Marston Failing to treat me/classify me as vulnerable

[kymu]

Hi all,

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

 

I was involved in a very serious car accident that left me requiring over a years worth of physical rehabilitation through the army,

unfortunately i ended up being medically discharged in late October 2018 due to not meeting the physical requirements to remain in my career.

Since then i have struggled to find work that meets my needs and i received a letter from Marstons demanding £600 for a speeding fine around the time of my accident.

 

I was away at different rehabilitation centers for long periods of time and must have missed the letter from court, but Marstons are refusing to accept a payment plan or be understanding of my situation.

I feel like i am going around in circles and don't know what to do.

 

The magistrates courts have updated their system to classify me as vulnerable, as well as Marstons welfare/head office after i sent evidence of my medical discharge/injuries and blue badge to them, however when i spoke

the enforcement agent as requested by Marstons head office he refuses to accept this fact and work with me in any way to resolve the situation, in his words that he texted to me, 'i'm just disabled, not vulnerable'...

 

I currently moved back home with my mum and younger siblings and this enforcement agent has been very threatening towards us, saying he will take anything my family don't have receipts for and even making my 10 year old brother cry on his birthday thinking that he will be taking away his playstation, which makes me feel absolutely awful that i can't seem to resolve the issue and that nobody can help.

 

The court seems very sympathetic and understanding and wish they could help but apparently the case is with Marston now?

 

Is there anything i can do in this situation? i feel so stressed and lost.

[renegadeimp]

Ignore the bailiff. get on to marstons and the court and demand they call the bailiff off. It seems he's ignoring the court and marstons and doing his own thing. He certainly cant do what he claims he can. Do you have any proof of what hes saying to you?

[kymu]

I have tried to ask Marstons to either issue me a different enforcement officer or speak to him as they agreed along with the court that i would classify as vulnerable, however they are saying that this enforcement agent is completely in control and they have no power to tell him what to do or re assign me to another agent. I have screenshots of his texts to me.

[BankFodder]

Have you kept the text message. Please do so.

 

We have a certain level of direct access to Marston customer service on some occasions. If you would be prepared to let me have your contact details and any Marston case reference number by email to our admin email address then maybe we can get somebody to look at it for you.

 

This is not to promise any particular result or to guarantee that some help will be forthcoming – but I think that somebody will probably have a look.

[BankFodder]

In fact I have just heard back from Marston and they would like me to pass your details on them so that they can have a look.

[kymu]

Thank you so much for your time and help! I'm going to send this screenshot to the email address you gave me now.

 

Again i cant say thank you enough.

[BankFodder]

Nothing received

[kymu]

Sorry for the delay, it has been sent now.

[BankFodder]

Still nothing received. I have to go out soon and then it will be impossible to get it looked at until tomorrow or even the day after.

[kymu]

I'm so sorry i just realised i typed the email address wrong, sending to the correct one right now.

[BankFodder]

Thank you I've received an email from you. However, you haven't included your contact details or reference number as asked. There are only some screenshots which don't seem to include a Marston reference number.

[BankFodder]

For the avoidance of doubt, contact details means name – first name and last name, telephone number, address, and also course there should be a Marston reference number.

 

It would be really helpful if you could simply get this done please

[kymu]

Okay sending that information as well now.

[BankFodder]

Thank you. I passed it all on.

 

I hope something get sorted out.

[kymu]

Thank you so much for your help.

[Bailiff Advice]

Hi all,

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

 

I was involved in a very serious car accident that left me requiring over a years worth of physical rehabilitation through the army. Unfortunately I ended up being medically discharged in late October 2018 due to not meeting the physical requirements to remain in my career.

 

Since then I have struggled to find work that meets my needs and I received a letter from Marstons demanding £600 for a speeding fine around the time of my accident.

 

I was away at different rehabilitation centers for long periods of time and must have missed the letter from court.

 

There is a very simple way in which this debt can be dealt with. As you had not received the summons (as you were in rehabilitation following a serious car accident), then you need to telephone your LOCAL magistrates court to make an appointment for a Statutory Declaration. If you explain to the court that a warrant is currently being enforced by an enforcement company and that you are 'vulnerable', then in most cases, the court will contact Marston to get the account placed 'on hold' until the Statutory Declaration hearing has concluded.

 

From what you have explained, I would expect the Statutory Declaration to be accepted. The court will then give you the opportunity to have the case against you (of speeding) heard at the same time. You will then be given the opportunity to plead guilty (or not guilty as the case may be). If you enter a 'guilty' plea, you will be entitled to receive a one third reduction in the new fine.

 

 

Another reason for the Statutory Declaration is concerning the number of penalty points imposed on your driving licence. As you had failed to respond to the summons or attend the hearing, it is almost certainly the case that your licence would have endorsed with 6 penalty points. Depending on the speed and location, the number of penalty points will likely be reduced to 3.

 

 

It would be worthwhile undertaking an online check on your driving licence to see how many penalty points have been recorded.

 

 

Any questions, please post back.

[Bailiff Advice]

 

Since then I have struggled to find work that meets my needs and I received a letter from Marstons demanding £600 for a speeding fine around the time of my accident.

 

The magistrates courts have updated their system to classify me as vulnerable, as well as Marstons welfare/head office after i sent evidence of my medical discharge/injuries and blue badge to them, however, when I spoke to the enforcement agent as requested by Marstons head office he refuses to accept this fact and work with me in any way to resolve the situation, in his words that he texted to me, 'i'm just disabled, not vulnerable'...

 

The court seems very sympathetic and understanding and wish they could help but apparently the case is with Marston now?

Firstly, I would like to wish you well and I am pleased to read that although you are encountering difficulties, you are nonetheless seeking new employment.

 

Please do not think that I am not sympathetic to your injuries because I certain am but I would just like to clarify the position regarding the comment from the enforcement agent stating that being disabled does not mean that you are vulnerable. Whether we like it or not, he is actually correct.

 

There are many thousands of people who are disabled and who are in full time employment. The point about 'vulnerability' (and this has been confirmed in at least 3 separate Local Government Ombudsman's decisions) is that a person who is vulnerable not only needs to provided 'evidence' as to why they consider they are vulnerable but most importantly; they need to be able to outline what it is about their vulnerability that means that they cannot deal with the debt itself.

 

In one fairly recent complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman, the matter of whether an individual enforcement agent has the discretionary power to decide whether a person is 'vulnerable' was considered. In their decision, the Ombudsman referred to Paragraph 76 of the Taking Control of Goods National Standards for Enforcement Agents which states that:

 

“Enforcement agents should be aware that vulnerability may not be immediately obvious”.

 

The LGO are of the opinion that this sentence implies that a bailiff does have a discretionary power to decide whether a person in vulnerable.

[kymu]

I thought i would take the time just to say thank you to everyone who responded and especially to Bankfodder!

I'm not sure what you said to them but they have listened to you and my debt is being handed back to court for me to arrange a payment plan with them,

also minus any Bailiff fee's due to the way myself and my family were treated by the enforcement agent.

 

The welfare department for Marston's seemed very genuine, maybe this would be a good point of contact for anyone else having trouble with enforcement agents.

 

Again i can't say thank you enough, yesterday i had no idea what direction to take this in and its a massive relief to have it under control.

[honeybee13]

That's great Kymu, I'm pleased for you.

 

HB

[renegadeimp]

Well done. Sounds like you got another rogue baliff on a power trip. Good to see marstons may bring him into line.

[brassnecked]

There is still the option BA indicated of a Stat Dec that would allow the case to be reheard, and a lesser fine imposed, plus all bailiff fees etc would be wiped away. Still a decent option imho.

[BankFodder]

Well done. Sounds like you got another rogue baliff on a power trip. Good to see marstons may bring him into line.

 

At the risk of being accused of being too cosy with Marston, I think that Bailiff Advice has pointed out above that there is a discretion and it may simply be that Marston took a view that the matter was sufficiently marginal to err in the favour of the OP in this case.

[renegadeimp]

still, we can only hope. Theres too many rogue bailiffs out there