Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

[randomandy]

Hi all, im sorry, but im new to all this so please bear with me...

Basically i am just looking for some general advice, I have recently received a Notice of Distress Warrant from bailiff company, Collectica. It was for £910, for unpaid Magistrate Court Fines. Now when i received this, i panicked, i have 3 young children at home, all under 10 and 1 under a year old (and my partner is currently pregnant again with twins :S) so really wanted to do all i can to avoid this visit from the bailiff to seize my goods. So i called Collectica, straight away, i accept i have court fines, therefore they are my fines to pay, so i called them to see if i could set up a payment agreement with them, thinking i could sort something affordable but also realistic given my current family situation.
I was told right away the minimum they could accept is £300 a month, seriously, I dont have that kind of money, I do work but only part time and make enough money to keep my family getting by. so i refused this and said there is no way i can afford to commit all my money like that!! was told to make voluntary payments, using a barcode on the letter at the post office.

So I called again, the following morning. was told i would have to pay a minimum of £105 a week, again, said i couldnt afford it, but can they not do anything, i want to pay this and put it behind me. he came back and said rock bottom he could accept is £90 a week, and i would need to make 1st payment there and then, reluctantly i done this.

Now heres where i hope you can help...

I have since been trying to find out what i can because i know the legal system is different now that i am back in Scotland living, and that we dont have bailiffs up here, nor do, so i believe, Bailiffs have any powers north of the border??

So basically i am keen to find out, if i 'broke my agreement' of £90 a week, and paid an amount that i could afford (and it would be the most amount i can afford, I want this gone away ASAP, cant afford to have debts lingering with twins on the way lol!!)

The company cannot send a bailiff to my home in Scotland??
So what can they do?? i would be paying, as ive said, but if i have broken my agreement to pay the minimum £90 therefore what they told me on the phone is they would send a bailiff, but in the real world what would they do?? as in would they then need to file with scotish sheriff system and notify of a next step process?? or can they somehow arrange for someone within scottish legal system to collect this payment, without me knowing what is going on??

Sorry for the long post, wanted to be as detailed as possible, hope someone out there can advise me on this.

Many thanks...

[ploddertom]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

You should contact the Court and advise you live out of Collectica's jurisdiction and see what they say. Technically you can ignore Collectica.

[randomandy]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

I did contact the the magistrate courts fine dept when i 1st received the letter, to ask if there was any way i could settle payment with them, and was told the courts had no power with it now as it had been passed to the bailiff, and that the bailiff/collectica could pass it back to court, but that would be there decision.

So wondering then based on your reply, should i contact collectica, and advise them that i am outside of thneir juristiction (although would have thought they know this when they are sending me letters to an address in Scotland?? they must know they cannot operate up here??) and see if they then send it back to the magistrate??

Either way, would i need notified of what is happening with the case (wether its passed back to the magistrate and ive to pay them, or wether they some how, or if they even can, send it to the sheriff and instruct/request a messenger-at-arms to collect payment for them??

Can they do this?? would i need told of what is going on or if someone different, such as sheriff, is going to act lawfully on their behalf?? or will someone just 'turn up' at my house to attempt seizing my goods??

Also if Collectica cant 'Act on this fine' then, sounds silly, will the £90 i have already paid still count towards any outstanding balance, or will collectica simply keep this 'for their efforts'??

[randomandy]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

Also worth mentioning, that i have been to my local citizens advise, who basically have given me 'debt advise' and want me to go back with a detailed outline of all my finances, incoming/outgoings, and they have said they will work out how much i can afford to pay and negotiate with Collectica on my behalf to accept hopefully a reduced 'payment plan' that i can afford, however i am not totally comfortable with someone going through all mine and my partners personal, detailed finances, thats one of those things we 'are funny about'. Also, dont feel i need 'debt advice' as although we dont have huge income, we manage it fairly well, and pay bills etc on time, just cannot afford £90 a week for this fine out of the blue, as im sure most people cant.

[ploddertom]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

Collectica will be hoping you will pay by post thus enabling them to add their fees (which can only be £85 as they cannot visit). It is the Court that needs to be informed - Fines Officer, Enforcement Manageer or Court Manager - the others just follow the hymn sheet, you may need to be insistent. I don't doubt there is a process where Sheriffs could be instructed in a similar position as to how Civil debts can be enforced across jurisdiction

[randomandy]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

So the £90 they have already gotten from me would cover the cost of them having to handle the case?? I will call the courts fines officer as soon as i get home from work, and explain the situation, hopefully they will recall the case and just let me pay them i know the court has to 'means test' you before demanding payment meaning that it could at least be affordable this way, without the fear of someone turning up at my house tryna take my stuff ...

[ploddertom]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

By all means you could keep paying Collectica but as you & they know they have no jurisdiction then really they would have to accept anything you offer - just don't be brow beaten by them. Do you know what date is on the Warrant they have?

[randomandy]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

I dont know the date unfortunately, i got a 'Notice of Distress Warrant' last tuesday (21/01/14) in the post. All i know is the court say they sent me a Final Notice (cant remember what they call it) in November 2013, wich im certain i havent received, but they say they sent it, so not even going to argue the point about that tbh, i owe the money, i am willing to pay it, just not willing to pay more than i physically (not only not willing, its just not possible lol).

But thats what i was thinking, was that as long as i was paying them something, even if not the £90 a week they are DEMANDING i give them. I mean if i am paying them, at least they are getting my money, and as u say they cannot send a bailiff to me, so would make sense for them to accept defeat, and take what i give them??

[CleverClogs]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

Why not tell the sassenach numpties to send a bailiff to enforce the fines?

[randomandy]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

Why not tell the sassenach numpties to send a bailiff to enforce the fines?

HAHA indeed, this has been very tempting since i have found out that there is nothing they can do anyway!! I just worry about the consequences of any 'underhand tactics' they may try pulling off :/ Dont trust them!! lol

[randomandy]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

OK so ive just called the Courts Enforcement Dept. I stated that I had received this Notice of Distress Warrant, and that they bailiff was demanding £90 a week I cannot afford, and that bailiffs told me if I didnt meet this, they would send out a bailiff, I went on to state that this would not be possible as a bailiff has no jurisdiction in Scotland, and that I do not dispute the fine, however I cannot afford the amount asked of me by the bailiff company, and that they cannot attend my address for seizure of goods anyway. The lady I spoke with didn't have a clue, she simply said yes i can see a balance of £820 (was £910 but was forced to pay £90 last week [Also charged £3 for a debit card payment, despite this being the only option as they needed cleared funds immediately, shocking in itself!!]) and she went on to say, she was unsure about this and took my phone number, was told she will call me back this afternoon (we will see!!), asked if she could leave a voicemail, i replied no, i dont have voicemail activated on my phone...

Thank you for your help, will see what happens next, and will keep the thread updated with any updates/progress made with this matter!!

[ploddertom]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

Just don't let the bas***ds grind you down. You've already proved how much HMCTS don't know as this scenario is probably more common than you think.

[randomandy]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

Just don't let the bas***ds grind you down

Oh trust me I wont, Collectica had me in a mad panic last week, sleepless nights and worry about how I am ever going to manage and left me feeling like i had let my family and kids down. The realisation that a bailiff couldn't attend, and had the no more rights than any other member of public here in Scotland, swiftly alleviated this stress for me.

Do you know what kind of outcome I may come to expect from HMCTS with regards to this?? I'm hoping that the fact i have made a payment, and the fact I am communicating and trying to sort this out, hopefully the court will call the fine back, and that i will be able to set up a more affordable and realistic payment plan direct with the courts, based on my income and what money i can actually afford to give on a weekly/monthly basis, as i say this is perhaps me just hoping, but any advice on the likely hood of this??

Ive actually found it shocking how little is known, by the courts and possibly Collectica about this. As you say, I cannot be the only case to have arisen like this, and surely both parties would be aware of their jurisdiction and capabilities to act within that??

Again as soon as i receive the call telling me my fate, i will post here and keep people updated

[randomandy]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

OK so firstly, and quite importantly I would like to extend a MASSIVE thanks to PLODDERTOM for your invaluable advice!! (have been much more helpful than C.A.B. who simply passed me on for debt advice :S)

I received a call back from the Court Enforcement Business Centre, who have said they will recall this fine from Collectica to be handled by themselves. simply asked how much i can afford to pay (£30 a week was my answer) and was told as long as i made a payment of that amount today, they will accept this, and recall from Collectica, and that they would also claim back the £90 already paid to collectica (making a huge difference as the fine is only £820, and Collectica were seeking £910, and their fees will be removed!!)

So in short, a call to the courts, inform them i am outside Jurisdiction of any English/Welsh bailiff, and like magic they can call the fine back to be handled by them (evenm though was told last week this isnt possible, only Collectica could pass back to them)

Clearly... KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!!

Thank you soooooo much, honestly, without this forum i dont know where i would be with this!! When a bit more financially comfortable i will definitely will donate to become V.I.P. member to help this service continue, and will recommend to everyone!!

[ploddertom]

Re: Notice Of Distress Warrant - But i live in Scotland :\

Well what a result, mines a large Latte.

The thing is Collectica will have known this from day one and thought they were on to easy money. Serves them right to get a kick in the whatnots.

At least you will now be able to relax.