Marston- clamped a work vehicle and more!

[kimmie2611]

Hello, In desperate need of help!
I have an unpaid car tax fine which was being dealt with by the court- i got sent a notice of distress warrant lett by the court-
all of a sudden 2 weeks later I have a naliff turn up- didnt answer door but found a notice of removal through my letterbox- ive not had any previous letters from marstons to even say its been passed to them or that they even came before to the property . like i say it was 2 weeks from hearing from the court! cant do this can they?
i should of had previous visits first and been notified of this?

I immediately called the bloke who left the notice of removal to arrange a repayment plan - he said no until i began saying i have not received any letters etc beforehand. he was very rude over talking and not allowing me to speak a word in edgeways - even said hes not a social worker! as i am 36 weeks pregnant - this was made clear to him- and i am not entitled to benefits due to not working enough in my test period for pregnancy - anyway irrelevant i cant afford it but offered 40 a month my last money i have spare for food! - he eventually agreed and told me to call the office- to which i did - they asked for his name after my details were given and put me on hold to confirm- the office hung up without further word!

so i called the removal guy back- he point blank said he is issuing the warrant- not now accepting repayment-- surely cant say yes than no?

and would not listen to me when i said he isnt certified himself,

im pregnant and also not in a position to pay- i also have no goods to the value so a repayment plan would have to be done anyway-

i have a car i use for work i am a self employed ofsted registered nanny- he threatened to come at 4.30pm that day to take goods and never came. he spoke over me on the telephone an entire time and didnt listen to a single word then hung up i remained calm during this surprisingly!

surely he cant threaten and not do? surely he should not bother me if im pregnant the way he is - and he should be contacting the creditor to inform of such vulnerable situations??

so next day 8pm a knock at the door- my partner answers- its him- saying hes clamped the car were on video- i asked to see a warrant, certificate , and his id- i also said he cant take the car its my work vehicle im self employed nanny and you are attackling a vulnerable individual who is 36 weeks pregnant- as i was stating all this he walked away-

he left a notice of ditress on my car in an envelope in a wallet (clear pouch i assume to keep from rain) he had already plastered stickers of marstons property and a wheel clamp on it. aslo said hes put a video by the car!

he never showed anything to us we asked for just literally clamped the car before knocking our door and instead of giving us the distress warrant - he put it on my vehicle! why when he came to the door anyway???

can he take a self employed workers vehicle used for work? i am a self employed ofsted registered nanny.

my mum then called him to make a payment to avoid all this- he over spoke her and was extremely rude and hung up- i mean what does he want the money hes after or the effing car???

in haste my partner took the clamp off as he felt its unlawful of the baliff as its not property he can remove due to being work related - and because i am classed as vulnerable.

the baliff told my parents whilst on the phone he has called the police for breach of peace- we had already taken car to my parents after removing the clamp- yes i know criminal damage etc-
police were really understandign and agreeable - and took my partner in for questioning re the clamp removal as criminal damage- so my partner gets home and is now being bailed for criminal damage and theft of a motor vehicle! yet he didnt drive it to my parents! he followed the car in his van - returned home to the police at our house in his van they saw him

- anyway now the police have seized the car but arent charging us- we are to sort it with the baliff tomorrow but whats the point .... he doesnt let you speak and in my opinion has breeched an awful lot of things! so how on earth are we going to get anywhere in regards to this tomorrow??

hes still going to want the car and wont do otherwise until he gets it or is paid- another thing ---- the car he has clamped that the police are in possesion of is actually worth more than the costs owed-

my original fine was £150 with the court now £450 with marstons for 1 visit!

my car is worth £1000 at least! surely he cant take something over the value???

so where do i stand now ?

i suppose if he doesnt cooperate i have to call the police to see what to do next- either that or my parents pay the 450 hes claiming is due and then i report him and complain???

any suggestions . did he have a clamp order i never saw it - or is it automatically given?

can he just do this without first visits and attempts rather than going staright to a removal notice?

can he do all this with me being classed vulnerable?

can he use threats such as be over today at 4.00pm and not turn up?

does he have to be certified he isnt on the register as an indiidual himself?

i need to contact courts to find out if is or not - does he have to show a warrant of removals?

should he be contacting the creditor as it states he should on the justice .gov- of vulnerable situations etc should he be taking a car worth more than the case?

and the fact im self employed and i need it /use it for work- childcare! can he charge since he hasnt previously visitied?
not had notifications of this either ?

can he be so rude and ignorant on the phone and just speak over me constantly and hang up- literally was no negotiating just him talking that was it! should i pay him if he cant do all this???

the list is endless please help im due to sort it this morning at a reasonable hour! only documents i have is the notice of removal first thing i recevied and the distress warrant he left on the car windscreen despite coming to my door . then walking away - are we wrong for taking the clamp off if he walked away? if he hasnt entered the property does he have a levy? or can he just clamp the car without notice without considering its for work? the bloke is an ass !!

[teaboy2]

Re: Marston- clamped a work vehicle and more!

Can you please edit your post and paragraph the text, its just a wall off text at the moment and hard to read through. Putting in paragraphs will encourage people to read it and post advice.

[kimmie2611]

Re: Marston- clamped a work vehicle and more!

All done sorry new to all this thought i had already

[ploddertom]

Re: Marston- clamped a work vehicle and more!

Well I've tried to read it but it is very difficult but would make the following observations.

The chances of the Bailiff or Corts knowing you are vulnerable would be very slim as that is something they would not have been aware of. You must provide proof of this to them - usually a letter from your midwife will suffice.

Sorry to say but the fact you are self employed and need the car for work does not make it any easier to claim exemption as a tool of the trade particularly given your profession. Are you the sole user of the car? Is it insured purely for business use? Are there any tools or other equipment that are vital to your work that need to be transported? Unfortunately it will be looked upon that you can use other forms of transport - train, bus, taxi or rent a vehicle - and the added expense cannot be taken into consideration.

Given that the vehicle is the only item that could be seized it will not be looked upon as an excessive levy particularly if he has been denied access to your home.

The Police of course are wrong to charge you with theftof a motor vehicle as even though the vehicle has been seized by the Bailiff you are still the legal owner. Goods seized by Bailiffs are still the property of their owner and may be used in normal everyday business providing you abide by any terms whichwere agreed.

In your case the Bailiff should have knocked and given you an opportunity to pay first before clamping the car. Did he leave a Form 7 (Notice of Seizure)? Only if he felt the vehicle was to be removed and hidden should he have then clamped. Now the clamp has been removed - you can only be charged with criminal damage if it can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that damage has occurred and in the case of a clamp a picture should be provided both before & after to aid the case - the vehicle will probably be removed immdiately.

Did you know about the original fine?

Hope this helps.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Marston- clamped a work vehicle and more!

I believe that the Marstons moron should be charged with wasting police time.

[bizzybob]

Re: Marston- clamped a work vehicle and more!

I believe that the Marstons moron should be charged with wasting police time.

Marstons are shady enough to cut the clamp off themselves and cry wolf quite possibly

[Sir Vere Brayne d'Emmidge]

Re: Marston- clamped a work vehicle and more!

Many wrongs do not make it right!

Firstly a quick note for Ploddertom, the OP was given the opportunity to pay once she received the letter from the bailiff demanding payment within 6 days of the date on the letter, at this point a bailiff would clamp a vehicle and leave a Notice of Distress to allow the debtor to pay within the timescale of such notice (6) days before removing.

However, once the bailiff was informed, albeit via telephone that defaulter was pregnant, he/she should have reattended the premises to check and after ascertaining that the debtor was in such a condition, suspend any enforcement action, he should have never clamped the car after speaking to the defaulter.

Since a Distress Warrant was issued by the Court there is no need for a Clamping Order, the two are different and distinct, generally a Distress Warrant is much stronger than a Clamping Order, but a Clamping Order can be issued for a vehicle which normally would not be available to seize on the strenghth of a Distress Warrant, i.e a tool of the trade (taxi, hearse, ambulance, Mr Softee mobile ice cream parlour)....by the way the OP vehicle can not be claimed to be a tool of the trade, one does not mind children with as car, an armoured car maybe, but not a tin box on wheels.

The boyfriend removing the clamp committed two offences, one criminal damage second interfering with controlled goods, he might get away with it because technically speaking the clamp should have never been applied, easy way of doing this, if damage has accurred offer to pay for remedial, such as welding a cut chain link or similar action.

Strange that the Police took the car, however, the bailiff has not peformed excessive seizure for two main reasons, the defaulter did not offer an alternative, secondly the bailiff must take in account future costs if the warrant is not paid, these are agreed by HMCTS: Vehicle removal £200.00, storage £20.00 per day, minimum 6 days (£120.00) delivering the vehicle to the auctioneer £150.00 then the auctioneer requires 15% of the sale value, so if the car is worth £1,000.00 and sells for £1,000.00 the bailiff is £70.00 ou of pocket.

That's my tuppence worth

[bluebottle]

Re: Marston- clamped a work vehicle and more!

This sounds very similar to a case I had dealings with back in 2012 or 2013. Marstons ended up having to return the vehicle and waive their Enforcement Fee. Which county did this happen in and what is the name of the bailiff, please?