Please help Marston bailiff came today

[bluebottle]

Re: Please help Marston bailiff came today

The only way that will change is for HMCTS to tear up their contract. In the meantime, the only measure open is to go on the offensive by drawing cases to the attention of the Head of HMCTS Criminal Enforcement. There are other legitimate means of alerting the public to Marstons' tactics through social media, e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

Re: Please help Marston bailiff came today

Seems to be an awful lot of problems with Marstons vile tactics at the moment.

[Johnboy007]

Re: Please help Marston bailiff came today

Same old story....
Bailiffs conning people out of their hard earned money.
Using scare tactics on people who do not know the regulations.
The law was changed, but I'm beginning to wonder if it went far enough.

[bizzybob]

Re: Please help Marston bailiff came today

It is known that there is fraud going on within the courts system in England and Wales, Wombats, and the advice you have given as to fees payable to civil enforcement companies contracted by HMCTS will need to stand for the timebeing.

Would this be the old fee fraud still being perpetrated despite the changes, as in denying the debtor an arrangement specifically to engineer the £235 Enforcement Fee?

Not long before they start seizing more third party cars and demand interpleader. Op should provide HP docs to court and Marstons if they get silly later.

[bluebottle]

Re: Please help Marston bailiff came today

It is known that there is fraud going on within the courts system in England and Wales, Wombats, and the advice you have given as to fees payable to civil enforcement companies contracted by HMCTS will need to stand for the timebeing.

Re: Please help Marston bailiff came today

The letter you received should be headed Notice of Enforcement giving you 7 clear days for the fine to be paid, or a repayment agreement put into place (known as the compliance stage). The notice should also have given an exact date and time when the Compliance Stage ended.

Marstons should, in my opinion, have ceased adding charges at this stage if they knew, as they did, the fine had been during this time. However, there was an onus on you to inform them, and technically Marstons are allowed to enforce for their fees. As the £75 Compliance Stage fee had not been paid, and no contact had been made by yourself, they added on £235 Enforcement Fee, hence the £310.

HOWEVER, they knew the fine had been paid (otherwise they'd be asking for £335), so really they should only be seeking the £75 Compliance Fee from you IMO. I think this is the spirit of the law, if not the letter. Technically they are within their rights though as a debt for their fees remained outstanding and you are seeing the danger of ignoring such important correspondence.

In order to give you a complete answer, I will tell you that there are other views on this issue at present, and some sites will tell you that if the fine has been discharged, as in your case, then no fees are payable as the bailiff did no work and the issue of fees is only a contractual one between HM Courts and the bailiff companies, not a legal one involving you. There are arguments for and against both, and only you can decide who you believe to be correct.

My view is at least the £75 fee is payable, and technically they are within their rights to charge the extra £235, but personally, given they knew the fine was discharged, I don't feel they should have. I would speak to the Fines Officer at the court and copy this to Marstons, asking that the £235 fee be waived. It is hard to see any argument against the application of the £75 Compliance Stage fee I'm afraid.

[ploddertom]

Re: Please help Marston bailiff came today

Send them details of the HP Agreement. They may only seize the goods of the debtor.