Distress warrant.

[kimkyboots1]

Hi all, the tale is my son received a court fine which for some stupid reason hasn't paid. The account has been passed on to Marstons who have sent a letter saying a distress warrant has been issued. It states that if fine has not been paid within 7 days they will execute the warrant which was sent on the 9th January. I e-mailed them to tell them they would not be allowed to remove any of my goods and sent a statutory declaration. They fired an e-mail back at me saying that as it was a HMCTS warrant my e-mail had no bearing. The e-mail reads as follows: It may be useful if we explain the powers of a distress warrant. By virtue of such a warrant an Enforcement Agent is authorised to attend and enter any property it is thought a debtor may reside as warrants are valid anywhere in England & Wales. In the absence of payment they are also permitted to seize goods which they have grounds to believe are the property of the debtor in order to secure payment. I immediately e-mailed back to say I would inform the police if they tried to force entry. So far I have had no reply.
The advice I need is can they really enter my home and take stuff that belongs to me and how do I stop them ? This is worrying me now as I am mostly at work and don't fancy coming back to a empty house.

Thanks Kinkyboots1

[ploddertom]

Re: Distress warrant.

They may only seize and remove the goods of the debtor which is what the reply actually does say. Does your son live with you? Does he have any goods of value of his own?

[CleverClogs]

Re: Distress warrant.

Have you sent a notarized copy of the Statutory Declaration to Marstons by Recorded Delivery, Special Delivery or just by ordinary post, having obtained a free Certificate of Posting?

If you have, then the bästärd bailiff has no reason to suppose that any of the goods and chattels in your house might belong to your son.

[bizzybob]

Re: Distress warrant.

Was the Statutory declaration Notarised at a solicitors, court or Commissioner for oaths? If not get one sworn and make several notarised copies, one for the magisrates court that issued the warrant and the other to Sharkstons, and keep one handy to show the bailiff that will call even if HMCS pull them off.

[kimkyboots1]

Re: Distress warrant.

Thanks for reply, and yes he does live with me. He doesn't have much of his own a bed and his clothes, unfortunately he's a lazy bum ! I'm ashamed to say. I sent off declaration by e-mail to Marstons and I posted the reply which they sent back on my query. So it would be sensible for me to get statutory declaration signed and resend ?

[bluebottle]

Re: Distress warrant.

Hi all, the tale is my son received a court fine which for some stupid reason hasn't paid. The account has been passed on to Marstons who have sent a letter saying a distress warrant has been issued. It states that if fine has not been paid within 7 days they will execute the warrant which was sent on the 9th January. I e-mailed them to tell them they would not be allowed to remove any of my goods and sent a statutory declaration. They fired an e-mail back at me saying that as it was a HMCTS warrant my e-mail had no bearing. The e-mail reads as follows: It may be useful if we explain the powers of a distress warrant. By virtue of such a warrant an Enforcement Agent is authorised to attend and enter any property it is thought a debtor may reside as warrants are valid anywhere in England & Wales. In the absence of payment they are also permitted to seize goods which they have grounds to believe are the property of the debtor in order to secure payment. I immediately e-mailed back to say I would inform the police if they tried to force entry. So far I have had no reply.
The advice I need is can they really enter my home and take stuff that belongs to me and how do I stop them ? This is worrying me now as I am mostly at work and don't fancy coming back to a empty house.

Thanks Kinkyboots1

Marstons are misrepresenting their powers under Schedule 4A, Domestic Violence and Crime Victims Act 2004.

Let us dissect what they have said -

It may be useful if we explain the powers of a distress warrant. By virtue of such a warrant an Enforcement Agent is authorised to attend and enter any property it is thought a debtor may reside as warrants are valid anywhere in England & Wales.

They can only do so after they have confirmed the debtor resides at an address and is actively evading payment of the fine. They cannot just go charging in nilly-willy. There are safeguards in place to prevent abuse. Marstons know this.

In the absence of payment they are also permitted to seize goods which they have grounds to believe are the property of the debtor in order to secure payment. I immediately e-mailed back to say I would inform the police if they tried to force entry. So far I have had no reply.

They can only seize goods belonging to the debtor. This is a condition of each distress warrant HMCTS issues to Marstons. Marstons know this.

You need to speak to the court that issued the distress warrant regarding Marstons' conduct. If they sing the "Speak To The Bailiff" song, escalate the matter to the next level, which is the Area Enforcement Team who are, on the whole, very helpful. It is very rare, indeed, for matters to be escalated to Regional and, then, National level.

Who is your local police force, please?

[kimkyboots1]

Re: Distress warrant.

Hi, it's Milton Keynes so Thames valley.

[bluebottle]

Re: Distress warrant.

Hi, it's Milton Keynes so Thames valley.

Thames Valley Police. Say no more. The HMCTS Area Enforcement Team for your area is based at Bicester, in Oxfordshire. You need to send an email to ebc@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk and insert "For attention of the Senior Enforcement Manager or Service Delivery Manager" in the subject box of your email browser. Quote the following -

Full Name of Defendant
Address of Defendant
DoB of Defendant
HMCTS Reference
Magistrates Court Name

Give concise details of the issue and make sure you provide them with a contact telephone number.

[kimkyboots1]

Re: Distress warrant.

Thank you I will get onto this straight away. Will keep you all posted.

Kimkyboots1.

[Sir Vere Brayne d'Emmidge]

Re: Distress warrant.

I know it's hard for a parent to admit that one's child is a bit of a waste of space, the question is, does he work? If he does let him face the music and be prapared to enter in a payment plan on Marton's tems, not his, if he doesn't work he needs to show the the paperwork he has from the Job Centre, at this point he becomes a "vulnerable" subject, and Marston should return the warrant to Court giving details of his NI number and contact telephone number for the Court to set up a payment plan via his benefits.

[bluebottle]

Re: Distress warrant.

I know it's hard for a parent to admit that one's child is a bit of a waste of space, the question is, does he work? If he does let him face the music and be prapared to enter in a payment plan on Marton's tems, not his, if he doesn't work he needs to show the the paperwork he has from the Job Centre, at this point he becomes a "vulnerable" subject, and Marston should return the warrant to Court giving details of his NI number and contact telephone number for the Court to set up a payment plan via his benefits.

Good solid advice.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Distress warrant.

if he doesn't work he needs to show the the paperwork he has from the Job Centre, at this point he becomes a "vulnerable" subject, and Marston should return the warrant to Court giving details of his NI number and contact telephone number for the Court to set up a payment plan via his benefits.

But would they do that?

[bizzybob]

Re: Distress warrant.

But would they do that?

Probably refuse saying they can't as it is with the bailiff, so deal with the bailiff.........

[bluebottle]

Re: Distress warrant.

Probably refuse saying they can't as it is with the bailiff, so deal with the bailiff.........

And the answer to that is to inform the court staff you are escalating the matter to the Area Enforcement Team who can overrule them. It would probably pee-off the court staff, but, then, you shouldn't have to go to that extent to sort out some out-of-control muppet.

Recently, the staff at Worcester Magistrates Court showed just how good the courts and tribunals service can be and were, quite rightly, given credit where it was due. This cropped up on a thread on LB. If only all court staff could follow the example of their colleagues at Worcester.....

[kimkyboots1]

Re: Distress warrant.

Hi my son doesn't work, got laid off before xmas. He doesn't claim benefits either. To be honest I don't know why they just don't arrest him. I know that sounds harsh however, he has had the money the fine is only £55 but for whatever reason he hasn't.

Kimkyboots1