Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

[Amethyst]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

The letter was sent from Marston's solicitor and dated the 3rd of January; it came with the trial bundle. I didn't have anything from the Court. Yes, I think Marston's solicitor attended the hearing.

Oh, the first court date was the 11th of October, the second date was the 12th of December, and the hearing was on the 10th of January.

Cheers

Did you receive the first and second court dates in the same manner ?

[sidstation]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

I'm really sorry but i don't recall where I received the advice to pursue a form 4 complaint from. I was on a number of similar such forums seeking advice about what to do at the time (But this one's the best one, obviously:tinysmile_twink_t2.

And no, I have had no court order for costs yet.

How does this leave me with the original charges?

And as for Mr. ........ being fit to hold a licence?! He phoned me everyday for a month, phoned my wife, quite aggressively tried to persuade her to let him come round to our house several times and threatened me numerous times with massive charges should I not do X by Y. Oh, and also over-charged me. But I get your point... he's got all the qualities to be described fit to work as a bailiff.

Finally, just to clarify the whereabouts things: the original parking ticket was in Bakewell and I lived nearby. I then moved prior to getting involved with any bailiffs to Sheffield, which is where Mr....... has received his licence.

[sidstation]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

No, I received both of those through the post from the Court

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

So it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Marstons' solicitor neglected to inform you of the hearing on 10 January?

[Amethyst]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

How much notice did you have of the previous hearings ?

[sidstation]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

Plenty, a month at least.

[Amethyst]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

Have you spoken to the court since receiving the order? I'm not very up on these form 4 complaints, but disregarding that for a moment, you should have been made aware of the hearing by the court in plenty of time. That you only received papers from Marstons dated 3rd Jan for hearing on 10th Jan then it sounds as though they were just complying with submitting their bundle (to court and yourself) 7 days before and the actual court notification went astray (as you should have received that mid December). Were you asked to submit anything to court prior to any of the hearings?

Did the letter state it was notification of a hearing or just here's the docs ready for the hearing ?

It might be worth checking with the court whether they did send you notification of the court date, and decide whether you want to complain/ask for the hearing to be reset................however regarding proceeding with the Form 4, whether you should continue with it, and whether you are likely to have costs (it doesn't sound like it else you'd have had something in the letter from the court) you'll have to let the others guide you what to do regarding the bailiff's fees and original fine as I'm not a bailiff person really.

A copy of the letter from the court may be worth typing up or scanning in.

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

I'd guess that it was suggested by Happy Entrails, and elsewhere.

He is pretty offal, isn't he?

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

I'm really sorry but i don't recall where I received the advice to pursue a form 4 complaint from. I was on a number of similar such forums seeking advice about what to do at the time (But this one's the best one, obviously:tinysmile_twink_t2.

And no, I have had no court order for costs yet.

How does this leave me with the original charges?

And as for Mr. ........ being fit to hold a licence?! He phoned me everyday for a month, phoned my wife, quite aggressively tried to persuade her to let him come round to our house several times and threatened me numerous times with massive charges should I not do X by Y. Oh, and also over-charged me. But I get your point... he's got all the qualities to be described fit to work as a bailiff.

Finally, just to clarify the whereabouts things: the original parking ticket was in Bakewell and I lived nearby. I then moved prior to getting involved with any bailiffs to Sheffield, which is where Mr....... has received his licence.

Could you give exact details of the threats this bailiff made? They are allowed to make certain threats, provided they have a right in law to make them. If not, they are, potentially, committing a criminal offence. I still have doubts whether the enforcement action in your case was lawful. If the contravention occurred in Derbyshire, then it is the local authority responsible for the Bakewell area who have to issue the charge certificate. It is doubtful a local authority in Yorkshire can lawfully issue a warrant to recover money for a parking contravention that occurred in Derbyshire.

[ploddertom]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

What were your grounds for complaint in your Form 4?

I think bluebottle is getting mixed up with what actually happened - the tickets were issued in Derbyshire, the OP moved to ?????, the Bailiff was Certificated in Sheffield - that is my take on it.

[Amethyst]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

FYI, these are the details from my Form 4 Complaint, outlining what I disagreed with:

Firstly, when on the 30.01.13 I received a hand-delivered removal demanding £280.72 from Mr Edwards (the first correspondence I have received from Marston), I requested a written breakdown of when and how this fee has been incurred from the bailiff – something I am legally entitled to receive prior to making any payment under the Enforcement of Road Traffic Debts (Certificated Bailiffs) Regulations 1993 and 2003. Mr Edwards verbally refused to provide this, claiming that it was against company policy to give out such information. As such, on 07.02.13 I emailed Marston's complaints department to request this breakdown; and verbally agreed with Mr Edwards that no further attendances would be made until this information was provided. On the 28th of February, however, Mr Edwards again attended my property, increasing the total to £321.44.

Secondly, when on the 7th of March I received the written breakdown from Marston, it became clear that both Marston and Mr Edwards were attempting to charge for work not yet performed by the company, and with inconsistencies between the amounts charged by either party. The breakdown from Marstons read as follows: Penalty Charge - £82; Letter Fee - £11.20 incurred Dec 28th 2012 (but not received by myself); 1st Levy Fee - £28.00 incurred 30th Jan; 2nd Levy Fee - £33.94 incurred 28th Feb; Attendance to remove fee - £126.40 incurred 30th Jan; VAT - £33.12; TOTAL - £280.82. According to Mr Edwards, the total for the same period and number of visits was £321.44, whilst also charging £280.82 on the 30.01.13 for his first to visit, excluding the cost of the second visit fee! This suggests that both 1st and 2nd levy fees were inflated by both Mr Edwards and Marston.

Thirdly, Mr. Edwards charged an Attendance to Remove Fee of £126.40 before any valid and lawful levy was made on my goods. This was also charged on the same day as making his first visit to my property. Mr Edwards appears to be imposing fees in advance of work undertaken without allowing any opportunity to pay.

Seems to have been the form 4 complaint

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

What were your grounds for complaint in your Form 4?

I think bluebottle is getting mixed up with what actually happened - the tickets were issued in Derbyshire, the OP moved to ?????, the Bailiff was Certificated in Sheffield - that is my take on it.

It's what is in Post #23 that threw me, PT.

Sidstation,

Certificated Bailiffs hold a certificate issued by a county court and are either self-employed or employees of a private company. Court Bailiffs hold a warrant issued by H.M. Courts and Tribunals Service and are Crown Servants.

[ploddertom]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

It's what is in Post #23 that threw me, PT.

Yes it all threw me at first but given the number of posts that are cropping up all of a sudden that's not unusual.

[bluebottle]

Re: Marstons - Overcharging Me -HELP PLEASE!

Has anyone noticed the number of posts that have gone up on LB over the past few days regarding Marstons bailiffs misrepresenting their powers under Schedule 4A, Domestic Violence and Crime Victims Act 2004? I am wondering whether HMCTS Criminal Enforcement should be made aware of this, with the agreement of the OPs involved, of course.