Marston holdings at my door - car tax fine from yonks ago

[champion77]

I have been chased by marston this morning,

didnt open the door but they put a final notice and its a car tax fine from yonks ago,

 

 

been reading about statutory declarations and a template,

does anyone know where I can get it from?

[Peterbard]

Hi

 

Yes but you have to ensure you apply for the right reason, otherwise, the application will be thrown out.

 

how did you acquire the fine and what were the circumstances, and had the court chased you previously

[champion77]

Hi, what application can be thrown out?

 

I havent been chased by a court, not at my current address, been here 18 months

[Peterbard]

Are you out of time ?

or are you saying you have only recently become aware of this and was not aware of the judgment?

[champion77]

It's a car tax fine. I didn't know magistrates court issue judgments and take out of time applications.

 

Can you clarify what you mean by judgment, and out of time application?

 

Reading about it I learned I need to make a stat dec and looking for a link for an example template.

[Peterbard]

Your statutory declaration under section14 of the magistrate's court act must be presented within 21 days of the case being heard.

 

If the case finds against you in your absence, you have to state the reason why your application was late.

 

This application can be agreed,

and if so the statutory declaration will be accepted as if it were made within the 21 day period,

if it is thrown out the stat declaration will not have any effect.

[champion77]

Can you tell me more about this application?

[renegadeimp]

So you knew about the fine and didnt pay it a long time ago?

When was the fine, and why didnt you pay?

 

 

The answers will help you with any application you make , if its possible to make one.

[Peterbard]

Sorry timed out. The above should read, at the time the case was heard or that you found out about it. (sentence 1)

[champion77]

I didn't know about the fine. marston said over the phone its car tax DVLA after the bailiff put a notice though the door.

 

I am confused about this "application", Can anyone tell me what I am applying for and what form I must complete.

[disgruntled2007]

I assume the paperwork you have received shows at least a case reference number and possibly also a VRN.

 

Yonks ago,;

 

Did you ever keep an untaxed vehicle on the road?

 

Move and not tell DVLA?

 

Sell a car and fail to submit the change of keeper slip?

 

Don't get confused about the application.

 

 

It's really quite simple, but you are undoubtedly frustrated and perhaps not thinking as clearly as you might?

 

Look at this way....

 

The DVLA have taken you to court for not having car tax.

They WILL have sent reminders and notices to the address at which your car was registered.

 

The case has been through court and the judge found against you.

This information will have been sent in writing to the address at which your vehicle was registered.

 

You haven't responded.

 

The court/DVLA have engaged a coollection agency to recover the monies owed.

 

A bailiff has knocked on your door and you are now here.

 

The application that is being mentioned is a request from you to the court to make a Statutory Declaration.

This must be submitted within 21 days.

 

In this you would explain why you believe summary judgement is wrong and ask the court to reconsider.

 

Can you now see why the questions being asked of you by the very knowledgable folk are important?

 

Take a few moments to calmly read through them and answer HONESTLY to each question.

That way the most relevant advice can be given.

[champion77]

No, there is nothing on the paperwork and I don't even know what car, I Googled and it says to make a stat dec and am looking for a template.

 

You say I have to "make a request" to make a statutory declaration.

Can you explain more about making this "request"?

Nobody else has ever mentioned this.

 

I get the 21 days bit,

but I thought its 21 days from learning about the fine,

and not "21 days of the case being heard"

s someone said.

 

Can you clarify which advice is true and provide a link to the source of the advice.

[disgruntled2007]

Please answer all the questions....

[Bailiff Advice]

No, there is nothing on the paperwork and I don't even know what car, I Googled and it says to make a stat dec and am looking for a template.

 

You say I have to "make a request" to make a statutory declaration. Can you explain more about making this "request"? Nobody else has ever mentioned this.

 

I get the 21 days bit, but I thought its 21 days from learning about the fine, and not "21 days of the case being heard" as someone said.

 

Can you clarify which advice is true and provide a link to the source of the advice.

 

It would help if you could answer the questions raised. You have mentioned above that you 'don't know what car' is involved. Do you have any recollection of owning a vehicle that was without road fund licence?

 

If you Google for information, hopefully you will disregard inaccurate information advising that you could submit a Section 14 Statutory Declaration to the court by 'registered post'. I deal with these type of enquiries many times a day (in particular with HMCTS Historic Debt Team enquiries) and I can assure you that sending a Section 14 Statutory Declaration to the court by 'registered post' is fraught with difficulties.

 

Although the provision for making a Statutory Declaration to court is provided for under the Magistrate's Court Act 1980, the fact remains, that anyone considering such an application should also refer to the Criminal Procedure Rules (which are introduced yearly.

 

In this respect, the position for the past couple of years has been that in almost all cases, the courts will request your personal attendance at a hearing (for a Statutory Declaration) and that once that application has been considered, the Magistrates are instructed to proceed to hear the case against you at the same time.

 

The Magistrates will ask you how you wish to proceed. If guilty, you will benefit from a reduction of one third on any new fine. If you wish to plead not guilty, the case against you will be adjourned, and listed for trial and another date given. At the trial, a representative from DVLA would be in attendance.

 

The problem with pleading 'not guilty' is that you lose the opportunity of having the new fine reduced by one third (for an early guilty plea). It is for this reason that before approaching the court for an appointment to be made (for a Statutory Declaration) I always instruct the individual to find as much background information as possible about the charge against them. If your fine is an 'historic' one, then you should find that the courts are much better now at providing copies of the charge against you and other necessary information.

 

Any problems, please do post back.

[champion77]

I know theres lots of questions but I didnt come here to be interrogated. I just need a sample stat dec to send to the court.

 

Nobody advised to use registered post and nobody has asked me to make a personal attendance. I have been warned against that because the court apparently tries to slip a new hearing when I know nothing about the case apart from an alleged car tax offence.

 

I will not plead guilty to an offence I have not been charged or summoned.

 

I will find out what citizen advice says.

[sgtbush]

From what I can gleen from reading between the lines and as you wont answer the IMPORTANT questions, you've been burying your head in the sand a bit.

A stat Dec will be rejected as its more than 21 days of you being aware of the fine

[Peterbard]

I know theres lots of questions but I didnt come here to be interrogated. I just need a sample stat dec to send to the court.

 

Nobody advised to use registered post and nobody has asked me to make a personal attendance. I have been warned against that because the court apparently tries to slip a new hearing when I know nothing about the case apart from an alleged car tax offence.

 

I will not plead guilty to an offence I have not been charged or summoned.

 

I will find out what citizen advice says.

 

Excellent choice,but they will ask the same questions

b

[champion77]

I only learned about the fine this morning. I have 20 more days to go until time runs out. All I want is a sample stat dec.

[sgtbush]

Nope, you were first aware of the fine when the 1st letter from Marstons dropped on your mat.

This is at least 14 days ago if memory serves correct but more likely 4-6 weeks ago until you get a visit

[champion77]

That was today. There is no other correspondence from Marston. I would have dealt with it if I knew sooner.

 

Hi

 

Yes but you have to ensure you apply for the right reason, otherwise, the application will be thrown out.

 

how did you acquire the fine and what were the circumstances, and had the court chased you previously

 

Answering questions.

 

I learned of the fine this morning when a bailiff put a note through the door.

 

I have not been chased previously. I havent lived here long.

 

Your statutory declaration under section14 of the magistrate's court act must be presented within 21 days of the case being heard.

 

If the case finds against you in your absence, you have to state the reason why your application was late.

 

This application can be agreed,

and if so the statutory declaration will be accepted as if it were made within the 21 day period,

if it is thrown out the stat declaration will not have any effect.

 

Answer, I was told its 21 days from learning of the proceedings. Today is day 1.

 

Is that advice wrong? and what is the correct advice?

[Peterbard]

IN post 4 I asked you this

 

"Are you out of time ?

or are you saying you have only recently become aware of this and was not aware of the judgment?"

 

The post you quoted had the end of the sentence missing it was corrected two posts later. in any case as said you had already been asked by me twice.

 

So moving on, can you answer the question regarding the car, have you ever had a problem with car tax?

 

You mention a previous address, Can you explain why this may be relevant?

 

Anyway, there is an SD here, I think this is still applicable if not someone will chip in.

 

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/criminal/docs/october-2015/tsm001-eng.pdf

 

Please read the note regarding perjury.

[Bailiff Advice]

I know theres lots of questions but I didnt come here to be interrogated. I just need a sample stat dec to send to the court.

 

Nobody advised to use registered post and nobody has asked me to make a personal attendance. I have been warned against that because the court apparently tries to slip a new hearing when I know nothing about the case apart from an alleged car tax offence.

 

I will not plead guilty to an offence I have not been charged or summoned.

 

Please, nobody is trying to interrogate you. You advised in your opening post that you have received a visit from an enforcement agent at your current address. You requested information about a Statutory Declaration and when provided with details, your response is to state that you have 'been warned' that the court will 'try to slip in a new hearing'.

 

You also state that you have not been charged or summoned. Can I just correct you....you may not have received a summons......but you have been charged (albeit, in your absence).

 

One further point that I should mention is that when submitting a Statutory Declaration to the court, the court rules provide that you must also send with the declaration, a separate Notice of guilty plea (or not guilty plea). You must also ensure that you provide the court with a Statement outlining your assets and other financial circumstances.

 

PS: When making enquiries with HMCTS, you will need to find out whether the case against you started with a Single Justice Procedure Notice. If so, there is a slightly different procedure in place.

[champion77]

IN post 4 I asked you this

 

"Are you out of time ?

or are you saying you have only recently become aware of this and was not aware of the judgment?"

 

The post you quoted had the end of the sentence missing it was corrected two posts later. in any case as said you had already been asked by me twice.

 

So moving on, can you answer the question regarding the car, have you ever had a problem with car tax?

 

You mention a previous address, Can you explain why this may be relevant?

 

Not had a known problem with car tax.

Only the bailiff suggested it was car tax.

I didn't feel he was the trustworthy type looking down at him outside

I decided to make my own inquiries.

 

I moved not long ago and its possible the court may have chased me at an old address and given up.

A bailiff got my new address and turned up.

I searched the net and it says I can make a stat dec within 21 days from learning of the proceedings.

 

I know someone said its 21 days from the hearing, but I knew that was wrong.

That's why I didn't at first yield to all the questioning.

I want a stat dec and do the questions if needed afterward.

 

Anyway, there is an SD here, I think this is still applicable if not someone will chip in.

 

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/criminal/docs/october-2015/tsm001-eng.pdf

 

Please read the note regarding perjury.

 

Got it, thanks. but this is a form for making a late declaration. I'm not late.

 

Please, nobody is trying to interrogate you. You advised in your opening post that you have received a visit from an enforcement agent at your current address. You requested information about a Statutory Declaration and when provided with details, your response is to state that you have 'been warned' that the court will 'try to slip in a new hearing'.

 

You also state that you have not been charged or summoned. Can I just correct you....you may not have received a summons......but you have been charged (albeit, in your absence).

 

One further point that I should mention is that when submitting a Statutory Declaration the court rules provide that you MUST also send with the declaration, a separate Notice of guilty plea (or not guilty plea). You must also ensure that you provide the court with a Statement outlining your assets and other financial circumstances.

 

PS: When making enquiries with HMCTS, you will need to find out whether the case against you started with a Single Justice Procedure Notice. If so, there is a slightly different procedure in place.

 

Where does it say I must enter a plea?

I don't even know the charge I am pleading on.

 

Can you tell me more about a single justice procedure?

 

I don't even fully know what the charge date is let alone seen a copy of the charge sheet.

 

 

I thought a charge is made after an arrest and decided there is enough evidence.

I didn't know people can be charged in their absence without being interviewed.

[Bailiff Advice]

Got it, thanks. but this is a form for making a late declaration. I'm not late.

 

The link is this one. The form was amended in 2014 but the court rules were changed sometime later in 2015.

 

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/criminal/docs/2014/crim-pr-form-part37-statutory-declaration-revised-feb-2014.pdf

 

Any problems, please post back. You have 21 days from today to approach the court and until such time as the court have accepted your application (for a Statutory Declaration), the enforcement company (Marston Holdings) are entitled to continue with enforcement of the warrant.

 

PS: In almost all cases that I assist with, once an appointment has been made, the courts are fairly good at approaching the enforcement company to instruct that the account be placed 'on hold' until the hearing has concluded.

 

Where does it say I must enter a plea? I don't even know the charge I am pleading on.

 

Can you tell me more about a single justice procedure?

 

I don't even fully know what the charge date is let alone seen a copy of the charge sheet. I thought a charge is made after an arrest and decided there is enough evidence. I didn't know people can be charged in their absence without being interviewed.

 

Read back on my posts please. As I mentioned, the court will have details of the case against you including, what the charge against you was, the date and address on the summons (or Single Justice Procedure Notice), the address where notices had been served and the amount that you had been fined in your absence.

 

Once you have details (which is likely to be that you have been fined for the very common offence of using a vehicle without a valid Road Fund Licence, then a call to DVLA should reveal further details. Once you have those details, then a simple check of your online banking etc will reveal whether or not you had paid for Road Fund Licence.

[Peterbard]

Where does it say I must enter a plea? I don't even know the charge I am pleading on.

 

Can you tell me more about a single justice procedure?

 

I don't even fully know what the charge date is let alone seen a copy of the charge sheet. I thought a charge is made after an arrest and decided there is enough evidence. I didn't know people can be charged in their absence without being interviewed.

 

If you don't know anything about the charge, you plead not guilty.

 

You said the charge was a failure to tax a vehicle. the information you require regarding the judgment can be obtained from the court office. simple phone call.

 

A judgment can be entered if the party does not attend when under a single justice system.

 

A single justice system is where a single magistrate can make a judgment on a summary matter which is strictly none indictable(can not incur a prison sentence) it is used for motoring offenses among other things.

 

just one more question if I may.

 

You say you knew nothing about this, never had any notifications, and the bailiff new nothing but just surmised it was a car fine.

 

Why is this thread entitled "car tax fine from yonks ago"?