Merton Council traffic penalty incorrect date on notice still sending bailiffs

[orqmaw]

Morning all, first post for me, any help would be appreciated to fend off this aggressive monster Council. A friend was using my car, doing me a favour and was forced to stop in a yellow junction box. I receive the penalty notice, no problem, traffic offence committed, liability accepted, i sent the reduced rate which reached them after the deadline. They reply with another penalty, which i was expecting but their date for returning for the second penalty and reduced rate was mixed up and incorrect/unclear. I pay the reduced penalty. They reply saying i had missed the deadline and imposed a further penalty and i replied by saying that i am not paying any more, that i have now paid in full and that their incorrect date was a contributing factor in missing their deadline and invited them to accept payment had been made in full. They refused and i received a threat from the Traffic Enforcement Centre, County Court Business Centre, Northampton with no way of appealing, so i ignored it as there were no other options. There is no court stamp anywhere on the document !
I have today received a Notice of Enforcement from Merton Enforcement Agents with an additional fee of £75 as a compliance stage fee and a threat of taking my possessions and charging me for that operation, plus, the previous penalty which i refused to pay. Again, no court stamp or anything other than the County Court Business Centre address, presumably to generate a picture of officialdom !! Surely there are official notices they are legally obliged to serve before sending bailiffs ! any help would be most gratefully received. Thanks

[ploddertom]

You are accepting the offence happened. The payment you made was received after the cut off time for a reduced rate. Best bet is to pay what they are asking for now as next stage will add another £235 to what you owe. The Traffic Enforcement Centre is part of the County Court Business Centre and if you and any argument you use about Court stamps will not wash. If the Bailiff does attend then remember he already has the Reg No of your vehicle making it easier for him. Sorry if this is not what you want to hear but I say it as it is.

[orqmaw]

You are accepting the offence happened. The payment you made was received after the cut off time for a reduced rate. Best bet is to pay what they are asking for now as next stage will add another £235 to what you owe. The Traffic Enforcement Centre is part of the County Court Business Centre and if you and any argument you use about Court stamps will not wash. If the Bailiff does attend then remember he already has the Reg No of your vehicle making it easier for him. Sorry if this is not what you want to hear but I say it as it is.

thats right ploddertom, no problem with admitting the offence and paying the penalty. I do take issue with their failure to accept responsibility for getting the date messed up or failings to provide a mechanism where procedure can be challenged. I have stated that i am happy to appear in court where i can plead my case , yet, i am not afforded this right. Where is the justice in that ? What is the official status of the County Court Business Centre ? Doesnt sound like a court to me at all !

[ploddertom]

thats right ploddertom, no problem with admitting the offence and paying the penalty. I do take issue with their failure to accept responsibility for getting the date messed up or failings to provide a mechanism where procedure can be challenged. I have stated that i am happy to appear in court where i can plead my case , yet, i am not afforded this right. Where is the justice in that ? What is the official status of the County Court Business Centre ? Doesnt sound like a court to me at all !

It is heard at the Traffic Enforcement Centre and is largely an administrative procedure - no one appears in person. Whatever you do do not go down the route of questioning the validity of the Court as that is doomed to failure. On the Notice you have from the Bailiff it should give you a date & time to make contact by - if you don't then it goes to the next stage which incurs another fee of £235 as previously stated and at that stage the chances are they will only accept payment in full.

As for being able to challenge then so far you have missed the boat. There was the opportunity to have challenged the Council initially, there is the opportunity to challenge the TEC but only on specific grounds which you don't appear to have.

[orqmaw]

I did challenge Merton on their error from the moment they said i was late. Late? the date was wrong. I invited them to accept their part in the process had flaws and that i had paid the first and second penalties and sked tat they accept that. Beyond that, i had no right to challenge as the grounds for challenge were related to the offence. If this is official and proper procedure, why are there no official stamps/seals? Have we now watered down the process such that private courts refuse the right to challenge ? Merton were contributory to my missing their (incorrect)deadline. In fact i missed it by 1800 years !