PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

[FahanChoudhury]

Hi,

I received a Distress Warrant on 18/09/2012 from Philips for £130. I contacted them via email saying that this was news to me and I didn't understand what the bill was all about. They replied via email saying I needed to pay the money for a traffic offence or contact the magistrates. I replied asking how to contact the magistrates as I've never been in this position before plus made it clear that there is an address opposite my house with the same door number and there was a chance that mail got indirectly sent there.
today 09/10/2012 I received a notice of attendance and the bill has gone up by £215 to £345.
they are adamant in not changing this and allowing me to pay the £130.
what do I do?

[teaboy2]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

Did you get fined for any traffic offence?

The courts details should be on the distress warrant i believe.

[FahanChoudhury]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

The original fine was for unneccesary obstruction with motor vehicle. I was not issued any points or anything but just a police fine, which I totally forgot to pay. I than received a letter from Philips and than a distress warrant.

[teaboy2]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

Right am afraid you will have to pay am afraid. Though others more knowledgable on traffic fines and bailiffs will no doubt be along later to help in regards to the additional fees the bailiffs have added.

[FahanChoudhury]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

Thank you for your response Teaboy2.
i am willing to pay the £130 but not happy about paying the £215 extra cost.
if anyone can advise me, please do so

[FahanChoudhury]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

If I go onto the Philips website and change the amount payable to £130 and pay this, will I still have to pay the extra £215 that has been incurred from the notice of attendance?

[teaboy2]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

The Bailiff is legally entitled to charge an attendance fee, though i believe they must knock on your door and hand it to you otherwise the attendance visit was invalid. In otherwords they can not cut corners and simply post it through your letter box. How much fee they can charge am not sure, hence why i said others with more knowledge on this subject would be around later to help.

[FahanChoudhury]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

Thank you for your advice.
The notice of Attendance was not issued to myself, but left with my mum as I was not in at the time.

[teaboy2]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

If it was handed to your mum in person then it will still be valid.

[bluebottle]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

The fees certificated bailiff companies acting on behalf of HMCTS can contractually charge are £85 admin fee and £215 attendance fee. The fine is the only other sum that they can claim. Anything over and above £300 (where applicable) + the fine is unauthorised and illegal. If you have any doubts as to the legality of Philips' actions, contact the local HMCTS Enforcement Manger. In order to do this, ring the switchboard number for the court and ask for the direct telephone number for the HMCTS Enforcement Manager.

[FahanChoudhury]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

Thank you for your advice Bluebottle. How helpful will the HMCTS manager be because so far the various people I've had to speak to have been nothing less than rude

Im just absolutely shocked that it has come to this. Do I explain the whole situation to the HMCTS manager? In your experience are they able to reduce the charge?

Thank you ever so much

[ploddertom]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

Have you moved since the offence was committed? Did you receive a Further Steps Notice from the Court asking you to bring your account up to date before you got the letter from Phillips - this is a legal requirement? You should also ask the Bailiff where you can view the Warrant , this will tell you what address they are seeking you at & also the date the warrant was issued.

[labman]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

Check everything in this link has been followed exactly. If not, post up:

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

[bluebottle]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

By the sound of it, you have been dealing with clerks. The area HMCTS Enforcement Manager is responsible for HMCTS Civilian Enforcement Officers (also known as Warrant Officers), Court Bailiffs and contracted certificated bailiff companies who collect magistrates court fines. If there is a problem or irregularity in the manner in which a contracted bailiff company is dealing with you, this should always be referred to the area HMCTS Enforcement Manager. Don't contact the Court Manager or Fines Office as they will parrot "Deal with the bailiffs". HMCTS Enforcement Managers are civil servants who are answerable to the MoJ for any adverse conduct by firms, such as Philips, and to ensure they are complying with the law.

You will need to explain the entire situation to the HMCTS Enforcement Manager who should be able to advise you as to what you have to pay. If you have not received a Further Steps Notice, this would mean that HMCTS, themselves, were in breach of the law, as they must send a FSN before proceeding with instructing bailiffs.

[FahanChoudhury]

Re: PHILIPS Notice of Attendance

Thank you all for your responses, it is very much appreciated. I have not moved since the date of the offence. I don't think I received an FSN so I will attempt to contact the HMCTS manager tomorrow. How do I go about doing this?

From what I've read above, I think it's best to contact the HMCTS manager and seek their advice. I'm guessing they are there to help us and not to trick us into paying extra???

I'll keep you updated as soon as I've made contact. Once again, thank you all for your help. What an absolutely wonderful site this is