Cambs Court fine and Marstons

[muzz]

Hi all and look forward to your input:

1st of all had a speeding fine to which I haven't paid due to being in and out of hospital having plastic surgery and other operations (have emailed the hospital letters confirming ill health to courts and marstons ), I sent a letter to the court asking for more time to pay ,to which they said they never received ? i never heard anything from the courts and assumed they had received the letter asking for more time to pay due to ill health and this would give me time to pay ! last Saturday Marstons bailiff turns up at the door and leaves a card, to which i ring him and say there must be a admin error as i asked for more time to pay,

he starts with the threats well its not an error you owe £465 now instead of £165 as the courts have issued a warrant ! im at your door now and gonna take your van and auction it but doubt it would cover the full amount once I pay £110 uplift fee and then auction fees on top !

i inform him that il ring the courts Monday and see what is going on !

he then says im coming back next week with locksmiths etc etc and taking your goods
I PANICKED AND WENT STRAIGHT ONLINE AND PAYED MY FINE OF £165 CAUSING MASSIVE HARDSHIP NOW

After emailing and speaking to the courts they appreantly wrote to me in march and that the action with Marstons is to stand, FAIR ENOUGH
i understand they don't want to admit any fault and il pay the money but i just cant pay another £310 within 48 hours like he had demanded.

i have asked is their any way of paying in 2-3 instalments and he point blankly refused
NO IF YOU DONT PAY TODAY YOUR ON A CODE RED AND WE WILL BE BACK ON MONDAY TO FORCE ENTRY AND REMOVE YOUR GOODS

please give me some advice to where i stand

[Milo]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

Before a personal visit is made there is a legal obligation for Marston Group to send you a Notice of Enforcement. The enforcement company MUST allow a period of '7 clear days' from sending the letter before an 'Enforcement' visit can be made. By agreement with HMCTS all such letters (and certainly all the ones that I have seen from each of the 4 companies (and I have seen a lot of letters) provide a period of '14 days' from the date of the letter to allow the debtor the opportunity to either pay the debt or alternatively, to arrange a payment proposal. At this stage a Compliance Fee of £75 is legally payable.

If payment is not made or a payment proposal agreed within this time then unfortunately a personal visit will be made for the purpose of 'taking control of goods'. Once the debt is passed to the individual enforcement agent he is legally entitled to charge an enforcement fee of £235. (Magistrate court fines now carry the exact same fee scale as all other debts streams (council tax, parking charge notices etc). The relevant legislation bringing court fines into line with these other debts is provided under Schedule 13 of the Tribunal Courts & Enforcement Act.

MUZZ...did you receive the Notice of Enforcement and did you contact Marston Group?

You say that you have been in hospital. Was this recently and are in receipt of any benefits? Have you returned to work or are you still recovering from your hospital stay. The reason for asking is to ascertain whether you would be considered 'vulnerable'.

When did you send copies of hospital letters to Marston Group?

If you are 'vulnerable' then it is the case that all enforcement companies will 'rewind' the case BACK to the Compliance Stage and in doing so will REMOVE the Enforcement fee of £235.

If you could post back one of us can assist further.

PS: My personal opinion is that your query should be referred to Marston's Welfare Dept and this can be arranged very quickly.

[muzz]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

I have never had a letter from marstons until the bailiff turned up at the door !
hospital has been since 16th may where I had my 1st operation and last operation yesterday ! sent the letters to HMCTS cambs and they have sent to Marsons who have confirmed receipt

I have offered the bailiff payment in instalments and he has refused but I cant work as self employed and not allowed to drive with being plastered on my right arm

I called marstons yesterday and they point blankly refused to help saying its up to the individual bailiff as he works on commission not a fixed wage

[Milo]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

Did you advise the bailiff that you are recovering from surgery and was he made aware of the correspondence sent to the court and to Marston's?

You say that Marston's confirmed receipt of your correspondence. Was this by letter and when was this?

I will not be able to respond until later this evening but will look back later.

[muzz]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

yes advised agent and marstons but both said find a friend or family member to pay the full amount and then pay them back
no was on fone and on Friday gone
account was on hold by court until Tuesday coming

[Milo]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

Are you saying that the court have advised you that the account is on hold until this coming Tuesday?

If so, then I am concerned as to why the bailiff is stating that he will return on Monday.

[muzz]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

yes when I queried the courts on not giving me more time to pay they advised they would hold for 7 days until a manager could look at the account
the bailiff has said he is leaving my area to cover lincoln area next week and my case is on ANPR and red hot case so a keen young lad is likely to just come and take my van and bring a locksmith as they have established my home address and there is potential to recover money through my van

[bizzybob]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

Marstons are being anuses again, if it is on hold for 7 days and that is until Tuesday, a "keen lad" cannot just come back and take anything ANPR or not on Monday, or have I missed something here?

They are doing their best to put on the frighteners, as if it is found you are vulnerable due to health they may be the ones to lose out.

[ploddertom]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

Have you moved since the offence was committed or the fine imposed?

[bluebottle]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

Marstons are being anuses again, if it is on hold for 7 days and that is until Tuesday, a "keen lad" cannot just come back and take anything ANPR or not on Monday, or have I missed something here?

They are doing their best to put on the frighteners, as if it is found you are vulnerable due to health they may be the ones to lose out.

They are being total anuses, BB.

Once enforcement action is suspended, EAs should not go anywhere near a debtor, their home address or their goods, including vehicles. Their lawful authority to act and, consequently, their legal protection conferred by the warrant is suspended also. Both Collectica and Marston have form for continuing with enforcement action when the court has suspended same and it is becoming evident that a tally needs to kept of such instances and data provided to the MoJ.

[Milo]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

It is not known whether the Court have advised Marston Group that they have put the account on hold.

In any event it would seem from the answers above that this is a case of clear 'vulnerability' and accordingly; the case should be referred back to Marstons's asap and a request made that the matter be 'rewound' back to the Compliance stage (with the fee of £75 only being payable) and removing the fee of £235.

With the exception of just 2 companies each enforcement firm now has a dedicated dept dealing with 'vulnerable' debtors. Some companies refer to them as 'welfare' dept (Marston is one such firm).

As I have said on frequent occasions, the intention of Parliament when introducing these new regulations was to protect vulnerable debtors and to encourage enforcement companies to 'rewind' cases back to the Compliance stage when 'vulnerability' is established and to REMOVE an enforcement stage fee of £235. By returning the account back to the company a sensible payment proposal may then be set up.

PS: Over the past few months we have received many enquiries from debtors who have read internet reports that they should get a 'MALG' Evidence Form completed if they consider themselves to be 'vulnerable'. I am not sure where this advise is being given but the CORRECT position is that a MALG form is ONLY applicable to debtors who have serious mental health problems. Also, most GP's who are asked to complete the Evidence Form are charging a fee of between £45 and £60 for its completion.

[Milo]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

I will ask one of the moderators to send a message MUZZ so that I can get this query sent back to Marston's and enforcement on hold.

[muzz]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

excellent thanks

[bluebottle]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

It is not known whether the Court have advised Marston Group that they have put the account on hold.

In any event it would seem from the answers above that this is a case of clear 'vulnerability' and accordingly; the case should be referred back to Marstons's asap and a request made that the matter be 'rewound' back to the Compliance stage (with the fee of £75 only being payable) and removing the fee of £235.

With the exception of just 2 companies each enforcement firm now has a dedicated dept dealing with 'vulnerable' debtors. Some companies refer to them as 'welfare' dept (Marston is one such firm).

As I have said on frequent occasions, the intention of Parliament when introducing these new regulations was to protect vulnerable debtors and to encourage enforcement companies to 'rewind' cases back to the Compliance stage when 'vulnerability' is established and to REMOVE an enforcement stage fee of £235. By returning the account back to the company a sensible payment proposal may then be set up.

PS: Over the past few months we have received many enquiries from debtors who have read internet reports that they should get a 'MALG' Evidence Form completed if they consider themselves to be 'vulnerable'. I am not sure where this advise is being given but the CORRECT position is that a MALG form is ONLY applicable to debtors who have serious mental health problems. Also, most GP's who are asked to complete the Evidence Form are charging a fee of between £45 and £60 for its completion.

On the whole, I have found that court staff are usually fairly prompt in recalling or suspending warrants when necessary. In one case, Plymouth Magistrates Court staff faxed Marston Group within one hour of the defendant contacting the court office and recalled the warrant. However, this did not prevent the delightful Mr McGovern calling a few days before the defendant was due in court to swear a Statutory Declaration, behaving in his usual charming manner.

Regarding fees charged by GPs, whilst they can charge fees for completing applications, etc., £45-£60 does seem rather steep.

[Wombats]

Re: Cambs Court fine and Marstons

It is the going rate for MALG forms BB. What is of more concern is that people are being told to get these filled in for vulnerability when there are no mental health issues whatsoever. That is utter madness!