Urgent help please - im going to be arrested!

[Bluefairy]

About 1 month ago I received a "Final Steps" notice from the Court enforcement office. I have lived at this address for 18 months and never received anything previously. There was no information other than a demand for £290 and a reference number - nothing else, no info what it related to (other than something to do with unpaid parking fines which I managed deduced from the dept address), no dates etc.

 

I wrote to them asking for more information and copies of documents requesting time to consider them, take advice and get back to them.

 

I received no response until tonight when I have come home to a "Warning - Notice of Arrest".

 

Apparently I have to pay £290 or attend magistrates Court on 21.8.13, but seemingly I can still be arrested at anytime before the hearing!

 

I am one of those boring people who have never been in trouble and never had anything to do with the police. Ive never had so much as a speeding ticket.

 

I cant afford to pay £290 even if I did know what it was for. Mine is our only income. My partner is self employed in the construction industry and has no work, but because he is s/e we get no entitlement to benefits or assistance. We are already suffering financial hardship and every month is a struggle to get by just paying our bills. We have debts everywhere and no disposable income so just paying £290 for something I don't know about is out of the question.

 

I just don't know what to do - what my options might be. Im tempted to attend the hearing but I don't know what can happen - can they put me in jail? Im really very frightened but trying to put a brace face on it

 

Please can someone help?

[citizenB]

I will send out some S.O.S for you. I am sure someone will be along as soon as they can.

[citizenB]

Have you telephoned the court for more information ?

[Bluefairy]

No - Ive come home from work to find the arrest notice tonight. I tried the numbers on it but no asnwer

[citizenB]

Is it a notice from the court ?

 

You should try to telephone tomorrow - is there no opening times on the notice ?

[Bluefairy]

Yes I will be calling them first thing in the mornng

[Bluefairy]

The Notice is addressed from the Court Enforcement Centre, Morley Nr Leeds, but I notice the franking mark on the envelope is from the magistrates Court at Bradford

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

I think you should contact the Court Enforcement Centre and tell them that as you have no knowledge of the alleged offence (s)

or fines relating to them, and have not been provided with information asked for, you would like to put your case to the magistrates.

[Jamberson]

Mods: The OP says he deduced something about parking fines, but I am wondering if this is about some other motoring offence. Would this be better in that section of the forum? This isn't the usual pattern for PCNs.

[ploddertom]

It could be for Parking Tickets as there still are some areas of the country where these have not been decriminalised and would thus come before the Court. If you were to surrender yourself then you would be put before the Court where usually the Bench are looking for an explanation as to why payment has not been made. If because you have no knowledge of any of this the Court can remit the whole fine(s) or revert them back to their original "price". Could it be for a time before you say you moved?

 

If you replied to the Final Steps Notice do you have proof you posted the same to them?

[green_and_mean]

A parking ticket would not be £290!

[citizenB]

Blue Fairy,

 

Can you please scan in the documents/ letter for us to see - depersonalise them first. Follow the instructions below and you should have no problems.

 

 

 

Dx100 – Instructions on uploading pdfs

 

Scan the required letters/agreements/sheets

as a picture file

remove all personal info including barcodes etc. using paint

but leave all figures and dates.

Go to one of the many free online pdf converter websites

convert the image to pdf format.

or if you have PDF as an installed printer drive use that

open a new message box here

hit go advanced below the message box

hit manage attachments below that box

hit the add files button on the top right

hit select files, navigate to your file on your pc

hit upload files

NB: you can set where it goes in the post by hitting insert inline.

Then hit reply button