trouble with Marstons

[dinna]

Hi i am new to this forum & found it while googling 'Marstons'.
Basically i have an unpaid fine with HMCTS for a train offence back in 2011.I stupidly thought my ex had paid this for me.Anyway in Dec 13 i had a letter from Marstons stating that they were now in charge of this fine & i had to pay £485 to them immediatly or further action would be taken.I rang them up & explained that i thought it had been paid by my ex & that if they wanted payment i couldn't afford to pay it all in one go but could i pay in installments as i was actually 41.5 weeks pregnant & on maternity leave only getting statutory maternity pay.I was told no that wasn't possible.The woman o tbe phone was awcul & spoke to me like i was a child.Anyways things got heated she asked for proof of my pregnancy which i emailed then i get a call back sayinv if i pay £50 then they will allow me to pay in installments.All fine paid the £50 went on to have my beautiful son.15th jan i get a call from marstons saying that i need to pay £435 that is outstanding with immediate effect or the bailiff will come & sieze my goods! Another heated exchange with yet another nasty creature on the phone ending with me in tears & hanging up! 2 hours later get a call & its Marstons offering me a deal.Pay £35 now then the rest monthly.I offered £50 a month & was told no its got to be £100 a month.I expained this was not going to be possible only to be told i 'didn't have a choice'.Anyway upshot is i still owe £400 & had a bailiff visit on sat while i was out.Rang the number on card he left explained everything told him i am more than happy to pay the £100 that is outstanding on the actual court fine but can't afford the £400.He refused said its full payment or goods seizure.If i don't let him in when he revisits he will force entry with the locksmith & sieze my goods if i am in or not.I i try to stop him he will ring the police & they will arrest me & i will be given a custodial sentance.He told me to beg steal & borrow off family /friends & why don't i lok at vetting a "short term loan" to pay him!! Anyway yesterday morninv i rang he court who confirmed i owe £98 & that there is no arrest warrant for me & that the bailiff does not have the power to get me arrested.The court also said they were confused as to why the case didn't get referred back to them in Dec when i i formed Marstons of my pregnancy.I spent all day yesterday trying to sort this out with Marstons who just kept telling me different things.They even said i hadn't sent proof of pregnancy!!Got them there because it still in my sent box so re-sent it along with a covering note.I am scared witless tbat ths bailiff is comi g back & i can honestly say that if it wasn't for my 16 week old son that yesterday i would have just killed myself because that is how low Marstons have got me.I just don't know where to turn or what to do & haven't slept with worry.Thy kept telling me yesterday that the bailiff HAS got power go get me arrested & that he WILL force entry i to my home!!! I am scared witless & really do just wanna die.All i want is to pay the £98 outstanding & not the £300 Marstons fee!!!

[bizzybob]

Re: trouble with Marstons

Hi Dinna welcome to LB, The bailiff knows that if you are pregnant or with a new baby, and 16 weeks is still suffiociently yong to render you as vulnerable they should not be enforcing or threatening arrest, Contact the court again and ask them to call marstons off, however you should send a Formal complaint to the court manager refgarding Marstons reluctance to obey the court and desist from threatening you/. Tou should copy the complaint to your MP also who you can contact via www.writetothem.com. Other Beagles will be along soon to help further.

[dinna]

Re: trouble with Marstons

Hi & thank ou for your reply.I asked the court yesterday if they could ask for it to be recalled & they said Marstons had to send it back to them they couldn't ask for it.Marstons told me the opposite & that as i was no longer pregnant any 'vulnerability' is now void & they have the right to enforce entry/arrest!I spent nearly £9 on calls yesterday to Marstons trying to sort it but just kept getting nasty people telling me to "just pay up you don't have a choice" .The bailliff has rang me 3 times already this morning.I am just scared.

[bizzybob]

Re: trouble with Marstons

Hi & thank ou for your reply.I asked the court yesterday if they could ask for it to be recalled & they said Marstons had to send it back to them they couldn't ask for it.Marstons told me the opposite & that as i was no longer pregnant any 'vulnerability' is now void & they have the right to enforce entry/arrest!I spent nearly £9 on calls yesterday to Marstons trying to sort it but just kept getting nasty people telling me to "just pay up you don't have a choice" .The bailliff has rang me 3 times already this morning.I am just scared.

ask the court if it is OK for the bailiff to keep phoning you, make a list of the calls as in time and date, to establish frequency, they should show in your call log if it is a mobile they are calling If you have a call recording app on the phone record the calls to capture the threats. I am going to PM bluebottle to get him to look in ASAP.

[bluebottle]

Re: trouble with Marstons

Hi Dinna,

Bizzybob has asked me to look in on this thread. Where a defendant is pregnant, they are classed as vulnerable during the pregnancy and for up to 26 weeks following the birth. I have to say that Marstons are being very silly indeed and I doubt very much they have informed the court of your pregnancy.

If you have rung the court and all they can do is sing the "Deal With The Bailiff" song, then this will need to be escalated to the HMCTS Area Enforcement Team for the area in which the court that imposed the fine is located. Could you post up which magistrates court imposed the fine and which county it is in, please? I can then provide you with an email address to contact the HMCTS Area Enforcement Team. I have to say that, in my experience, these teams are very helpful.

Try the court first and come back onto this thread if you find yourself getting nowhere.

[Sir Vere Brayne d'Emmidge]

Re: trouble with Marstons

Hi & thank ou for your reply.I asked the court yesterday if they could ask for it to be recalled & they said Marstons had to send it back to them they couldn't ask for it.Marstons told me the opposite & that as i was no longer pregnant any 'vulnerability' is now void & they have the right to enforce entry/arrest!I spent nearly £9 on calls yesterday to Marstons trying to sort it but just kept getting nasty people telling me to "just pay up you don't have a choice" .The bailliff has rang me 3 times already this morning.I am just scared.

Hi Dinna,

Marston are really skating on thin ice here, well, at least the bailiff in charge of your case and the people that you have spoken to on the phone.

Once they did find out that you were pregnant they should have informed the Court, and they should have returned the warrant if the time limit (366 days) was less than 26 weeks from the date of the birth.

If there was time, say the warrant was issued on 1/12/13, birth due 1/1/14 then 25 weeks after that take you to 1/7/14, then they could have held on the warrant, but not try to enforce it until July 2014.

Since you have already spoken to the Court you know which one it is, write them a letter (send first class recorded delivery), listing bullet points with dates, in chronological order, what happened on that date and any conversation you had, specifying if it was a person at Marston's head office, if you can remember a name it would be helpful, or the bully giving you the hard time.

Do complain that you get a number of telephone calls on any given date and that you consider this to be harassment. Just don't go mention any legislation, you might trip there.

Obviously copy the letter you send to Court to marston's customer services department, also first class recorded.

After 7 days contact the Court and Marston, do not forget to find out when the letter wsa received and who signed for it, and ask what their line on the issue is.

If you PM Bluebottle with the name of the court that issued the warrant he will give you the address of the HMCTS enforcement team for that specific court, they are most helpfull in the majority of cases.

As far as the bailiff forcing entry into your home he would have to apply to court first, currently he does not need to show you proof that he has done so, but after the 6th of April he will need a document stating that the magistrates have given permission to force entry, if not call the Police.

Keep us posted.