Marstons Baliffs

[shampoo66]

Yesterday evening when i returned home from work a letter had been posted through my front door from marstons. on the envelope it says:

URGENT - FOR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION
NOTICE OF ATTENDANCE

it also shows the time the letter was left (12:40) and the date (18/10/2012).

inside was a removals notice for a court fine which has now increased from £573.60 to £873.60.

it stated:

due to non-payment we have attended your premises today to remove goods. you must make immediate payment to our offices in cleared funds to prevent re-attendance and removal procedures commencing.

should you fail to make immediate payment we may re-attend your premises and remove goods even in your absence (in accordance with the law).


i received a court fine roughly 4 weeks ago and wrote to the court as it stated to do so on the letter, asking to set up a payment plan. I have not received any correspondence back from hmrc.

On monday i received a letter from marstons asking to contact them within 7 days, which i fully intended to do. the date on the letter is 02/10/2012.

After the baliff leaving the letter yesterday i was planning on contacting them today (couldn.t contact them yesterday as i didnt get home until 10pm). Then this morning i was in the shower when somebody was banging on my door very loudly. i looked out of the window and saw a man outside my door. as i am not in the habbit of answering the door naked to strangers, i got dried. by the time i was dried and dressed a note had been posted through the door and the van that was outside had drove abt 50 yards up the road and then parked there.

the note that was posted at 9.30am this morning is a card that states:

i mr quirk attended your address to execute a distress warrant issued against you by cheshire magistrates court. the amount outstanding today is £873.60.

i have been refused entry/unable to contact you at the address and believe you are willingly trying to evade payment of this account.

you should be aware that there exists a power under schedule 4a of the domestic violence, crime and victims act to enable us to enter your property, BY FORCE, using locksmiths when required, to execute this warrant.

This power may only be utilised if the enforcement agent is executing a magistrates distress warrant. if this card has been left for a case other than a magistrates warrant please contact marston group immediately on: 0845 074 3749.

i will be re-attending your premises, with a locksmith if necessary, to conclude this matter. i may if appropriate request authority to use above powers of entry.

now i am too scared to leave the house incase he comes back with a locksmith as i wouldnt be home from work until 10pm so would not be able to get back into my house if the baliff comes back and changes the locks and i wouldnt have anywhere to go.

i dont know what to do. i need to go to the shop to get credit to ring the baliffs but am scared to go out of the door.
can he really come back with a locksmith?
it hasnt even been 24 hours since he first came out, surely they should give more time to contact them?
i have checked on the certified baliff register and mr quirk is not on there, does this make a difference.
somebody please help as i dont know what to do

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

You need to contact the court involved and ask for the direct telephone number of the Area HMTCS Enforcement Manager. The other matter is that did you receive a letter from HMCTS asking you to bring your fines account up to date? This is called a Further Steps Notice and is a legal requirement under Rule 52.2, Criminal Procedures Rules 2011. HMCTS are not permitted to pass it to Marston Group until this has been sent to you and at least 14 days has lapsed since they sent it to you.

Marstons are not permitted to force entry without written authorisation from the court. Otherwise, both they and HMCTS could be in serious trouble.

Could you explain how the fine is £573.60, please? I am a retired policeman and fines are normally complete pounds, not fractions. It would help if you could provide a time-line and the amount of the fine as it was imposed by the court on the day it was imposed.

As for Mr Quirk not being on the Certificated Bailiff Register, I have rung the Northampton Bulk Centre which deals with certificated bailiff enquiries and they are ringing me back today. I will send you a PM as soon as I hear from them.

[ploddertom]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

If you only received your fine approx 4 weeks ago I would think the involvement of Marstons is rather premature. Can't find the proper bit I need at present but believe the Court (Fines Officer) is supposed to notify you of the level of payments first - even if that is all in one payment. I note you say you have sent a proposal to the Court - I would suspect they will say they have not received it. The next stage as Bluebottle has pointed out is the Further Steps Notice and would urge you to follow his advice

[labman]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

Have a read of this from our Bailiffs' Section:

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

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

If you only received your fine approx 4 weeks ago I would think the involvement of Marstons is rather premature. Can't find the proper bit I need at present but believe the Court (Fines Officer) is supposed to notify you of the level of payments first - even if that is all in one payment. I note you say you have sent a proposal to the Court - I would suspect they will say they have not received it. The next stage as Bluebottle has pointed out is the Further Steps Notice and would urge you to follow his advice

My same feelings too, PT. It does seem very premature for Marstons to be getting involved. I am wondering if someone at the magistrates court has been cutting corners. However, as I write this post, someone from Northampton BC has just telephoned me about Mr Quirk of Marstons. He is not showing up on the register and they have asked for an email enquiry so they can check he is not a recent registration or renewal that has not yet been added. I will do this shortly and post up the response I receive.

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

Update on previous post: I have sent an email enquiry to the Ministry of Justice to establish whether Mr Quirk of Marston Group is, in fact, a certificated bailiff. I will post the response I receive.

[ploddertom]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

Do you know which Court he is allegedly Certificated at? If so I would contact them as they should have the most current information. There is only a requirement for County Courts to forward this info to the MOJ periodically, although I know many do when it happens.

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

The switchboard telephone numbers for County Courts in the Cheshire area are as follows -

Altrincham 0161 975 4760
Chester 01244 404200
Crewe 01270 539300
Macclesfield 01625 412800

See if you can get the necessary information out of Marston Group, but don't hold your breath - they tend to be aggressive, rude and unco-operative.

[shampoo66]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

thank you for all of your replies, they are very much appreciated.

the fine was £400 plus costs and came to £573.60.

i called the number that was on the baliff letter to be told i had to pay the whole amount or he would be back with a locksmith!! everytime i here a noise i jump out of my skin incase it is him. so far he hasnt been back yet but im sure he will be back first thing on monday.
from the things i have read about marstons not being very helpful, instead of calling them i have decided to first email them so that i have proof that i have contacted them to resolve the issue.
could.
i received a letter from the court that was a notice of fine and collection order but dont recall receiving anything else from them.
i am really worried about this, i am not in a position to pay the full amount. i can only afford approx £15 per week and dont think that they will accept this. so do i just let them take my things? i have not slept as i am that worried and all that i can think is that i will have to give them all of my wages when i get paid at the end of the month but then i wont be able to pay my rent, bills, buy food or get to work. i just dont know what to do

[ploddertom]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

First of all - do not call the Bailiff unless you can record the conversation - they have very selective memories. One of the reasons they demand the payment in full is because they do not get paid until the fine has been paid to the Court so for instalments they could be waiting a while to see any money themselves. Having said that I bet he neglected to tell you that Marstons have an agreement with the Courts where payments may be spread over a 6 month period.

I standby my thoughts of them being involved prematurely and agree with Bluebottle that you should contact the Court to find out exactly what they are playing at. I doubt very much he can force entry, although there is a provision for this he would need an additional order from the Court allowing it - these are very rarely given and are for the more persistent offenders who treat the system as a joke.

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

You must speak to the Area HMCTS Enforcement Manager first thing Monday morning. It looks very likely the court did not send you a Further Steps Notice, which means they have not complied with the law. As for Marstons, one of the reasons for speaking to the Area HMCTS Enforcement Manager is to report that the bailiff concerned is not showing as certificated on the MoJ Certificated Bailiff Register and that this is being chased up with HMCTS at higher level. The other reason is to report the bailiff's threats. It is not acceptable for them to behave in this manner. You should also ask for a Means Hearing, due to your limited income. Was a means test done at the original hearing as the fine should have been set according to your income. In fact, were you at the hearing? If not, all the more reason to ask for a Means hearing.

As for returning with a locksmith, Mr Quirk does so at his own peril. As Ploddertom says, he needs written authorisation from the court and the court rarely gives this. except in cases of persistent avoidance. As you have found, Marstons are not beyond telling lies in order to justify forcing entry and using intimidation to force payment. Having spoken to an Area HMCTS Enforcement Manager myself, I can tell you that HMCTS does not take kindly to its contracted bailiffs behaving in this manner as it is likely to expose them to legal action and bring them into disrepute. It is clearly stated in the contract HMCTS has with bailiff companies that a contracted bailiff company enforcing fines on behalf of HMCTS must not act in any way that would or brings HMCTS or the courts into disrepute.

[shampoo66]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

thanks again for your replies,

i have emailed marstons and so far have not had a reply.
i am going to follow your advice and call the area manager but what do i need to ask the area manager? sorry about if i sound dumb, i really dont have any knowledge of any of this and how it works.

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

I am going to send you a PM. Check your inbox in about 10 minutes.

[labman]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

It concerns me when things are not done on open forum. For the protection of the OP and yourself I'd suggest everything be posted openly.

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons Baliffs

It concerns me when things are not done on open forum. For the protection of the OP and yourself I'd suggest everything be posted openly.

Agreed. But, sometimes, a matter can be clarified a lot quicker by phone and the result posted, when and where advisable. What is needed is a list, in chronological order, of the correspondence the OP has received from the court. Until we know what correspondence has been received and the nature of that correspondence, it is going to be difficult to give the OP appropriate advice. I have to agree with Ploddertom that HMCTS has been somewhat premature in involving Marstons.