Marston group is harassing me.PLEASE HELP

[nadir211]

Hi,

I received a letter posted by hand 13 days ago regarding two unpaid court fine from marston group.My fine was originally £110 and the other one was £125 but i was paying it off using hmcs card payment service,£5 a week.I was in full time education living on a tightest budget.ALG (adult learnign grant) my passport had to go to homeoffice for a visa renewal.it normally takes 12 weeks or more but in my case it took 6 months and when my visa was about to run nobody wanted to give me a job if in case i dont get a new vise and the money they spent goes down the drain.

I finally finished college.I couldnt pay the fine no more because i had no income.I received a text from court fine department with a contact number which i rang straight away and explained my situation.they were very understandable and they said they would wait.well i just found out that they didnt.they passed on the details to marston and i think they have been visiting my previous addresss.i didnt recieve any post from my old address.

Long story short somebody hand posted a letter through demanding £450 or they will remove goods from my property.4 days ago somebody knocked i answered ,he asked me who i was and i told him honestly.he then pulled a badge out with an angry look on his face,he demanded money i didnt have.he said he has a warrant of some sorts when i kindly requested if i can see it, he refused i asked him again and he got angry and said he doesnt need to show nothing and got in my face.I didnt react or threatened him as i am not that type and pleaded him to give me some time.he said he will return in 2 days.he said he is dealing with both fines.he wants £400 for one(original court fine£110 of £85 left ) and for the second one £450 ( £125 and still the same left) PLEASE HELP ME.

[nadir211]

I can see some guys are willing to help and are reading through,If you guys have any questions please ask.

[old bill]

This is a typical Marston Group modus operandi. They become very aggressive when challenged about the warrant they claim to have. Actually, they do have to produce the warrant if it's a court fine involved. What he is asking is totally out of proportion to what he can legitimately demand. To the best of my knowledge and belief, amounts due are -

 

Both fines = £210.00 (£85.00 + £125.00)

Admin Fee = £85.00

Visit Fee = £215.00

Total Due = £510.00

 

You should also have received a letter from the court called a Further Steps Notice, which is a legal requirement. You need to speak to the Court Manager at the court that imposed the fine and ask why the court defaulted straight to bailiffs without sending you a Further Steps Notice. Inform them about the text you received. What badge were you shown, one that had "Marston Group" on it or a postcard-sized yellow badge with the bailiff's photograph on it?

[caledfwlch]

Do not let them into your home, keep windows and doors locked at all times. If you have a car, park it a couple of streets away, and do not give the Baillif's any information on any of your property, such as your car's licence plate.

 

If you have a good friend you can genuinely trust, get them to do what is called a Statutory Declaration. This is a little form/letter in which they say they own all the goods in your home, if questioned, you can always say because you have no money your friend lent you a sum of cash, and in return gained ownership of your goods, just in case you never pay him back, he has bought your goods basically, but I doubt you would be questioned. And this is entirely legal, you are allowed to hide or sell your property to keep it away from Bailiffs.

 

They will claim they can get a locksmith to break in. Because it is a Court Fine, this is partially true, but don't worry - the Bailiffs would need to go before a Magistrate in court, persuade the Magistrate that there are expensive goods in the home that will easily cover the debt, and if he agrees, the Magistrate will sign an order allowing them to break in - this power only exists for court fines, and Inland Revenue, no other type of bailiff can force entry. You are a little way off this happening yet.

 

Your most immediate course of action is tomorrow, first thing, you MUST contact the Court that is dealing with this, and explain your situation, if you have no income, you may class as vulnerable and bailiffs should not be used - are you claiming benefits, or do you not have an entitlement to them?.

 

If/When the Bailiffs turn up again, like I say, ensure everything is locked up, your car hidden if you have it, and when they arrive, do NOT open the door to them, it is not unknown for bailiffs to push their way in, it is illegal for them to do it, but laws mean little to bailiffs.

 

Only speak to them through your letterbox or through a window, if you have the capability, either on your mobile phone, or if you have a dictaphone, or an MP3 player with the ability, record your entire conversation with them, but don't let them know you are recording. If you have a way of actually filming via camcorder, or mobile phone video camera, that is even better. They may even leave straight away when they see you filming.

[caledfwlch]

Old Bill, I tried sending you another PM old chap, but your inbox is full!

[MARTIN3030]

Is there any reason why this was tweeted to Rossendales ?

[nadir211]

First of all,Thank you ever so much for your quick reply

To be very honest, he took his badge out of his pocket for literally a second.The way he started off with an angry face like he is dealing with a serial killer,he didnt give me a chance to look at his badge thoroughly.but it was not a big yellow one, i am 100% sure it was a small one with some red on it.See now it makes more sense.I am willing to pay £510 that doesnt sound too bad compared to £850 he is demanding. I will ring the court manager first thing in the morning and ask him what you suggested.I will keep you up to dated.

[old bill]

Old Bill, I tried sending you another PM old chap, but your inbox is full!

 

Thanks Caled. I'll sort that out now.

[old bill]

What the bailiff showed you was an identity badge that only confirms he works for Marston Group. It does not prove he is a bailiff or that he is authorised to levy distress, under the Distress for Rent Rules 1988. If the scrote returns, ask him to push his bailiff's certificate through the letterbox for you to inspect. He has to produce his certificate for inspection when requested to do so.

[old bill]

Inbox now empty, Caled.

[nadir211]

Hi MARTIN3030

This was my first post it gave me an option to tweet it so i did.

did i do anything wrong?sorry if i did.

[nadir211]

What the bailiff showed you was an identity badge that only confirms he works for Marston Group. It does not prove he is a bailiff or that he is authorised to levy distress, under the Distress for Rent Rules 1988. If the scrote returns, ask him to push his bailiff's certificate through the letterbox for you to inspect. He has to produce his certificate for inspection when requested to do so.

 

I most certainly will do.he just showed up at my door and i had no clue what to do or how to deal with him.I will ask him for his ID to prove he is a bailiff and for a warrant,do warrants have an expiry date?

[caledfwlch]

Hi MARTIN3030

This was my first post it gave me an option to tweet it so i did.

did i do anything wrong?sorry if i did.

 

What it has done is simply linked this thread to Rossendales, a Bailiff company's "feed" on Twitter.

 

I don't think it really matters, as it is Marston you are dealing with, but as you have tweeted this, please be careful with your info in this thread.

 

Old Bill - Cheers dude

[old bill]

You need to ask to see his bailiff's certificate. A warrant issued for non-payment of a court fine is valid for 12 months, then it has to be returned to the court of issue. If a bailiff finds a fine defaulter has changed address, they are supposed to inform the court of issue and have an amended warrant issued. Many do not and this can cause problems.

[ploddertom]

I think part of the clue to all this was in your original post where you say it looks as if everything went to your old address. If that is the case then I believe you should be able to go to the Court and swear a Statutory Declaration to this effect, if granted it will get rid of the Bailiff. You need to speak to the Fines Officer or Court Manager.

[brassnecked]

I think part of the clue to all this was in your original post where you say it looks as if everything went to your old address. If that is the case then I believe you should be able to go to the Court and swear a Statutory Declaration to this effect, if granted it will get rid of the Bailiff. You need to speak to the Fines Officer or Court Manager.

Do it first thing in the morning iff possible then if the bailiff calls again you can likely tell him to go away, but you will have to arrange to pay the remainder of the fine to the court, to avoid it going to Sharkstons again.

[nadir211]

There is a good news and a bad news.I rang court today regarding my fine which was in the city i live.they said its on the system and not with the bailiffs anymore and took the payment straight away and gave me an authorisation code.its all done and dealt with.thats the good news

the bad news is second fine was in a different county.it was in Kent.when i pleaded guilty without wasting court's time,they gave me a fine but i never received any correspondace regarding that at all.not a single letter.i assumed that they have combined both my fines together but i found out from bailiff the other day that they didnt.i tried contacting court before but i am not on the system at all becuase that court got shut down few days after my case.today a lady from the fine department in kent informed me that its passed on to surrey court and they have passed it on to bailiff.What do i do now? Do they keep a record of letters or anything they post to people regarding my fines.should i challenge it and file a complaint?they didnt text me call or sent any post whatsoever.I am being honest i am nto making up stories.with your guys help and support i have managed to pay one fine off and Thank you all for that.what do i do about this one.I dont have an account no.Division no.Nothing.

[old bill]

There is a good news and a bad news.I rang court today regarding my fine which was in the city i live.they said its on the system and not with the bailiffs anymore and took the payment straight away and gave me an authorisation code.its all done and dealt with.thats the good news

the bad news is second fine was in a different county.it was in Kent.when i pleaded guilty without wasting court's time,they gave me a fine but i never received any correspondace regarding that at all.not a single letter.i assumed that they have combined both my fines together but i found out from bailiff the other day that they didnt.i tried contacting court before but i am not on the system at all becuase that court got shut down few days after my case.today a lady from the fine department in kent informed me that its passed on to surrey court and they have passed it on to bailiff.What do i do now? Do they keep a record of letters or anything they post to people regarding my fines.should i challenge it and file a complaint?they didnt text me call or sent any post whatsoever.I am being honest i am nto making up stories.with your guys help and support i have managed to pay one fine off and Thank you all for that.what do i do about this one.I dont have an account no.Division no.Nothing.

 

If that's the case, HMCTS Surrey need to explain why they have not complied with proper procedures. In fact, they appear to have by-passed an essential step called a Further Steps Notice. If that has happened, Marstons should be told to back off until this is sorted out.

[wonkeydonkey]

Again it is maladministration...you need to contact the surrey Court and tell them you did not receive the requisite Further Steps Notice as you had moved house..tell them you want to do a Stat Dec to that effect and offer to pay the amount of the fine.

 

WD

[nadir211]

I rang fine office in Kent who had my details first.lady sounded agitated from the start i think she was having a bad day.She told me its with surrey court who have passed it on to marston.I kept asking her why i never received anything in post and she hung up.she had no answer to my question. she didnt mention which court in surrey.Surrey is big and there are quite a few megistrates court But.. there is only one fines department for Kent and surrey and thats in Kent,the first place i rang.forget any explanation for now, they dont even know what there jobs are,Kent office tells me to ring Surrey,Surrey tells me to ring Kent which is the main department.I will try again tommorow.they took all my afternoon.

[old bill]

I think you'll find the reason the lady sounded agitated is that she realised her staff had been caught doing something they should not have allowed to happen. In short, they have broken the law. If you are being given the runaround, get onto HMCTS HQs and ask them who you need to speak to, Kent or Surrey. Ask to speak to a manager at HMCTS HQ and explain the situation to them. I am not saying it will happen, but they may be able to sort it out for you. As the saying goes, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."