fine paid but Philips issue Distress warrant for fees, clarification needed

[Fulhamboy]

In brief,

late paying a magistrates fine.

Contacted fines office got the brush off,

" nothing we can do mate

 

notice of distress issued

you must deal with the bailiffs ( Philips ).

 

Go to local court ,

same story

you cannot go in front of a Magistrate to explain situation as Distress notice issued.

 

Give the fines office a ring see what they can do !

 

So I am at the mercy of Philips,

if I do not agree to their terms I am snookered.

 

They could pluck any figure out of the air for me to pay back monthly.

 

If I am not happy do I accept their terms ?

 

Or what is the next course of action

[ploddertom]

May pay to give us a bit more history as to why payment was late etc. How much do you owe? Have you received a Further Steps Notice? Have you moved since the fine was recorded?

[Fulhamboy]

Due to a change of addressl warning letter went to old add,

 

The fine amount oustanding £300. I

 

went through the story and discussed the options with the clerk at the court along with half a dozen other people waiting in the queue.

 

All I got was sorry nothing we can do talk to the fines office.

 

Asked to speak to supervisor, same story we cannot help

[ploddertom]

If they issued the Further Steps Notice and it is gone to an old address you therefore had no chance of complying with it. You need to impress this on them as receipt of this Notice is a legal requirement. You probably need to speak to the Court Manager or Enforcement Manager.

 

Have you actually now paid your fine despite it being paid late?

[Fulhamboy]

Thanks for your prompt reply, Yes I am still paying. I was at the desk trying to keep calm , as stated got to talk to the supervisor but it seems the fines office trump the magistrates, plenty of we are sorry but hands are tied. If I could bypass the front desk and get to a Magistrate somehow. Absail down from the roof in a James Bond style!

[ploddertom]

It's not so much the Magistrate you need but the Court Manager and/or Enforcement Manager.

[Fulhamboy]

Thanks for the reply So I go back to the court and ask to speak to the court manager. I will try to keep a poker face and not be put off by the minions. Would this request be an unusual one ?

[ploddertom]

It's getting passed the minions that is the problem, you have to be persistent but polite otherwise you may find yourself ejected.

[Fulhamboy]

Good afternoon all,

Finally paid off my fine but Philips want their pound of flesh . My question is can they use the distress warrant legally to collect their fees ? The London fines office SW1 seem to think so . The distress warrant runs out in two weeks anyway. Incidentally from their unhelpful attitude on the phone I assumed that they had been outsourced to a bailiff co but when asked the phone jockey said that they work alongside the bailiffs ? So the bailiffs do not work for them. What do you make of that ?

Thanks in advance

Fulhamboy

 

 

Fulhamboy

[unclebulgaria67]

My reading is that once you have settled the relevant sum with the court, that there is no legal/court procedure for the bailiff to recover their fees, unless you have some form of agreement directly with the bailiff. e.g you have let them in your house and signed an agreement with them to pay the court fine.

 

There are some great baliff help sites online that go through all of the legal aspects to this, citing legislation and court precedents. I just googled bailiff fees after distress warrant paid and found loads of information.