Marston Group bailiff visit

[Alin]

Hi there , i desperately need some help , i have received a letter from marston bailiffs stating that they will use force to gain entry and remove goods in order to pay fine of 600 pounds court fine ( fail to give information about driver identity ) sentencing date 19/06/2009 , i was not in the country at that time and received no letters no phone calls from the court since this happened , i also need to mention that i have moved few times from the address that i lived in 2007-2008 , in 2008 June i left Britain and returned on December 2009

the letter states Fine value 600.00 compliance fee 85.00 and attendance fee 215.00, please any advice will be extremely appreciated.

[Alin]

Hi there i am new to this forum and do not know how to post messages on forum , i have received a letter from marston bailiffs stating that they will use force to gain entry to my house and remove goods for a fine from dartford magistrate court ( failure to give information about driver information) conviction date is 19/06/2009 , i have never received any letters or phone call related to these offence and also i have not been in England from 06/2008 till 20/12/2009 , i could have not drive the car especially after i sold the car in July 2008. any advice or comments will be greatly appreciated . thank you

[unclebulgaria67]

What you will need to do is visit the Magistrates court and make a declaration that you were not aware of these proceedings against you. Give them the information about the dates you were abroad and moved about etc.

 

Do you live near the Magistrates where this fine was handed down ? If not, you may be able to go to your nearest Magistrates on Monday to make the declaration, but give them a phone call first.

 

Once you make the declaration, they should cancel the current process for collecting this fine and you can evidence that you were not responsible for the offence, then they may quash it. But I guess there may be a hearing first.

[unclebulgaria67]

Don't let the bailiff into your property. Keep all doors and windows locked. Don't open the door to them, but speak to them through the locked door that you will visit Magistrates to make an urgent declaration on Monday. Keep any car you own off your driveway, otherwise they may clamp it and get it towed away.

[Alin]

OK , thank you for the quick reply , in the meantime can the bailiffs break in to my house ?

[unclebulgaria67]

OK , thank you for the quick reply , in the meantime can the bailiffs break in to my house ?

 

Technically for a fine, yes, but it does not happen very often, as they would normally refer back to the court first. From what I understand, a bailiff would have visited several times before it would come to this.

[Alin]

they have been only once , yesterday evening

[cerberusalert]

Posts moved & new thread created.

[ploddertom]

Do you have the date the offence was committed?

[ploddertom]

No need to start another thread now, just stick to this one.

[Alin]

ok sorry

[Alin]

i think the offence took place on august-September 2008 well after i have left the country , also i need to mention that i have sold the car to an ex-coworker that lives in Kent and being my first time selling a car i have left the v5 with him to complete and send t oDVLA, i guess he did not change the ownership that's way i got the fine on my name

[unclebulgaria67]

It is actually an offence not to advise DVLA that you sold the vehicle. Both the buyer and seller have to complete the form. This is not what this particular fine is for, but if there is a hearing this may be raised. Magistrates may want to have proof that you sold the vehicle.

[Alin]

the other person has my v5 , i do not have any other paperwork to show that i have made the sale , it was made in cash

[unclebulgaria67]

the other person has my v5 , i do not have any other paperwork to show that i have made the sale , it was made in cash

 

Can you get something in writing from this person that they bought the car on x date and paid you cash. ? You never know, they may have driven around for awhile committing driving offences, so if you can track them down to get something in writing, it might be useful.

[caledfwlch]

Technically for a fine, yes, but it does not happen very often, as they would normally refer back to the court first. From what I understand, a bailiff would have visited several times before it would come to this.

 

I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that to do a Forced Entry, the Bailiff would need to firstly convince the Magistrate that there are enough goods in the property to cover the debt and fees, and then get a forced entry warrant of the magistrate. If the Bailiff has not been into the property then realistically he cannot confirm that there are enough goods.

 

And I am sure one of our experts has said that these warrants are very rarely issued - Marstons are attempting to intimidate here I suspect.

[unclebulgaria67]

I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that to do a Forced Entry, the Bailiff would need to firstly convince the Magistrate that there are enough goods in the property to cover the debt and fees, and then get a forced entry warrant of the magistrate. If the Bailiff has not been into the property then realistically he cannot confirm that there are enough goods.

 

And I am sure one of our experts has said that these warrants are very rarely issued - Marstons are attempting to intimidate here I suspect.

 

I think you are correct.

[Surfer01]

I think you are correct.

 

Plus they need permission from the LL if the property is rented.

[tomtubby]

On the notice from Marston Group there should be mention somewhere as to which court is dealing with your case. Can you post back with details . It should be a simple matter of contacting the relevant court and arranging to get a Statutory Declaration completed. It most difficult part is normally finding out WHICH court to contact.

 

 

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