advice needed please....

[tinkerbell26]

I had a tv licence fine for £250 i paid half and agreed to pay the other half the next month. I was late so i got a letter posted through the door of marsdons saying i now owe them £415 i have paid the outstanding fine off so what happens with the bailiff costs now???

[labman]

Re: advice needed please....

I am finding it hard to see how they have arrived at that sum. I assume when you say you paid half you paid exactly half -ie- £125.00? If you had paid £115.00 their figure would make more sense.

[tinkerbell26]

Re: advice needed please....

Hi sorry paid 125 just checked the letter its £435 they want or it says i will be liable for substantial additional costs if not paid immediately

[labman]

Re: advice needed please....

I'm still confused by the figures - I was looking for a £300 difference between what you had paid and what they are asking for. Once the fine passes for enforcement they can charge £85, the on attendance they can charge a one off £215.00 - a total of £300.00

The advice of this site is to pay this - the link tells you what to do if you can't. As there is a difference of £10 in your case, you could ask for a breakdown of fees. Alternatively, pay £10 less and say you believe that is all they are entitled to have charged.

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...s-Courts-Fines

[ploddertom]

Re: advice needed please....

Did you receive a Further Steps Notice from the Court - a legal requirement - asking you bring your account up to date? Have you actually had a visit from a Bailiff or just a letter received via Royal Mail?

[labman]

Re: advice needed please....

Did you receive a Further Steps Notice from the Court - a legal requirement - asking you bring your account up to date? Have you actually had a visit from a Bailiff or just a letter received via Royal Mail?

As always, quite PT thanks. I assumed the letter posted through the door was from the bailiff. The linked thread states about Further Steps Notices, but they are often ignored.

Apologies OP for my assumptions!

[tinkerbell26]

Re: advice needed please....

Hi yes a letter from the bailiff, had another one posted through today £295 it states it is now as the court has informed them the fine has been paid. Do they have a certain amount of time they have to collect the money owing to them in?

[tinkerbell26]

Re: advice needed please....

They are saying they sent me a letter via royal mail first but i did not receive it.

[labman]

Re: advice needed please....

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...s-Courts-Fines

Here's the link to Magistrates' Court Fines again. Under 'About Distress Warrants' you'll see about the Further Steps Notice - it should be (but often isn't) sent from the court.

[bluebottle]

Re: advice needed please....

Unless they have attended, they are only entitled to charge £85. This is from HMCTS themselves. It sounds like Marstons have been getting the ghosts of the Brothers Grimm to do their book-keeping again.

[labman]

Re: advice needed please....

Unless they have attended, they are only entitled to charge £85. This is from HMCST themselves. It sounds like Marstons have been getting the ghosts of the Brothers Grimm to do their book-keeping again.

This is what I took for granted, and PT quite correctly picked me up on. We need ascertain whether or not the bailiff did attend, and if so was the Further Steps Notice issued as obviously this affects the way we move forward.

[tinkerbell26]

Re: advice needed please....

Hi yes they attended to post a letter through, it didnt state anything significant about the property should he have wrote something on the letter to prove it was him that attended???

[labman]

Re: advice needed please....

Did you receive a Further Steps Notice from the Court - a legal requirement - asking you bring your account up to date?

This is what we now need an answer to before we can help further. :beagle:

[bluebottle]

Re: advice needed please....

With Magistrates Courts fines, the fees are -

Admin Fee: £75 or £85 (depending on the local MCC) Can only be charged once.
Attendance Fee: £215 or £225 (depending on the local MCC) Can only be charged once and only if they actually attend to levy.
Other Fees: Costs of execution. In other words, they have to gain entry and actually seize goods and then sell them. If not, the Admin and Attendance Fees only apply.

The Further Steps Notice is a legal requirement under Rule 52.2, Criminal Procedures Rules 2011. Instruction of bailiffs may not be proceeded with until this has been sent to the fine defaulter and they have been given the opportunity to bring their fine account up to date.

[labman]

Re: advice needed please....

With Magistrates Courts fines, the fees are -

Admin Fee: £75 or £85 (depending on the local MCC) Can only be charged once.
Attendance Fee: £215 or £225 (depending on the local MCC) Can only be charged once and only if they actually attend to levy.
Other Fees: Costs of execution. In other words, they have to gain entry and actually seize goods and then sell them. If not, the Admin and Attendance Fees only apply.

The Further Steps Notice is a legal requirement under Rule 52.2, Criminal Procedures Rules 2011. Instruction of bailiffs may not be proceeded with until this has been sent to the fine defaulter and they have been given the opportunity to bring their fine account up to date.

As per the Bailiffs' Guide! We still need the answer to the question though.