Marston demanding money.

[thebeep]

Good morning,

I have joined this site in hope of saving my girlfriend from going insane, A few months ago she was clamped due to no tax on her vehicle, she very quickly paid the release fee of £200+ im unsure of the actual figure, and as a result also had to get the car taxed which she also promptly did, this morning (22-5-2012) a charming gentleman from Marstons turned up at the door demanding a fee of £500+ due to an unpaid clamping fine, now aparently this mater has been ongoing and letters have been sent to her on numerous occasions to a previous address, which we have not received from the current ocupant who has been very good at passing on any mail for her, she is at the moment trying to get in touch with him to find out if any mail has been received at her former address, but her problem remains that after the fees and tax had been paid we assumed that was the end of the matter, is this not so?, she is now worried that unless the £500+ is paid today by midday they have threatened entry with intent to remove goods triple the value of the stated ammount, I have tried to calm her best i can but she is now running round trying to borrow the ammount to pay these guys, after much searching online and unable to find any cases that relate to us directly, with the unreceived mail etc I have decided to add this post.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance, B.

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: Marston demanding money.

Hello and welcome to LB.

Glad to help you.

Firstly under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should she pay a penny, baillifs are not permitted to force entry in to a residential property. Keep the doors and windows closed, and have them post anything through the letter box. If possible film them.

Tell them any further contact must be made in writting.

Have a read of this sticky which will help http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...The-First-Time.

I will ask an admin to move your thread in to the correct place for the Experts to see. The big guns will come running once they see it promise!

Now, Beeps lovely partner, have a cuppa and leave the rest to us, dont panic, its going to be sorted. Who did you pay the fine to? have you proof of payment? can you check a bank statement to prove payment?

[thebeep]

Re: Marston demanding money.

Hi Puffrose,

Thanks for such an amazingly quick response, I have been in touch with my partner, who has had to go to work so im in the house with the kids, so as far as them trying to gain entry that aint gonna happen, however she is still worried that if she does not pay by the time stated by this bully she is going to lose her stuff, i have calmed to the point that she is ringing the CAB and have advised her not to pay anything. She paid the fine to the clamping guys, not sure who that maybe as we live in Liverpool, and she has paid it on her debit card so she has proof it was paid.

Thanks again.
B.

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: Marston demanding money.

The admins have moved this thread in to the right place for you, if the bill has been paid and you can prove it, then as far as I know you have no worries.

The CAB are a great idea, if she gets too worried, let her pm me, I'll have a chat with her, i'm a mam myself so i know what it feels like to worry.. mams are good at that

I can promise you however, the people here are simply the nicest, most helpful people i have spoken with, I trust them totally.
your in the right place now hun

[thebeep]

Re: Marston demanding money.

Thanks again Puffrose,

If nothing hapens between now and when she gets home 5-6pm i will get her online so she can chat to you in pm, however i will continue to update this thread with any more info that comes my way after she has been in touch with the CAB, which area has this been moved into?.

B.

NEW INFO.

my partener has just rang saying CAB have advised that as it has gone through the courts then she has to pay the £500+, but now she is asking me to go and start selling her stuff in order to pay the ammount.

[teaboy2]

Re: Marston demanding money.

Did it go through the courts before she paid the fine or after? Because if she paid the fine then it should never have gone through the courts. I will PM labman for you hes a expert on bailiffs and fines etc.

Also is it the clamp removal fee they are chasing, or the fine for not having tax, they are 2 seperate things i believe. But if it says on marstons letters its an unpaid clamping fee or similar, then you have already paid it.

[thebeep]

Re: Marston demanding money.

Hi Teaboy2,

As far a s i know the fine (im assuming the £200+) was paid about 3 days after the offence along with getting the vehicle taxed, so as for court matters she says she has not recieved anything else other than the initial £200+ costs, my only worry is that she has some how mistaken the clamping fee for a fine and there is another underlying fee that remains unpaid, hence coming here for advice. But i would also assume that any fines incured would have been given to her at the same time, unless that is not how the system works, I dont drive and am blissfully free from any debts or such matters so im kinda in the dark about the whole thing.

hope this helps, as im trying to give as much info as i can without her being her.

Thanks again all,

B.

Addition.
In reply to your update Teaboy2 im not sure what the letter says as she has it with her, but it is my fear that it is the no tax fine that they are chasing, but without having prior knowledge on the matter i couldnt really say. She is ringing DVLA and the courts at 3pm as soon as she is out of work to find out whats going on. But saying it IS the none tax fine that is outstanding (in theory) that would mean rightfully she does have to pay, which is fair enough, but the outlying matter remaisn that we cannot afford to pay that ammount in one lump sum, so with that in mind is there anything we could do to maybe get a payment plan or something, with the ammount of threads i have read this morning it does not look like something that marstons would happily do.

B.

[teaboy2]

Re: Marston demanding money.

Right its sounds like she may have paid the tax fine but not the clamping fee, either way their are strict guidelines as to what baliffs can do and what they can charge as their fees on top of the outstanding balance. As no other letters have been forthcoming from them at your current address, then the fees for any letters sent to the previous address would be invalid.

When your GF gets back to you later today, please update us on here on the thread, but also tell your gf not to worry as by then labman will be on this thread and hes the best to advise you on this matter, and will probably provide you with advice on how to get rid of the bailiff without paying them - Though you may still have to pay the original outstanding amount whether it was the tax fine or clamping fee.

Imyself do not really do bailiff law, as my area is general consumer debt and employment law mainly, but i do try to help, just like good old puffrose, and by all means if your GF is still worried despite the reassurances just tell her to contact puffrose for a chat.

[thebeep]

Re: Marston demanding money.

Thanks Teaboy2,

As far as i know no letters have been recieved by her (i may be wrong) or her ex, (resides at previous address) after being in touch with him just now, marstons did contact him, he says about 2-3 months back and he passed on our address to them hence this mornings early visit. My gf has been in touch with me and has advised me that she has rang marstons and left a message as they did not pick up (im not sure this was a wise move) she is still panking quite a bit and is still after me selling her stuff in order to pay this over inflated fees/fine or what ever it is. I will continue to update this post with any new info as and when i get any, big thanks to all who have read and/or replyed to this post.

B.

[teaboy2]

Re: Marston demanding money.

Have they actually levied any goods, they will have given you letter detailing what goods had been levied if they had, plus they can only levy goods if they had been allowed in the property. If there has been no levy then they can not take any goods and they can not force their way in, plus they can only take goods equal to the value of the amount outstanding not double and certainly not triple. Marstons are notorious for threats and lies about what they can do etc. so tell you GF no to allow them to worry her, its what they want as they know they can not get money otherwise, unless their let in to the house levy the goods.

You should write to marstons asking from a break down of the account including original amount owed and what fees where applied any why, and prove that letters where delivered to your current address.

[thebeep]

Re: Marston demanding money.

No goods have been taken at this point only threats have been made to remove goods from the property, they have not been nor will they be allowed to have access to the property, not on my watch anyway I have read many posts that have informed me about marstons approach to the matter at hand and as such the doors and windows are all locked until my GF returns from work, after which they weill be locked again. We are going to attemp to get in touch with all partys involved in this mater when she returns, DVLA, courts etc, and i will update you on any outcome we get from said contact.

B.

[labman]

Re: Marston demanding money.

I am struggling to get Internet reception at the moment as I out and about relying on a mobile signal. The advice given seems pretty spot on. The person who will be able to give you the details you need is the solicitor at the Magistrates' Court, so ask to speak to them. Once we know exactly what we're dealing with we can go from there. Don't worry about the bailiffs coming into your GF's home and taking her goods, it won't happen. Just make sure for the moment there are no vehicles outside for them to levy on, keep door locked and downstairs windows shut.

Once that phone call has been made to the court we'll know what we're dealing with and can move forward. Don't worry, I know this can be hard as I've been there several times, but there's nothing here that cannot be sorted.

[thebeep]

Re: Marston demanding money.

No worries Labman, thanks for your input, i will advise the GF to park her car elswhere this evening when she gets in, and will let you know what the courts say when we ring them this afternoon.

B.

[bluebottle]

Re: Marston demanding money.

With current VEL regulations, you have to produce a valid VEL and pay the de-clamping fee and any storage fees when you attend the pound to retrieve your vehicle. If there has been any lapse between the previous VEL expiring and the new VEL being obtained, you have to pay the excise duty for that period plus any fine DVLA may impose. That is an entirely separate issue and is dealt with separately from the seizure and impounding of a vehicle.

Your GF needs to contact DVLA ASAP and find out what is going on. If they did not follow the correct procedures, the fine may be unenforceable, especially if she was not afforded the opportunity to appear in court and defend herself. Also, the fact Marstons are saying it is a clamping fine makes me wonder if Marstons are trying to pull a fast one or the bailiff is a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

[thebeep]

Re: Marston demanding money.

ok Bluebottle, thanks for your input first off, now on to buisness, the fact is I dont actually know what they are trying to get the money for as my GF has the letter from marstons, but if memory serves me, the fee that has been paid was the unclamping fee which ammounted to aprox £240 or there abouts, which leads me to think that the outstanding ammount, if that is the case must be the failure to have tax on her car, if this is indeed the case, then obv she will have to pay, however the charges that marstons have come up with (over £500) seem a tad excesive, to me anyway, as im still filtering through info on the whole clamping issue and waiting for her to get home, im not sure what is going on, just trying my best to help out. Hopefully we will know more when she has made a few calls after work.

Thanks again for all your help.

B.