Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

[CleverClogs]

Re: Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

Today, one local authority referred the new fee scale to being like swiss cheese. I will leave you to work that one out !!!

I'd say it's nearer to the Sardinian cheese, casu marzu - link - as it's full of maggots. uke:

[bluebottle]

Re: Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

1 last question


After ive paid the £370 fine direct to the court either by telephone or in the court on a fine atm machine BUT not paid Marstons £300 bailiff fees


What realistically can they do to get their fees? Can the court still authorise them to use a locksmith or can they still enter my home & levy on goods or what?

Pay the fine in at the Fines Office at the court and obtain a receipt. As far as Marstons' fees go, pay these via the payment facility on their website. Send them an email quoting the payment reference for the fees and the receipt reference for the fine from the court.

If, after this, the bailiff then turns up, he will be acting unlawfully as once the fine and any associated bailiff fees are paid, the distress warrant ceases to have any effect. The bailiff will be acting without lawful authority.

[Milo]

Re: Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

L11 Marc,

The problem that you have is that you have posted your question on this forum, MoneySaving Expert, CAG and one other forum that is to avoided at all cost. Your head must be "spinning" and it is somewhat unfair to hop from one site to another because no two sites will give the same information.

Whenever I see a question about court fines I will always ask background questions such as:

Did you receive a summons?
Have you made any payments?
Have you moved home?
Have you applied to the court BEFORE a warrant had been issued for a Means Enquiry Hearing?
Have you received a Further Steps Notice?
Finally....whether or not there is any 'vulnerability".

The above questions are VITAL to ascertain whether the debtor has any grounds in which to apply to the court for a Statutory Declaration.

I only saw your query briefly when I was answering some questions on Money Saving Expert yesterday. Today you have helpfully provided copies of your statements from the court and it is obvious that you knew of the fines and had been paying. Suffice to say...the option of a Stat Dec is no longer applicable.

It would seem that payments towards the fine had been deducted from your benefits and sadly, this is the most common enquiry that I receive enquiries about. What should of happened is that the benefits agency should have written to you to advise that payments had stopped. Did they do so and if so....did you call the court to make alternative payment arrangements?

Next BEFORE a Distress Warrant may be issued there is a legal requirement for the court to send to you a Further Steps Notice. However, it is important to be aware that the regulations only provide the the court have to provide ONE FSN during the life of the fine. Did you receive the FSN?

From the little that I have read, it would seem that you live with your mother and that she owns most of the household items. A simple Statutory Declaration signed by her should suffice and there should be one somewhere on the forum. If not, I can get one sent over from the CAG forum. A solicitor is allowed to charge a fee of £5 to witness your mothers signature.

Given that you have no assets (or little assets) I would strongly suggest that you EMAIL Marston Group Welfare Dept to explain your circumstances. Apart from 3 companies most enforcement firms have welfare depts and I find them very willing to assist.

If you are considering making a payment by debit or credit card and then applying for a "chargeback" you may wish to find go back to the website who have provided you with such rotten information and you will see that a poor debtor has posted tonight to state that he took 'advice' from the website (to apply for a chargeback) for £650. He received the return of the money and now 6 months later the bailiff company have written to him to advise that they are recommencing enforcement of the warrant and that the debt is now £750 ( instead of £650).

There is more.....the enforcement company have advised the debtor that they are recommending taking action against the debtor a fraud.

I wouldn't wait too long to read the thread as it may well be taken down and transferred to a 'private members area' !!!!

[bluebottle]

Re: Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

L11 Marc,

The problem that you have is that you have posted your question on this forum, MoneySaving Expert, CAG and one other forum that is to avoided at all cost. Your head must be "spinning" and it is somewhat unfair to hop from one site to another because no two sites will give the same information.

Whenever I see a question about court fines I will always ask background questions such as:

Did you receive a summons?
Have you made any payments?
Have you moved home?
Have you applied to the court BEFORE a warrant had been issued for a Means Enquiry Hearing?
Have you received a Further Steps Notice?
Finally....whether or not there is any 'vulnerability".

The above questions are VITAL to ascertain whether the debtor has any grounds in which to apply to the court for a Statutory Declaration.

I only saw your query briefly when I was answering some questions on Money Saving Expert yesterday. Today you have helpfully provided copies of your statements from the court and it is obvious that you knew of the fines and had been paying. Suffice to say...the option of a Stat Dec is no longer applicable.

It would seem that payments towards the fine had been deducted from your benefits and sadly, this is the most common enquiry that I receive enquiries about. What should of happened is that the benefits agency should have written to you to advise that payments had stopped. Did they do so and if so....did you call the court to make alternative payment arrangements?

Next BEFORE a Distress Warrant may be issued there is a legal requirement for the court to send to you a Further Steps Notice. However, it is important to be aware that the regulations only provide the the court have to provide ONE FSN during the life of the fine. Did you receive the FSN?

From the little that I have read, it would seem that you live with your mother and that she owns most of the household items. A simple Statutory Declaration signed by her should suffice and there should be one somewhere on the forum. If not, I can get one sent over from the CAG forum. A solicitor is allowed to charge a fee of £5 to witness your mothers signature.

Given that you have no assets (or little assets) I would strongly suggest that you EMAIL Marston Group Welfare Dept to explain your circumstances. Apart from 3 companies most enforcement firms have welfare depts and I find them very willing to assist.

If you are considering making a payment by debit or credit card and then applying for a "chargeback" you may wish to find go back to the website who have provided you with such rotten information and you will see that a poor debtor has posted tonight to state that he took 'advice' from the website (to apply for a chargeback) for £650. He received the return of the money and now 6 months later the bailiff company have written to him to advise that they are recommencing enforcement of the warrant and that the debt is now £750 ( instead of £650).

There is more.....the enforcement company have advised the debtor that they are recommending taking action against the debtor a fraud.

I wouldn't wait too long to read the thread as it may well be taken down and transferred to a 'private members area' !!!!

Whichever enforcement company is involved needs to be very careful if they are considering taking action against a debtor for alleged fraud. What does the £650 relate to and how is it made up, please, Milo?

[L11Marc]

Re: Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

It would seem that payments towards the fine had been deducted from your benefits and sadly, this is the most common enquiry that I receive enquiries about. What should of happened is that the benefits agency should have written to you to advise that payments had stopped. Did they do so and if so....did you call the court to make alternative payment arrangements?

Next BEFORE a Distress Warrant may be issued there is a legal requirement for the court to send to you a Further Steps Notice. However, it is important to be aware that the regulations only provide the the court have to provide ONE FSN during the life of the fine. Did you receive the FSN?

From the little that I have read, it would seem that you live with your mother and that she owns most of the household items. A simple Statutory Declaration signed by her should suffice and there should be one somewhere on the forum. If not, I can get one sent over from the CAG forum. A solicitor is allowed to charge a fee of £5 to witness your mothers signature. !

1) No the benefits agency did not approach me to tell me the payments towards the court fine had stopped. Yes they said my benefits has stopped but nothing about the fine

2) Yes i did receive a FSN notice. I cocked up on that badly. It said i owed £370 but i didnt have a clue what for (totally forgot about the fines in 2010/11. Tried phoning the number at the top of the FSN daily but was left on hold for too long. Calling from my mobile too bill was sky high that month

3) We have been to a solicitors & done the statutory declaration stating all items in & outside are my mothers. Paid for 2 extra certified copies which i have forwarded on to Marston's PO box address & also Merseyside Magistrates collections office po box

[Milo]

Re: Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

It would be a good idea to send a text message to the bailiff to advise him that your mother has visited a solicitor today to that she has sworn a Statutory Declaration regarding her ownership of almost all but nominal personal items belonging to you. Make sure as well that you state in your text that your mother has been advised to send a copy of her Statutory Declaration to the Fines Officer at xxxx court. Finally, you will need to make sure that you outline a payment proposal as otherwise the court will consider that you are REFUSING to pay.

[Milo]

Re: Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

Sorry,

If as you say you tried many times to get through to the court by phone it may assist you to provide evidence to the court to demonstrate your willingness to deal with this matter.

[L11Marc]

Re: Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

Im going to phone Marstons tomorrow to see if they can set up a weekly paymeny plan

i will text the bailiff too

[wales01man]

Re: Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

When you were told Benefits had stopped did you expect the state to still pay the fine?

[L11Marc]

Re: Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

When you were told Benefits had stopped did you expect the state to still pay the fine?

No. I started work thats why my benefits stopped and i forgot all about the fines

thinking back now i thought the debits would just transfer over to my wages, thats were the problem has come from

[bluebottle]

Re: Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

No. I started work thats why my benefits stopped and i forgot all about the fines

thinking back now i thought the debits would just transfer over to my wages, thats were the problem has come from

An Attachment of Benefits Order and an Attachment of Earnings Order are two entirely separate things. A court cannot switch them over automatically, especially if they do not know a defendant has ceased receiving benefits and is in paid employment. In order to switch over, a Variation Order has to be made.

[Milo]

Re: Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

Marc,

Coming back for a moment to the 'advice' that you have received elsewhere telling you to take the amount of the fine only and deposit it in HMCTS "ATM" type machine in the bank foyer.

You may wish to know that the owner of the website in question made HIS OWN Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Justice for a full copy of the contracts between the HM Courts and the four enforcement companies enforcing unpaid court fines. The site owner has even EXHIBITED this contract on his site for viewers to see.

Perhaps you may wish to ask him why he is telling you to take the amount of the FINE only to the ATM machine when he knows that the Contract that he has a copy of states in paragraph 6.29 the following:


6.29 The Department will not accept full or part payments on any account where any warrant or clamping order is with the Contractor.

Should a Defaulter attend a court and offer to pay whilst a warrant or clamping order is outstanding, the court will direct the Defaulter to contact the Contractor concerned.

[bluebottle]

Re: Marston bailiff help needed ASAP

Marc,

Coming back for a moment to the 'advice' that you have received elsewhere telling you to take the amount of the fine only and deposit it in HMCTS "ATM" type machine in the bank foyer.

You may wish to know that the owner of the website in question made HIS OWN Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Justice for a full copy of the contracts between the HM Courts and the four enforcement companies enforcing unpaid court fines. The site owner has even EXHIBITED this contract on his site for viewers to see.

Perhaps you may wish to ask him why he is telling you to take the amount of the FINE only to the ATM machine when he knows that the Contract that he has a copy of states in paragraph 6.29 the following:


6.29 The Department will not accept full or part payments on any account where any warrant or clamping order is with the Contractor.

Should a Defaulter attend a court and offer to pay whilst a warrant or clamping order is outstanding, the court will direct the Defaulter to contact the Contractor concerned.

Having said that, Milo, I have known court staff accept outstanding fine payments and issue a receipt, even when a matter has been handed over to one of the four companies collecting fines on behalf of HMCTS.