court issued distress warrent

[ronnie0305]

Hello my name is Ronnie

Today at 2pm i had a piece of paper posted through my door from a company called Collectica ENFORCEMENT SERVICES on behalf of
HMCTS. LINCS for an unpaid fine for tv license now i understand everyone has there excuse for not paying, ours being that our benefits had stopped for a period of time and we totally forgot about the fine, this was until today when we received this letter.

the fine issued by the courts was for £190 we was paying it of and now it is £77, but now we have been issued a bill for £377 we called the company's head office and asked them "why we have to pay a fee to for attendance when no one even knocked at our door they just posted the letter and went" their response was "its not down to us you need to talk to the bailiff".

so after calling him and trying to arrange a payment plan he has refused to do this and demanded payment by 7pm tonight i used what i know about law and later told him that he either gave me till Friday to try and sort this out or he can spend the next few months trying to get in my house. He has agreed to back of till Friday.

after this call i called the courts they agreed to take full payment of the £77 today but then told me that even though i will be paying they will not call of the distress warrant.

So back to the bailiff i explained to him the courts have accepted full payment so now i need to know what to do about the warrant as the fine is paid, his reply was "unless the courts take the warrant away they are not allowed to drop the case"

So then i called CAB and they tell me that the courts do have the power to take back the warrant but they will tell you they don't. which of course thats what the courts have said "its not in there power"

i dont no what to do here and would really like some help if at all possible i have till Friday to try and sort this.

Thanks Ronnie

[bluebottle]

Re: court issued distress warrent

I can confirm what CAB told you is correct. Although the Macrae case means that correctly-issued MC Distress Warrants cannot, normally, be withdrawn, HMCTS can withdraw them at any time for a variety of reasons. Recently, HMCTS withdrew a MC Distress Warrant from Collectica due to Collectica making a false/wrongful statement about a debtor.

What you have to be aware of is that certificated bailiff companies will sometimes use people who are not certificated bailiffs to post letters, documents, etc., through people's doors and then attempt to claim a fee for a bailiff attending. The onus is on the bailiff company to prove that a certificated bailiff did, in fact, attend your home. If they cannot, they cannot charge an attendance fee. Taking account of their recent transgression, I would challenge Collectica as to their bailiff's whereabouts at the time the letter was pushed through the door. If they refuse to comply with this request, I would be wary of any claims they are making.

You may need to speak to the HMCTS Senior Enforcement Manager for Lincolnshire, who is based at Nottingham Magistrates Court, and whose contact details are as follows -

Tel: 0115 9558 111
Email: NT-NottmAccounts&Enforcement@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk

Any email should be marked clearly "For attention of the Senior Enforcement Manager - Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire".

Hope this helps.

[ronnie0305]

court issued distress warrent

Hello my name is Ronnie

Today at 2pm i had a piece of paper posted through my door from a company called Collectica ENFORCEMENT SERVICES on behalf of
HMCTS. LINCS for an unpaid fine for tv license now i understand everyone has there excuse for not paying, ours being that our benefits had stopped for a period of time and we totally forgot about the fine, this was until today when we received this letter.

the fine issued by the courts was for £190 we was paying it of and now it is £77, but now we have been issued a bill for £377 we called the company's head office and asked them "why we have to pay a fee to for attendance when no one even knocked at our door they just posted the letter and went" their response was "its not down to us you need to talk to the bailiff".

so after calling him and trying to arrange a payment plan he has refused to do this and demanded payment by 7pm tonight i used what i know about law and later told him that he either gave me till Friday to try and sort this out or he can spend the next few months trying to get in my house. He has agreed to back of till Friday.

after this call i called the courts they agreed to take full payment of the £77 today but then told me that even though i will be paying they will not call of the distress warrant.

So back to the bailiff i explained to him the courts have accepted full payment so now i need to know what to do about the warrant as the fine is paid, his reply was "unless the courts take the warrant away they are not allowed to drop the case"

So then i called CAB and they tell me that the courts do have the power to take back the warrant but they will tell you they don't. which of course thats what the courts have said "its not in there power"

i dont no what to do here and would really like some help if at all possible i have till Friday to try and sort this.

Thanks Ronnie

[ronnie0305]

Re: court issued distress warrent

Thank you very much for your reply, means a lot that there are people here to help

i will contact them tomorrow first thing in the morning, the funny thing is that their head office said "the bailiff is supposed to knock on the door however there is no offence if they decide not to, however it don't benefit them to not knock as they are there to collect cash/goods"

i quized them on their websites statement of understating the different money circumstances of each individual and will try to cater for our needs. But when i ask to set up a payment plan of 1 initial payment of £120 and then £25 a week and they refuse to take it. Their reply is this is something you will have to take up with your appointed bailiff not us.

I also never received any letter from the courts (F,S,N) this would mean that it was done prematurely so i hope once i point this out to them they might be more receptive.

[labman]

Re: court issued distress warrent

Have a read of this link. Pay particular attention to the pretty rigid order in which a Magistrates' Court fine must be collected should any problems arise in payment:

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

In particular, did you receive a Further Steps Notice?

[bluebottle]

Re: court issued distress warrent

Have a read of this link. Pay particular attention to the pretty rigid order in which a Magistrates' Court fine must be collected should any problems arise in payment:

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

In particular, did you receive a Further Steps Notice?

It sounds like he may not have received an FSN, LM. But, then, you know court staff will insist it has been sent.

[labman]

Re: court issued distress warrent

It sounds like he may not have received an FSN, LM. But, then, you know court staff will insist it has been sent.

That does not obviate the need to follow the correct process though. While jumping ahead may work perfectly well, the OP may also get asked, "Did you receive a FSN?" If the answer is no, they may simply be referred back to the court.

[ronnie0305]

Re: court issued distress warrent

Hello and thanks for the great replies, NO FSN was received at any time. i am at present awaiting a call back from HMCTS Senior Enforcement Manager for Lincolnshire. my hope is that they will except the payment their and then and call it off.

but their needs to be stricter rules on how charges can be made for example they should not be able to just drop a letter and run off and then charge £215 for doing so, how do i know it was a bailiff that came round.

Also when i told him to wait till Friday he said (OK i will call them and stop them from coming till Friday) but dose it not have to be him who comes and tries to take my goods.

[labman]

Re: court issued distress warrent

Hello and thanks for the great replies, NO FSN was received at any time. i am at present awaiting a call back from HMCTS Senior Enforcement Manager for Lincolnshire. my hope is that they will except the payment their and then and call it off. Let's hope you're right. Ensure you explain no FSN was received.

but their needs to be stricter rules on how charges can be made for example they should not be able to just drop a letter and run off and then charge £215 for doing so, how do i know it was a bailiff that came round. This should form a separate complaint to the bailiff company. They will have previously charged an £85 admin charge as well.

Also when i told him to wait till Friday he said (OK i will call them and stop them from coming till Friday) but dose it not have to be him who comes and tries to take my goods.

No, it doesn't have to be the same bailiff, just the same company, though usually one bailiff is assigned to the case. They can't just try and take your goods. They must gain peaceful entry, though technically they can force entry, they'd be stupid to do so without going back to the court. If they gain peaceful entry they can levy on goods belonging to the debtor.

With the stage you were at, it is ridiculous they have suddenly set bailiffs on you unless you had missed payments.

Some websites will state you do not have to pay the bailiff fees as the fine is cleared. It is an unclear piece of "legislation" (it's actually a contract), and we err on the side of caution. If you want the other route, then a Google will take you to that site, but it is not what we would advocate at all until the position is clear, as you may find yourself in deeper water than you are now.

[ronnie0305]

Re: court issued distress warrent

Hey guys the courts have said today that they do not have to send an FSN anymore by law as from 3 years ago also they do not have to recall it for any reason .

they have however sent an email to the manager of the bailiffs and stated that we are willing to pay £120 then £25 a week so lets see what happens.

[Guest]

Re: court issued distress warrent

Hey guys the courts have said today that they do not have to send an FSN anymore by law as from 3 years ago also they do not have to recall it for any reason .

Hmm according to this they do, there is no amendment listed that I can find

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1709/made

Exercise of court’s powers

52.2. The court must not exercise its enforcement powers unless—

(a)

the court officer has served on the defendant any collection order or other notice of—

(i)

the obligation to pay,

(ii)

the payment terms, and

(iii)

how and where the defendant must pay; and

(b)

the defendant has failed to comply with the payment terms.
[Note. See section 76 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (525) ; and paragraphs 12 and 13 of Schedule 5 to the Courts Act 2003 (526) .]

[ploddertom]

Re: court issued distress warrent

Hey guys the courts have said today that they do not have to send an FSN anymore by law as from 3 years ago also they do not have to recall it for any reason .

Ask them for the appropriate amended legislation that staes this.

[charitynjw]

Re: court issued distress warrent

Ask them for the appropriate amended legislation that staes this.

That would be the Bailiffs (Make It Up As You Go) Regulations 2009

[labman]

Re: court issued distress warrent

Hey guys the courts have said today that they do not have to send an FSN anymore by law as from 3 years ago also they do not have to recall it for any reason .

they have however sent an email to the manager of the bailiffs and stated that we are willing to pay £120 then £25 a week so lets see what happens.

Who were you speaking to at the court? It doesn't sound like the words of the Senior Enforcement Manager to me. As already stated, ask for the relevant legislation / change to legislation. I would not believe that until I saw it.

[ploddertom]

Re: court issued distress warrent

That would be the Bailiffs (Make It Up As You Go) Regulations 2009

As dictated by the Brothers Grimm & edited by Rumpelstiltskin