Marstons - Removal Notice - Distress Warrant - £50 fine paid late..now owe £300!!

[chrissy01]

Hi guys,
Hopefully someone here can advise
Appeared in court April 17th was given £50 fine for my son failing to attend school, he has various medical issues and was given a lenient fine due to not being able to provide for every date although the circumstances were accepted. I have since obtained further medical evidence to back up my not guilty plee and he is currently being statemented as special needs. He suffers from psychological issues, so the extra stress with regards to this baliffs incident is harming him now as he picks up on it being only 11.

Never received any fine payment number etc to pay at the magistrates court and was told it would be sent to me by one of the clerks on the day.
I am a single parent but at times I have to work away for a couple of weeks at a time to pay the bills, didn't hear anything until June when I received a letter from Marston's demanding £50 fine and £85 fee.

I phoned them June 9th explained the circumstances that I had not received anything, and I promptly paid that day after receiving advice of how to pay the fine to the court from the court staff and my case number.

Paid the fine direct to the automated payment line on the phone to the court. Payment went through on June 10th, I phoned Marstons told them the fine had been paid and that I had dealt with the issue so no need for further persuement. The representative on the phone did not warn/suggest or mention otherwise of £85 having to be paid or further fees.

Monday 17th September a hand delivered letter was put through the door. I phoned them and asked them why this was for as the fine had been paid, spoke to a representative again he said if the fine had been paid then to speak to the court and the fees shouldn't be liable.

18th Spoke to the court, they passed me through to the surrey and sussex enforcement line...ALWAYS engaged and have been phoning every day since.

18th Phoned Marstons explained I was trying to get this resolved passed them the enforcement number to tell them to call, I was informed they had not spoken to the court since 28th MAY, I asked why they were chasing me for £215 since the guy had obviously came round to query the £85 compliance fee so they could charge this additional fee on top considering I had phoned them previously to tell them the fine had been paid.

19th Spoke to the court again they gave me the same numbers, I asked to speak to the court manager, phoned up the legal and law free advice service asked for advice regarding this.

19th Phone call from Legal and law service told me that Marstons CAN charge fees on top of the fine as the fine was paid late. Was advised to speak to the courts again. Spoke to the court managers assistant and she has given me the enforcement email to contact. I explained it was paid late but only becuase I never had payment details to pay and was waiting on them.

I have never received any type of court paper work, there is another address on my road which some of my mail goes to routinely when we have new postmen on the route. The woman that lives there is elderly so I can always trouble her and she wouldn't bring round mail. When I am working away my sister collect the mail and tells me over the phone whats what with it.

Not sure what to do as I am now worried about them taking my car away or trying to access my property.
I was told to possibly pay them in full and then argue the charges paid, but im doubtful I would get the money back.

Please could someone advise as I am getting confused by all the advice on here spent two days reading it and keep seeing they are not allowed to charge additional fees however have now been told by the legal reps that they can.

Thanks in advance

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons - Removal Notice - Distress Warrant - £50 fine paid late..now owe £300!!

Chrissy,

I am going to speak to someone at my local Magistrates Court about the matter of bailiff's fees relating to the enforcement of court fines and will get back to you as soon as I can.

BB

[chrissy01]

Re: Marstons - Removal Notice - Distress Warrant - £50 fine paid late..now owe £300!!

Thank you , I am just putting together an email to send to the sussex and surrey enforcement team as they have the details of this on file. I was told by a friend that the area has had a recent transitional phase of systems so it could be that an error on the system could of occurred for this to happen, tbh I doubt this will stop Marstons also! They seem to want their money, I am SIA licenced so I know what they can and cannot do to a degree if they turn up just scared about the vehicle as its my only means of transport and I cant move it due to the kids. I would class myself within the vunerable area so looking to detest it also on this case.

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons - Removal Notice - Distress Warrant - £50 fine paid late..now owe £300!!

Move your car as far away from your home as possible. This reduces the risk of bailiffs levying on or seizing it. I am a retired policeman and am building up a file on Marston Group bailiffs. A lot of the incidents involve violence towards debtors, forged documents and fee irregularities.

I am somewhat amazed at your local education authority (LEA). Your case should never have been taken to court if the LEA knew of your son's medical issues. Have you spoken to a legal professional about getting this overturned?

As soon as I can speak to the person at my local Magistrates Court, I will come back onto this thread.

[chrissy01]

Re: Marstons - Removal Notice - Distress Warrant - £50 fine paid late..now owe £300!!

Move your car as far away from your home as possible. This reduces the risk of bailiffs levying on or seizing it. I am a retired policeman and am building up a file on Marston Group bailiffs. A lot of the incidents involve violence towards debtors, forged documents and fee irregularities.

I am somewhat amazed at your local education authority (LEA). Your case should never have been taken to court if the LEA knew of your son's medical issues. Have you spoken to a legal professional about getting this overturned?

As soon as I can speak to the person at my local Magistrates Court, I will come back onto this thread.

I was tempted to move, but not convenient for the children and I am trying not to impact them in anyway as it is used for the school runs etc on a daily basis but think I might just invest in a new fence and lock around the back garden as currently not to secure..can they break into a garden fence if locked securely?

As soon as I have all psychiatric assessments and reports in I plan to, it takes ages the whole process and have been telling them for years something is not right, took him being expelled for them to actually act!! . I don't like the fact I have a black mark against my name legally due to my own background of cpo and try to pay any debts promptly. I had to give up work due to his difficulties and as such am now self employed low income and stagging on as and when I can or doing duties remotely from home since he is now in his first year at secondary school its become more demanding.

I have just spoke to Marstons and have questioned them as to what they hold on file now also.
They have said..

11/6 call to Marstons - spoke to Lilly Skinner "Defendant had called to inform us the fine had been paid and dealt with directly with the court"

17/9 - Mr Cartwright had attended the property and contacted a neighbour.

17/9 Advised defendant to dispute with court as fine has been paid.

18/9 - they had told me fees would be payable due to my fine being paid late.


- I spoke to a lady there today, quite understanding once she realised I knew what I was talking about and taking it all very seriously. She had put the account on hold for 2 weeks so I can email the enforcement team and see what can be done. she commented if the fine has been paid then the fees should be dropped, but then later said again (if the fees were paid in time).

She has given me the contact@mastonsgroup.co.uk email addy and told to send receipt of payment.

Have you got any idea what I should put in the said emails I need to send to the enforcement and Marstons as I may just CC them in both?
Thanks!

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons - Removal Notice - Distress Warrant - £50 fine paid late..now owe £300!!

The Ministry of Justice runs the justice system and HMCTS runs the courts, not Marston Group. Give me a chance to contact the Enforcement Manager at my local magistrates court for clarification.

[Guest]

Re: Marstons - Removal Notice - Distress Warrant - £50 fine paid late..now owe £300!!

They will say you have to pay the bailiffs fees. When you start citing chapter & verse, then will quickly realise you are a lawyer and say they must have made a mistake. That is what they are trained to do.

It happens every time when bailiffs fees are challanged. Its a system designed for defendants that do not challenge the fees.

When you speak to the court, record the call. You can have some fun with it.

[chrissy01]

Re: Marstons - Removal Notice - Distress Warrant - £50 fine paid late..now owe £300!!

OK theres been an update:
I sent them an email last week with attachement of evidence of payment to the court.
Please can you advise me what I need to do next.
Dear Sirs,

I appeared in court on April 17th and was given £50 fine for my son failing to attend school, he has various medical issues and was given a lenient fine due to not being able to provide Drs Certificates for every date although the circumstances were accepted I was expected to pay half the court costs. I have since obtained further medical evidence to back up my not guilty plee and he is currently being statemented as special needs. He suffers from psychological issues, so the extra stress with regards to this incident is harming him now as he picks up on stress being 11.

I never received any fine payment number etc to pay at the magistrates court and was told it would be sent to me by one of the clerks on the day. I have been informed by the lgeal service I should have received two notifications, one being next steps of which I have never received.
I am a single parent but at times I have to work away for a couple of weeks at a time to help pay the bills as a security contractor in London, I didn't hear anything until June, when I received a letter from Marston's demanding £50 fine and £85 fee. This is the only correspondence I have received to date.

I phoned them June 9th, explained the circumstances that I had not received anything, and I promptly paid that day after receiving advice of how to pay the fine to the court from the court staff and my case number.

Paid the fine direct to the automated payment line on the phone to the court. Payment went through on June 10th, I phoned Marstons told them the fine had been paid directly to the court and that I had dealt with the issue. The representative on the phone did not warn/suggest or mention otherwise of £85 having to be paid or further fees or persuement.

Monday 17th September a hand delivered letter was put through the door. By Mr Cartwright not a baliff himself but a Attending/postal officer. I phoned them and asked them why this was for as the fine had been paid, spoke to a representative again, he said if the fine had been paid then to speak to the court and the fees shouldn't be liable.

18th September I spoke to the court, they passed me through to your surrey and sussex enforcement line. Which I am afraid is always engaged and have been phoning every day since.

18th Phoned Marstons explained I was trying to get this resolved passed them the enforcement number to tell them to call, I was informed they had not spoken to the court since 28th MAY, I asked why they were chasing me for an additional £215 since the guy had obviously came round to query the £85 compliance fee so they could charge this additional fee on top considering I had phoned them previously to tell them the fine had been paid. This seems rather unmoral as the letter states I now owe them £350 which is 7 times the original costs of the court fine.

19th Spoke to the court again they gave me the same numbers, I asked to speak to the court manager, phoned up the legal and law free advice service asked for advice regarding this. I was assessed as suitable to receive free advice on a means tested basis due to a very low income. I have spoken to payplan and was advised also to contact yourselves if possible to have this dropped.

19th Phone call from Legal and law service was advised to speak to the courts again. Spoke to the court managers assistant and she had given me your email to contact after being quite sympathetic with what has happened and advised I speak to yourselves about recalling the Bailiffs and telling them not to pursue the fees. I explained it was paid late but only because I never had payment details to pay and was waiting on them.

I have never received any type of court paper work, there is another address on my road which some of my mail goes to routinely when we have new postmen on the route. The woman that lives there is elderly so I cant always trouble her and she wouldn't bring round mail. I have checked and she has stated she cant recall anything although her eyesight is not great and sometimes she has assistance with her mail. When I am working away my sister collects the mail and tells me over the phone whats what with it, she has stated nothing has ever been received.

I am now worried about them taking my car away or trying to access my property, I cannot remove the car from the immediate area due to the children I have two being 8 and 11 and the impact this would have upon them, especially my son.

Please can this matter be dealt with promptly with Marston, I have CC’d them into this email. I phoned them today explaining the circumstances. I ask that you can please look into this and have them withdraw there incrementing fees.

Kind regards

there response:
Your E mail has been passed to me for reply.

A Fine Notice was sent to you on the 20th April, 2012 giving details of your fine and instructions as to how to pay . Full payment of £50.00 was due by the 24th April, 2012 and as no response or payment was received a Further Step Notice was sent to you on the 25th April, 2012 which would give an indication of various forms of enforcement which would take place should payment or contact not be made. These Notices were sent to the address of ....
A distress warrant was issued on the 9th May, 2012 but your payment was not received in this office until the 12th June, 2012 by which time the warrant had been forwarded to Marston's bailiffs.

Unfortunately I am unable to withdraw the distress warrant. Marstons sent out their first letter to you on the 30th May, 2012 and their records show that you then contacted them on the 11th June, 2012 to confirm that you had made a payment to the Court. You attended Court on the 17th April, 2012 therefore you were aware of the amout you had to pay. If you were unaware how to make payment you should have contact the Court who imposed the fine and they would then have given you details. There is a payment machine in the actual Court House and ushers would have been on hand to advise you how to use this.

You should now liaise with Marston as to how to make payment to them.




Sue O'Regan
Section Manager
Collection & Enforcement
HMCTS
Kent, Surrey & Sussex
Tel: 01622 680073
Fax: 01622 680081

[CleverClogs]

Re: Marstons - Removal Notice - Distress Warrant - £50 fine paid late..now owe £300!!

Sue O'Regan
Section Manager
Collection & Enforcement
HMCTS
Kent, Surrey & Sussex
Tel: 01622 680073
Fax: 01622 680081

Why not sue Sue?

[CleverClogs]

Re: Marstons - Removal Notice - Distress Warrant - £50 fine paid late..now owe £300!!

17/9 - Mr Cartwright had attended the property and contacted a neighbour.

Did he indeed?

Why did he do that?

[chrissy01]

Re: Marstons - Removal Notice - Distress Warrant - £50 fine paid late..now owe £300!!

Now one thought I did have was to charge Marstons my phr rate I charge and send them a bill as I am waisting a lot of time trying to get answers on this, whats the thoughts? I really dont feel its fair to pay the £215 considering I never received anything from them and its a pointless fee!

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons - Removal Notice - Distress Warrant - £50 fine paid late..now owe £300!!

Marstons made a totally unnecessary visit, knowing the fine had already been paid. There was no need for the visit. The most they are entitled to charge is £85.00. I would go back to the HMCTS Enforcement Manager and make it clear that you are willing to pay the £85.00 Administration Fee, but not the £215 Attendance Fee as the Marstons knew the fine had already been paid and there was no justification to attend. I would make it clear that you are prepared to escalate the matter to HMCTS HQ, if necessary. Sometimes, this will make HMCTS staff back down, but I cannot make any guarantee that they will do so in your case. But be prepared to pursue this at HMCTS HQ level, if necessary. An alternative is to make it clear to Marston you will challenge them legally, through the courts, if necessary, if they attempt to enforce the £215.00 fee.