stamping out these rouge bailliff s...

Obv not!!!

 

Dx

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Block your passport

 

What ruddy planet iis this ctax bailliff on

 

Utter bowlarks to scare you into paying

 

I thought Marston's were stamping out these rouge bailliff s...

Obv not!!!

 

Dx

 

Magi fine, not council tax dx.

 

And I believe there is a thread on here confirming non payment of fines CAN mean you are stopped from leaving the UK. Cant confirm that so dont quote me.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

http://akashictimes.co.uk/brits-with-unpaid-bills-to-be-banned-from-going-on-holiday/

[AndyOrch]

And...

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-28056950

[bartonski]

it was actually customer services that told me that.

 

as i dont have the finances to pay i will lose my car and if they cant get hold of my car i will be arrested.

 

ive phone a lot of help lines but no one knows about the rules so it just seems like they can make their own rules!

[dx100uk]

Silly me teach me to not scroll on a small screen

Ta

[bartonski]

all ive been told is that i cant be arrested for a non criminal fine but can be if the bailiffs had the debt back over to the court.

 

please dont get me confused with someone who likes to avoid paying fines!

 

i'll pay my fine again if it was my fault and i neglected to call 10 days after i made the first payment. but im sure i have a right to pay by installments...

[caledfwlch]

Call them again try and run it the same as last time

, but this time record it,

so if necessary, you can show a Magistrate or the Court Fines Manager they are being totally unreasonable and unfair

 

. In fact, I would contact court anyway and make a formal complaint that they are threatening you with arrest because you cannot pay and they are refusing to allow a payment plan.

 

I strongly suspect from the sound of things is the payment was intentionally halted, or whatever they have done precisely so your bill can go up another 200+ quid, funnily enough, all in fees to Marston.

 

But whatever you do, make sure you record ALL contact.

I personally would contact the Court, make the complaints as above, (and covertly record it) so if it gets to the point that you are arrested, you then have a trail showing you werent refusing or being unreasonable, but it is Marston who have been.

 

Also, Marston cannot get an arrest warrant, if they cant collect, they send it to the Court and the Court will decide how to proceed,

 

so again, having that covertly (so they don't refuse to speak, and aren't watching what they say_ recorded call to the court reporting their behaviour etc is again proof as to who has been unreasonable.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

If you don't pay your fine(yes this is a criminal fine) and you don't have assets to pay,

the warrant will be returned as a nb and they will recommend custodial if they see fit.

 

 

It will be the courts decision but they could be back in a week with an arrest warrant.

I do these daily, both arrest warrants and warrants of control.

Anyone that says that an arrest warrant wont be issued is wrong.

 

You say its unreasonable, but they gave to collect in a set period and that is the limit they stick to.

 

Regarding payments made,

if there is an error during the transactions,

its standard practice to ask you to call back in x days with our company,

which I would imagine goes for marstons too.

 

Either way, its your responsibility to pay, and you should have checked your account.

If the money didn't go out the first time, why not use it and pay it now?

 

Just be careful refusing to pay by their terms as an ea will call out,

and if he thinks you have sufficient assets, he will force entry to remove them.

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

And for the avoidance of doubt, marstons can be given an arrest warrant issued by the magi's, but they cannot apply and get it themselves.