Marstons Court Fine Problem

Posted on behalf of 'helpwithbailiffs'


I received the following pm from helpwithbailiffs this morning. He's asked if I would start this thread for him. Here is the message:

I am currently in receipt of JSA and have received a letter from Marston for an unpaid magistrates Court fine for £1445 plus VAT.
I was unable to pay due to a family breakdown and unemployment.
I did receive a Further Steps Notice few month ago and did not take any action due to my various problems.
Can you please advise what course of action I can take to put a stop to this.

[labman]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

Thanks Inca! I've moved the other post to a thread of its own to avoid confusion.

@ helpwithbailiffs

Please could you advise exactly what help and advice you have received from the 'Dealing With Bailiffs' website and what the results of this advice have been before we start trying to advise you.

It obviously helps all of us if we know exactly what we are dealing with here.

Also, perhaps you could clarify whether you are trying to get advice from both websites, or whether you have decided to come to Legal Beagles and intend staying here.

IF you are wanting advice from both sites, you may well get very conflicting advice, so need to decide whether to stay here, or return to Dealing With Bailiffs. You can't do both realistically.

Thanks! :beagle:

[helpwithbailiffs]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

Hi
i have not sought advice from dealing with bailiffs. Just wanting guidance from here please. I was fined about 2010 for using a disabled badge, my barrister told me I had case I can win but on the day he did not attend and sent another barrister to court. I only only about the fine 4pm before the hearing date, my witnesses could attend.

The fine was from Crown Court and later transfer to Westminster Mags. I attended a hearing where I was ordered to pay £150 a month. I made regular payment of £150 and than I made regular payment of £50 a month as my income was sinificantly down.

End of last year I became unemployed and had family breakdown, I was going through a divorce and was really stress. I messed myself up and forgot all about the fine.

i received notification from Collectica bailiff which I challenged Collectica fees. It seems like Collectica returned the matter back to the Court and now the court passed it to the bailiff Marston. I phoned Marston told them I am on benefits and vulnerable adult for the purpose of civil enforcement but I have been told thy WILL break into my house.

Please hehelp thank you

[helpwithbailiffs]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

The total fine was 2500, I have paid over £1100, the outstanding in £1455, the bailiff wants £500 by Monday and the rest by end of Oct.
i m on benefits have no other income. I m struggling with my mortgage and other necessities.
Marston said they can BREAK INTO MY HOUSE without any Court orders as they have a warrant.
Thank you for your help

[labman]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

Can you explain the exact circumstances surrounding the fine please. They warrant they have does carry the right of forced entry, but usually the bailiff would go back to the court before exercising this right.

Have you read THIS? Have a read, answer the question asked and come back with any further questions. :beagle:

[helpwithbailiffs]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

Can you explain the exact circumstances surrounding the fine please. They warrant they have does carry the right of forced entry, but usually the bailiff would go back to the court before exercising this right.

Have you read THIS? Have a read, answer the question asked and come back with any further questions. :beagle:

Hi thanks for your reply.
I was fined at the Crown Court for mis-use of blue badge.

[labman]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

What do you mean by misuse of a blue badge? In what way were you misusing it? Please give us a detailed answer or it is impossible to help you. :beagle:

[helpwithbailiffs]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

I was prosecuted at the Crown Court for misuse of a disable badge, the badge was my mother's which I was using to carry her to places and it was displayed on my car. I am really worried if Marston attend tomorrow to break in I do not know what to do.

I was thinking of submitting a stat dec as I have not been mean tested and sending a letter to marston stating that I am vulnerable family as I am currently in receipt of JSA.

The fine was from Crown Court and later transfer to Westminster Mags. I attended a hearing where I was ordered to pay £150 a month. I made regular payment of £150 and than I made regular payment of £50 a month as my income was sinificantly down.


End of last year I became unemployed and had family breakdown, I was going through a divorce and was really stress. I messed myself up and forgot all about the fine.


i received notification from Collectica bailiff which I challenged Collectica fees. It seems like Collectica returned the matter back to the Court and now the court passed it to the bailiff Marston. I phoned Marston told them I am on benefits and vulnerable adult for the purpose of civil enforcement but I have been told thy WILL break into my house.

[helpwithbailiffs]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

Hi this is a magistrates court fine not a PCN, this fine is for misuse of a disabled badge not newham PCN. Do you have any advice please, as marston has threatened to break in and am very woworried thanks

[helpwithbailiffs]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

No this isn't the same case at all. Thanks again

[labman]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

Apparently by checking the issue, this poster has been 'given the run around' on another site

Well, he's posted PART of the story on BHF not all. We at least ascertained the facts first. Everything points towards him having been means tested initially (for the bit left out on BHF).

As for not receiving any advice from the website or forum as asked in post 3, the OP now says on BHF, "Collectica was chasing me for the debt and used some of your templates, collective stopped and returned it to The Court. I received a letter from Marston yesterday and contacted them to arrange to pay off, I said to them I on JSA and have no way of paying off the large sum, however I can only pay about £10 a week until Marston threatened to break into my house, they said they have a warrant which allows them to force entry. "

The OP has ended up in a worse situation as a result of this, and has been economical with the truth in reply to Inca's question. As for the advice given there, well the solid advice about the means enquiry was covered in the link in my reply in post 7 here. Neither this site, nor I can be blamed if the OP doesn't read links given in response to posts. We don't put them there just for fun!

I just wanted to clear the FACTS as yet again my name is slated over there on the linked thread. It is beyond a joke!

I'm afraid I am not prepared to offer support to posters who mislead as this one clearly has. I trust nobody here will judge me for that, but it is really irritating when other sites slate you with half truths and you end up being forced to watch your back all the time.

[Inca]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

This also highlights why LegalBeagles does NOT support advice etc via PM...(not given in this case I hasten to add).
Looking at time frames..OP posted OTR (on this issue) @ 12.05pm..on 15/9.......but had requested help from here on 14/9....also,he is already being helped OTR on another issue.
Quite possibly (without putting words into OP's mouth),,given the urgency of his matter,he needed/expected help from us quicker than we could provide it given that was the weekend?
All that considered and duly noted....no forum can help OP's without OP's participating in that help by reading links,answering salient questions and posting up as many facts/parts of the story as they can (although mostly,,the story has to be coaxed gently out..in cases like this especially where OP is clearly panicking)

[Milo]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

I looked on the BHF site this morning and was shocked at the advice given to the poster regarding BOTH of his question. It would seem that he has a problem with a PCN and a court fine and the ONLY reason for me to post about this here is in the hope that some other unfortunate debtor may avoid the getting into difficulties.

With the PCN the poster had been encouraged to complete a Compliance Wizard and had maybe not properly read the first of 10 PAGES !!! where it stated that: "We introduce business to solicitors under a no win, no fee scheme". After completing the 10 pages ( of frankly highly confidential information) the debtor is informed that :

"At the end of the Wizard, it will generate a Compliance Report (excluding your personal details) which will be posted on your forum thread"

The "Wizard" is clearly not working because, on the public forum for anyone to see the "Compliance Report" has NOT removed personal details and instead has posted for anyone to see the following personal information:

Name of Bailiff Company

Bailiffs full name

The name of the police force where a complaint has been made

The CAD number (for the police complaint) !!!

Make and model of the debtors car that has been removed!!

And last....the precise date of the event

I would be surprised if this was not a serious abuse of the Data Protection Act.


What is No Fee, No Fee ?

The site openly state that they "Introduce business to solicitors under the "no win, no fee" Scheme"

So many websites are now offering such services but the vast majority of the public do not realise that "no win no fee" does NOT mean "no win no cost" and this is a common mis-interpretation regarding the whole term.

In short, "no win no fee" is the commonly referred to term for a Conditional Fee Agreement. A solicitor has a "discretion" as to whether or not to take a case on a "no win no fee" basis. A little known fact is that if you lose your case, you may be liable for the other side costs including but no limited to court fee's and solicitors charges. It is for this precise reason that the debtor will be required to take out an "After Event" insurance policy.


Worryingly, the advice given to the debtor on that site is that if his N244 fails the debtor must"

"Escalate an appeal to PATAS the moment appeal is dismissed"

If an Out of Time witness statement had been submitted to TEC on the basis that he had appeal the PCN to the local authority within the statutory timeframe and had not received a response then if his N244 is ACCEPTED the matter can be referred to PATAS.

If however, the N244 is REJECTED there is NO PROVISION AT ALL to take the matter to PATAS!!

PS: I only hope that the solicitor taking any of the cases under a "no win no fee" arrangement has a better understanding of the legal position.

[Milo]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

I have now also read the "advice" given to the debtor regarding his court fine and I am lost for words.

The "template" letter that he has been provided with is worrying. Firstly, it states that: "I have sought independent legal advice". This is not true. He has been provided with a letter from an internet forum !!!

He has been told by the site team the following:

"You are on JSA which means that you have obviously not been Means tested" !!!

The debtor has confirmed that he attended court and at the time, he was working and the court agreed that he could repay the debt at a rate of £150 per month. Accordingly, there can be no doubt that the court DID indeed enquire into his means and this was done in OPEN COURT !!!

The debtor has paid a significant amount back to court and his circumstances changed in that he lost his employment. Sadly, he did NOT advise the court as he should have done of his change in circumstances and this was despite the fact that he has previously been pursued by Collectica Ltd. This company returned the warrant to the court and I suspect that it was NOT because of any letter but because Marston Group were allocated cases for certain geographical areas that Collectica had previously been enforcing.

If the poster had initially posted on this forum or any other he would have been advised to contact the COURT straight away to explain his change of circumstances and to request permission to attend court for a hearing to reconsider his means in light of his loss of employment. It would appear that this was not suggested and instead, the distress warrant has now been passed to Marston Group to enforce.

PS: The "template" letter that he has been encouraged to send advises the court that if the complaint is not addressed that he will ask the Parliamentary Ombudsman to intervene. This is also not correct as any complaint to the PO may ONLY be done by the debtors local Member of Parliament !!!

[labman]

Re: Marstons Court Fine Problem

Which just serves to confirm what I already said. The one bit of solid advice HAD BEEN GIVEN HERE. It was in the link provided to the OP. The whole point of the stickies is to stop us endlessly typing the same thing over and over again.

Sorry, but when this then includes a personal attack on me on a different websitefor giving the correct advice on this one, despite the OP lying, it grates!